Brett Bramble Walks

Spoiler alert: today was pretty boring. 
I woke up with a beautiful view but a wet and muddy tent. I crumbled it up and three it into a trash bags to dry out later. I had an easy day of 13 miles ahead. I ate one protein bar and chugged as much water as I could. Then I walked 13 miles without stopping. It was stupid but I didn’t care. I just wanted to get to a hotel. I was grimy and needed the comforts of having 4 walls. 
I stopped at a Mexican restaurant when I got into town for an all you can eat lunch buffet. It was ok. I left satisfied and walked across the street to the first hotel. Not the best but the rate was cheap. That was basically it haha. 
I dried out my tent and tarps and then took a shower. I ordered pizza for dinner and have just been watching the Olympics. Told you it was boring. 
🙂

The walk from Fort Garland to Blanca was very pleasant. I had a sidewalk for a while and then a nice wide shoulder. Traffic hadn’t built up yet so I was able to enjoy the morning. I saw a sign for a restaurant in Blanca and figured I’d stop in for breakfast. Never know who you may run into… 
Just before the restaurant were a couple selling peaches on the sidewalk out of their truck. They asked about the walk and the girl was like wow. She has 14 years clean after a long fight with meth. She was happy that she made it and knew a lot of people who had overdosed since she cleaned up. We talked for a few minutes and they gave me a few bucks to pay for my breakfast. 
Blanca is a pretty town. I don’t really know how it’s still there but it is. There is a beautiful view of Blanca peak which is the 4th highest mountain peak in the Rockies. Maybe that’s what keeps the town alive. That and the breakfast at the restaurant. Yum!
From Blanca to Alamosa I had a choice to take a dirt road or the highway. Always pick the dirt road. I started on it and was so happy to finally not have trucks whizzing by every 2 seconds. About a half a mile into it, the road was looking rough. It basically just stopped and turned into desert. It was cool just walking through the desert but not with Lieutenant Dan. His wheels were not up to the challenge. I had no choice but to turn around. That was a bummer.
I fought back to the highway and as I turned onto it a man named Micheal came running over and hugged me and gave me 59 cents. It was all he had. He was nomading around the country in his red truck. We talked about the cause and he knew all about it. Cool guy but very high strung. I knew he was a meth user. He told me that he knows his limits and he stays away from heroin. Ok I guess… 
Walked for a few hours taking in the beauty of the San Luis Valley in Colorado. I came to an intersection for a break and a woman pulled over to take pictures and ask about the walk. She was intrigued and said she would share it with everyone. She was on a journey of her own. After some relationship issues back in Portland Oregon she decided to pull a “fuck it” and leave to drive back to the D.C. area where she is from. She wanted to take in the beautiful country in the meantime. I’m glad we crossed paths. 
It wasn’t much longer until I saw the clouds forming up. I knew I could’ve gone a little farther but the view of the mountains all around me had me choose a spot to set up my tent. I set up and left the doors open so I could see the pretty views. I watched the storm clouds brew up and it was beautiful yet daunting knowing that I was about to be tossed around a bit. 
The bad stuff missed me but it was still pretty intense for a few minutes. I got out and the sun was setting on one side and a rainbow was following the storm on the other side. Beauty all around. As I was taking in the scenery, a car pulls up with a pretty girl and a car full of stuff. Including a guy holding a drum in the front seat. 
They asked what I was up to and I did the same to them. We all hung out and shared the sunset together and took pictures. They were awesome and said they would help spread the word about overdose for me. 
I have an easy 13 mile day tomorrow to Alamosa. I am hoping that a night in a hotel will get me going for a while. I have the biggest mountain of my whole trip just ahead of me and want to make sure I make it as easily as possible. 

Chris took me to the spot where he picked me up at. We left the ranch a little after 5 am. I got started and right when I got to the top I saw a cyclist. He stopped to say hey and he is from Scotland and is cycling from LA to New York to raise money for people in Haiti. Very nice guy. We swapped information and went our own ways.
The other side of the mountain was beautiful. There was a rainbow right in front of me. Things were looking good. I knew rain was coming later so I was trying to walk briskly.
