[cdt-l] CDTA Trail Fest

[Paul Magnanti]

A quick report on the recent CDTA Trail Fest in Buena Vista, CO:

Three of us drove from Boulder, CO (including Mike d-low) Thurs night  up to  BV for the annual CDTA Trail Fest.

Trail Fest is a celebration of the CDT. During the weekend there are information booths, guided trips and (the main reason why I went) trail work projects.

The project the three of us drove up for  was constructing some new tread at Cottonwood Pass.  The day was overcast and many of us were wondering it was going to rain while we were working. Luckily it did not.

The day involved moving rocks (lots of rocks! :D), constructing the tread and of course enjoying the views. Even with an overcast day you can't help but enjoy the views from the divide.

Late afternoon we all packed up, drove to the main campsite, enjoyed dinner and sat around the campfire and enjoying the good company. Besides enjoying the incredible scenery you meet some really nice people on these projects, too.  

The rain finally came down at night..but is there anything more relaxing than listening to rain on a tent? 

The following day (Saturday) was a free day, if you will, for the volunteers. A few went on guided trips, so worked at the trail fest itself down in BV, a good chunk of us from the Cottonwood project spent the day constructing new tread near Interlaken on the CDT/CT.  The new tread will be off the road and around Twin Lakes.  All of  us busted out the trail early and I must say it came out rather well. 

We drove back to the fest, treated ourselves to some beer (yay! beer!), had some food at "Taste of the Trail", enjoyed the music and more good conversation.  Later the evening, quite a few us enjoyed some soaking at Cottonwood Springs. Ahhhhh....

Sunday morning we drove up to Cottonwood Pass for a last day on the project. Could not have asked for a more glorious day. Sunny, views extending well down the divide and was much better than the view I get from my desk!   By the end of the day, we all had constructed ~2000' of new trail. Combine that with the work from Saturday and it was a productive weekend.

We all drove back to Boulder, had some awesome Lebanese food in Golden (Ali Baba's Grill..one friend from Israel and another from Iran swear by this place. Best humus around) and I put off my least favorite part of any trip until yesterday: UNPACKING! Blecch..... Damp gear, sweat soaked clothes and shoes that need to be aired out..well, enough said. :)

It was an extremely enjoyable weekend. 

Some pics from the weekend (almost all from Cottonwood Pass area): http://tinyurl.com/yu7umw