A man who looked just like Harrison Ford pulled over and was like, “are you really walking across America?”
I said yep and told him why. He gave me a hug and said I love you. Harrison Ford loves me. So that happened. No but really, he was very nice and gave a donation and his information in case I needed anything. It was nice to have someone stop. It always is. They stand out from all the others who seem to be in so much of a hurry.
Another guy pulled over who works for an offroading magazine in Europe. He took my picture and information and gave me some money also. He sent that picture to me later on facebook. It’s a really good one. He was a great guy. You could see it on his face.
After a while I couldn’t beat the rain anymore. It was happening. Fast and hard. I walked through it and made it to a rest stop. I sat under a picnic pavilion and tried to dry off. There was an RV there with some snobby assholes in it. I understand that I looked pretty scary with all my rain gear on but they were very rude. I tried to say hello and start a conversation but they pretended not to hear me. I guess they thought that I was going to ask them for something. Assholes.
Anyways, a small pickup truck pulls over between me and the RV. They were very nice and said they had seen me earlier. I tried to talk very loud as I explained what I was doing so that the RV people would feel like boobs. The nice people gave me some peaches and we said our goodbyes.
I’m allergic to peaches but I took them to be nice. My first instinct was to ask the people in the RV if they wanted them but I knew they would just freak out so I kept them for some nicer people. I didn’t want to be around these people anymore so I strapped up and kept going. Even though I knew I shouldn’t have.
The bottom really fell out on me after that. I had to walk with traffic because of the way the wind was blowing. It was a nightmare. I just wanted to push the last few miles into Fort Garland. I knew there was a hotel there and I could dry off and unwind.
I finally got to the damn hotel and the lady wouldn’t even open the door. She said he had no rooms and told me to try the other hotel. I passed a weed shop on the way to the second hotel and began to understand why she didn’t want me in. She must have thought I was doing the whole homeless for weed thing. Nope.
I get to the other hotel and it’s still raining. I look like a bum. I probably smell like one too. I get that. I walk in and sure enough, they are sold out too. This woman was nice though and let me come in and wait inside while I figured out where to go. It was still pouring outside. There was a campground close by that would have to do.
The woman offered for me to stay in a horse stable that has not been used in months. It was very nice of her and would’ve worked but the campground was better. It had a shower house and WiFi.
I set up my tent and then changed clothes in the shower room. I went across the street to a restaurant to try to shake the last few hours off. I ordered a burger. It hit the spot. It came up so I told the bartender about my walk and then soon the whole staff was standing around hearing my story. They were so nice and wouldn’t let me pay for my meal or even leave a tip.
They put me back in  my normal good mood and I went over to relax in my tent. It was cozy and I played on my phone until I fell asleep.

I slept in longer than I should have and looked at the time. I had 9 minutes to make it to breakfast on time. I hopped up and jogged down the hill to the lodge for breakfast. Made it just in time. I hadn’t thought about what I would be doing today yet but I was invited to hike to lost lake. Absolutely. 
Olivia, who works at the ranch, had her father and two sisters visiting and we all were excited to go hike to a spot that many people can’t go to. I got ready quickly and headed to the rendezvous. We all packed lunch and water and hopped into a 6 seater Polaris for a long ride up the mountain. I was designated to be the driver and happily accepted. 
We talked the whole way up and had fun on the mountain roads. Olivia just graduated high school and is working out here for some adventure before starting college. Her older sister Emily and her younger sister Sophie were just as cool as she was. Their dad was hilarious. I had a great time getting to know them and sharing stories about the walk. 
We reached the “parking lot” and got out to hike about a mile up to the lake. It was a steep and strenuous hike. A creek crossing and many switchbacks on loose rocks. Signs of bears were everywhere too. I loved it. We stopped every so often to catch our breaths as no one was in a hurry. The entire time was filled with great conversation. 
We made it to the top and wow. Just beautiful. The lake is at 10,600 feet and the water is crystal clear with beautiful trout all over. The water temperature is said to be at around 40 degrees. We all jumped in. I can now cross the lost lake challenge off of my bucket list. 
We got out quickly after a few pictures and dried off with one shared towel and sunlight. We walked to the other side of the lake for more pictures with a great view. The clouds were forming and I knew we needed to start getting back down to the vehicle so we made our way back down. Less strenuous on the way down and more time to take in the beautiful scenery. 
We reached the Polaris and Emily wanted to drive down. Good. I actually had phone service on the top of the mountain and wanted to play on Instagram and Facebook. Also, we ate our lunches as we rode down. We got to the lodge just as it started to rain. Perfect timing. 
Lunch was being served at the lodge so all of the staff was there. Chris invited me to ride with them to go clear out some roads in the high Country. Definitely. I wanted to contribute some work as I was having such a great time here. 
There were 5 guys including me in a 4×4 suburban and we rode up and down mountains for a few hours. Every now and then moving a rock or a limb that had fallen into the road. Nothing big enough for me to get out and help came up. So I just got to enjoy the ride. 
We saw a bear in the road. I’d say probably a teenager. Not a cub but not full grown. He took off quickly before we could get pictures. Some of the guys didn’t see it at all. We got to this place called Brown Park. A stunning cleared out area with beautiful trees all around and signs of flourishing wildlife. I could imagine a heard of elk roaming happily. 
We made our way back down and spotted some Columbine flowers. They are Colorado’s state flower and can only be seen about 10,500 feet and above. We arrived back at the lodge just in time for dinner. What a great day..
Dinner was fantastic and when everyone was finished I said my goodbyes as I knew that I was going back to my walk early tomorrow morning. I took a photo with the backpacking believers and we headed back to the house for my last night at the ranch. 
We stayed up late talking and then we all realized that we needed to go to bed as we all had big days tomorrow. I loved every second that I spent with this family and am very happy to know them. 

After breakfast, Jennifer and Katlyn had to go to Trinidad to pick up a friend who was coming to visit Katlyn. I rode with them. Trinidad was interesting. A very cool town but they had marijuana store and it seemed to attract a whole bunch of vagrants who stand around and panhandle for weed money. I wasn’t a fan of witnessing that. But whatever. 
We went to Walmart and I got some things that I needed. We also went to a store called Big R and I got a great deal on a flannel Columbia shirt. We got to the train station to wait for Jessie and it was time for my phone interview. I stepped aside and talked to a writer with The Fix magazine and did a very long interview. 
We went to eat lunch at a Mexican restaurant and then headed back to the ranch. Katlyn had to work, Jessie was about to pass out from the altitude so she went to bed and Jennifer helped show me to the trails to get up onto the wall. I was going to climb this wall before I left here whether I was supposed to or not!
I had been contemplating all day on whether to get back to the walk tomorrow or to stay one more day and enjoy the great company and the amazing ranch property. After climbing to the top of the wall and seeing the views I made up my mind to stay one more day. 
After dinner we watched a movie that was really good and then went to bed. 

Woke up with the sun and was in no real rush. I ate a big breakfast and got under way. Today was all uphill and I was determined to reach the summit of La Veta pass. I had 11 miles to get to the top and I was hoping to get at least another 11 miles on the other side going down. 
Shortly after I began walking, a woman pulls over and wanted to hear about my cause. She told me that she works with commissioners of most of southern Colorado and I told her about Naloxone  (Narcan) and how it needs to be made easier to access in Colorado. I was feeling a little woozy from the altitude and she offered snacks and gatorade. I was happy that she stopped. Most people on the road that I’m on are tourists and they are all in so much of a hurry to enjoy their destination that they fly right by the journey. The locals are all nice here. Jennifer proved that. 
The hills weren’t so bad but they were constant so it was hard. I made sure to drink a ton of water and keep eating energy. I had to stop a lot. These were some of the hardest miles I’ve put in yet. Every step had beautiful scenery though. That’s what kept me going. 
As I got close to the top, I noticed a bad storm heading my way. I wanted to reach the summit so bad. I looked at my map and was 0.8 miles from the summit. Then I looked up at the clouds and knew that I had to seek shelter. One thing that I do know is that it’s very dangerous to be on top of a mountain in a thunderstorm. 
I found a good spot that would keep me dry and safe from lightning and set my tent up in a hurry. It started raining as I was getting it together. I threw everything in the tent that I needed while I waited for the storm to pass and jumped in. 
I was safe. I was bummed that I couldn’t get to the top but I still had a whole day left. It wasn’t even 1 pm yet. I kept waiting for the storm to pass. Lighting was hitting very close and the wind was testing my tent’s limits. I had to pee really bad because of all the water I was drinking haha. 
I waited for a break and handled my business. I also grabbed a few snacks and got back in the tent. More rain and thunder was coming. Luckily, I had phone and Internet service and was playing around on Instagram and got a message from the backpacking believers. 
They are a father, mother, and daughter who finished their walk across America last year. The daughter holds the title of the youngest person in the world to hike the American Discovery Trail. They were living nearby and offered for me to stay with them for a day or two. I really wanted to get up and over the Rockies but I also didn’t want to miss such a great opportunity to meet them. I followed my heart and told them where I was. 
They showed up around 6 pm and it was still raining. I wasn’t able to reach the summit but at least my next walking day would be mostly downhill. Chris and Katlyn were in the car to pick me up. We threw a wet and muddy Lieutenant Dan in the back and I was happy to be out of the rain myself. 
The ride to their place was about an hour. We talked and I was pleased with their personalities. The views were gorgeous as we drove through the mountains. They are working on a ranch all summer in southern Colorado and living on site. True adventurers. As we drove, we must’ve seen at least 20 deer. 
We pull into the ranch and there is this huge stone wall named, wait for it, “stonewall”. I saw it and the first thing that came out of my mouth was, “has anyone ever climbed it?” Chris told me that there were some trails up there. I knew what I was going to be doing tomorrow!
We pull up to the lodge and I got to meet Jennifer, the mother. She had a chicken enchilada dinner waiting for Chris and I. It was so good. Needless to say, I was happy with the decision that I made to meet them. 
I got to meet some of the staff but most people were winding down for the evening. We all went up to the house and I met the dog and put my stuff inside so the bears didn’t get to it. Yes, bears. Oh, and mountain lions too. Seriously. 
They gave me Katlyn’s room to sleep in. I double checked with her to make sure that was ok and she assured me that it was so I set my things in there and did shower and laundry and got all of the road from the last few days off of me. 
We all sat in the living room and talked for hours after that. Sharing stories of our walks. This was a conversation that only a few people can truly be a part of. I felt proud to have come this far. Long enough to have stories of my own and long enough to understand their experiences. It was getting late so we all said goodnight and I was asleep as soon as I found the light switch… which took a while. 

I got to sleep in a little since I had to wait for the post office to open so that I could get a package. I was out of bed by 630. I just can’t sleep in anymore. Crazy. I wandered over to a Carl’s Jr. for breakfast and then headed to the post office. 
I finally got my new front tire. It’s a solid rubber tire that can’t go flat! I wish I would’ve thought of this 5 months ago. It took about an hour to force it onto the rim but I finally did it. Boom. Now I’m ready for the Rockies!
I headed up the mountains and wow. Just wow. I can’t even express the beauty. I felt so bad for all of the people driving by at 70 mph. They were missing so much. I was entering the Spanish peaks area and could see them unobstructed by anything. 
I saw a thunderstorm coming and I knew that I probably would’ve been ok to just gear up and walk through it but I was feeling tired. After walking up for 9 miles I was already beat. I knew I could have and probably should have kept going but I used the storm as an excuse to call it a day. 
I found a great spot with a stunning view. I set up my tent and took a little nap while it rained. I woke up about an hour or so later and I could tell that the sun was out again. I woke myself up and decided that I’d pack back up and keep going. There was still time to get at least another 9 miles in. And the closer I got to the mountain pass the better. 
I want to go over La veta pass tomorrow and getting closer helps that task out a lot. I got back on the road and was feeling better. I made sure that I drank plenty of water today and it helped a lot. I had to pee every 4 seconds but at least I didn’t feel light-headed. 
The mountains got prettier and prettier with every step. The sun was starting to get low so I began scoping out places to camp. I found a place that would’ve worked but looked ahead and about a mile up was a cluster of a few buildings and some cars. I couldn’t tell what it was but I figured that I’d try to camp there. I always sleep better when I have permission to camp somewhere and I was hoping that they may also have water and power that I could use. 
I get there and it’s an old restaurant that’s closed down and truckers use the parking lot as a rest stop. I saw a picnic table and a spot to set up my tent. No water or power but that was ok. I had what I needed. 
I set up and ate dinner in a chair while watching the sunset. It’s so freaking beautiful here. I’m excited to reach the first of my two big summits of the Rockies. I have La Veta pass and then I go down into a valley and then I have Wolf Creek pass. Wolf Creek is the larger one but La veta is still up there. Can’t wait to see the world from up top!!

Woke up around 4 am and had to pee. I stepped outside and used the gender neutral bathroom while looking up at the stars. If it wasn’t so cold I would’ve stayed there looking up until the sun came up. Instead I retreated back to my sleeping bag for another couple of hours. 
I sensed that the sun was coming up and opened my tent to wake up and get ready. There was a cow standing less than 50 feet from me. The sun was rising in the horizon. Not a bad start to the day. 
The wind was really blowing hard which made packing up kind of difficult but I managed. The wind was an issue for the next couple of hours. It was blowing right at me and I had to use a lot of extra energy to keep Lieutenant Dan rolling. Not to mention I’ve been repairing the front tire about 4 times a day due to flats.
Anyways, I kept going. The views were stunning. I saw some antelope running fast as hell. There were lots of cows too. They had so much space out here that they seemed happy. Way happier than the cows all bunched together like in Kansas. 
Every hill that I climbed had stunning views waiting on the other side. I am loving this part of the country. Walsenburg was the town I was headed towards. It was a total of 24 miles from where I started this morning. I did them all pretty easily. 
I ran out of water with about 5 miles to go. I was drinking like a fish. I suppose it’s the dry air. I was really really thirsty but I knew I could get water in town. After 3 miles of pushing through I was really needing a drink. Right when I was about to take serious action to find water, a car pulls over and they hand me a half gallon of cold tea. Boom! They said they were from La Junta and they heard about my cause. I thanked them and they could see how happy I was. I chugged half of it as they drove away. La Junta looked out for me again!!
I make it into Walsenburg. A pretty neat town. The gateway to the west as they would tell you. I was planning on meeting someone there. A family from Denver who is affected by the epidemic. Jeri, Bruce, their son Brett, and their spirit son Ryan all came to visit. They paid for my hotel room and bought me dinner. It was cool to hang out with another Brett. We’re all pretty much amazing ya know 😉
During dinner, they asked about where I was planning on going tomorrow. Good question. I hadn’t thought about it yet. My current mission was to get to Walsenburg. I looked up my map and realized that I was already at 6,000 feet elevation and was going to be climbing mountains the next few days. I was in the Rockies and didn’t even know it. 
It totally explained the need for water and the fact that I was feeling loopy. I made sure to take it seriously from here on out. The last thing I want to do is pass out on a busy mountain highway. 
After dinner I was exhausted. I forced myself to shower to get the 3 days of desert off of me and then I laid down and was down for the count.

I woke up and I was cold. The first time I’d been cold in months. I grabbed my jacket out of the stroller and put it on. Still cold. I had sent my winter clothes home so I didn’t have gloves or a hat. Whatever. I packed up quickly. I found my Kindle in the process. That made me happy. 
In 30 minutes I was on the road. The wind was blowing right at me at around 15 mph. I was angry. I was walking uphill and the wind just made everything harder. I had a headache and just wasn’t into it. I kept going though. What else could I have done? 
My dad called me and I felt better after that. The views were freaking amazing. Every hill that I climbed was rewarded with great scenery. I was trying to stay positive but traffic was picking up. I was literally run off of the road 5 times today. I guess slowing down isn’t an option for people. If someone who was approaching couldn’t get over because of traffic, their solution was to just run into me. Not one fucking person slowed down when this happened. It would’ve been very easy. 
If I was an antelope I bet they would slow down. Maybe I should get some antlers instead of an orange vest. Ugh. I got so mad that I grabbed a pebble and told myself that I’d throw it at the next asshole who ran me off the road. I wasn’t really going to do this but it made me feel like I had the upper hand. 
In the distance ahead, I could see what looked like a cyclist coming towards me. This may explain some of the traffic issues. People would get over for him but no way were they going to do it twice in one day. That would be obsurd. 
I stopped on the side of the road so that we could chat and say hey and stuff. He had all sorts of gear and I assumed he was going cross country also. He cycled right by without even looking. What a dick. I threw the pebble at him. I knew I wouldn’t hit him I just threw it in his direction as a gesture. 
After he passed, traffic wasn’t as bad. My theory may actually be true. It was good to know that he was on the shitty side now and I hoped that he had been ran off the road. Just kidding. Kind of…
The views were gorgeous all day. I made it to the 20 mile mark and went to a radio tower to take a break. I squeezed through the fence that said danger no trespassing and sat in the shade provided by the building. It was heaven. 
After resting for a while, I noticed some nasty clouds ahead coming from the mountains. I looked on my weather app on my phone and yep. Thunderstorms were coming. I was too tired to keep walking so I figured I’d call it a day. I set up my tent near the radio tower thinking that if lightning struck that it would hit the tower instead of me. 
I felt extremely stupid after I set my tent up and it started raining. I googled “camping in a thunderstorm” and everything that I did was the worst possible thing that I could’ve done. I put my shoes on and sat Vietnamese style hoping that if lightning struck nearby that my rubber soles would help. 
It was only luck that saved me. My tent was blowing around but holding up well. I heard lightning striking but I would count and the closest it got was 8 miles away. I’m glad I don’t still have the Walmart tent that I started with. No way would that thing have held up in this storm. 
The clouds broke just in time to see a stunning sunset. I got everything ready for bed and was down for the count. 

So it was really hard to leave the tiny house at 6 in the morning but it had to be done. When I was packing up, I couldn’t find my Kindle. I thought that maybe I had left it in the cabin. I went to go look. It wasn’t there and the people who stayed there last night moved the bed off of the wall. I figured that it was either somewhere in the back of my cart or they stole it. To be determined.. I had to get out of there.
I went to the restaurant for one last good meal before my 80 mile stretch of nothing. As I was eating, a couple came in and saw my cart outside. They offered to buy my breakfast and we talked for a while about the drug epidemic. They were from Minneapolis and they said it’s really bad up there. I’ve been to Minneapolis and that’s so sad. It’s such a beautiful city. 
I said goodbye to them all and it was on like donkey kong. I set out for the backroads. I walked by a woman who was walking her dogs. I could tell that she was trying to train them to not jump on people but I was enabling. I played with them and missed domino. We talked about the walk and the cause. The dogs didn’t verbally respond but she did. I could tell that she was tired of pulling the leashes so I said bye and went my way. 
Not too long after, she drove back to find me and give me a gallon of water and some snacks. Both of which I ended up needing dearly a couple of days later. I stayed on the backroads as long as I could. It was so nice to have peace and no traffic. 
I finally got to State Route 10. I would be living on the road for the next 3 days. My plan was to go as far as I could today. A few miles in, one of the women who was at Las Animas at 5 am a few days ago drove by with her friends. They stopped and donated and gave supporting words for my long stretch I was facing. 
And then that was it. I walked until I couldn’t walk anymore. At about an hour to sunset, I couldn’t take it anymore. I wanted to go farther but my legs wouldn’t let me. I found a place to set my tent up. It was private property and I had to open a gate to get in but I felt like it wasn’t doing any harm and that I’d be able to ask for forgiveness later if anyone saw me and had a problem. 
The land out here is wide open and I didn’t really have much option otherwise. I set up my tent directly on the county line. That way if the sheriff came out I could roll to one side or the other to get out of his jurisdiction. Actually, I just did it because I thought it would be funny to say that. I don’t actually think that would work. 
I set up the tent and ate dinner. People were honking and waving as they passed by. I waved back. The sunset was stunning. I got in my tent and couldn’t close my eyes because the view was so pretty. Then the stars came out. I forced myself to sleep because I needed to recover for another big day tomorrow.