Kennebec TH - 4 day parking

[Daniel Fisher]

My hiking partner and I would like to do a short practice hike lasting 4 days (2 in, 2 out) starting from the CT western terminus, Kennebec Trailhead. We need to park our truck somewhere. We've been to the TH already, but the parking lot has maybe 20 spaces at most. Can we park there for 4 days? If not, are there any good alternatives?

Thanks!

[Cookerhiker]

Do you mean the Junction Creek trailhead near Durango? That's the western terminus. The Kennebec trailhead is about a 2 day hike up from it.

[Daniel Fisher]

My bad. Yes, I feel silly. I mean the Junction Creek TH.

[Daniel Fisher]

We may be picked up from the Kennebec TH if something goes wrong. Which is why it was on my mind...

[Cookerhiker]

I would think you could park there but I'll defer to Bear Creek since he knows the trail real well, especially around Durango where he lives. If he doesn't see the thread in the next few days, send him a PM.

This hike will be a great acclimating experience for you. Kennebec Pass is at 11,700'.

[Daniel Fisher]

We are hoping to get to mile 18.3 of segment 27 (24 miles from THw), according to the data book, its the high point for the CT until segment 24. Once there, turn around and come back. It also gives us a chance to make gear changers before starting our CT thru. (Which starts whenever Seg-7 clears.)

[Cookerhiker]

We are hoping to get to mile 18.3 of segment 27 (24 miles from THw), according to the data book, its the high point for the CT until segment 24. Once there, turn around and come back. It also gives us a chance to make gear changers before starting our CT thru. (Which starts whenever Seg-7 clears.)

Mileage-wise, that's entirely feasible on a 2 day in, 2 day out hike. Elevation-wise, listen to your body!

Suggestion: Day 1 - Camp at last Junction Creek Crossing
Day 2 - Reach the high point, turn around, camp at Taylor Lake
Day 3 - Dry camp beyond Junction Creek after filling up at Creek
Day 4 - Hike to TH

[Daniel Fisher]

Yes, we won't push too hard... We have plenty of time, and I'm taking 8 days worth of food, as to have a good idea of what my heaviest pack weight will be. So, if it takes longer... So be it!

[Daniel Fisher]

I sent Bearcreek a PM yesterday, he must be busy...

We're headed out in the morning. Hopefully our truck will still be there when we return.

[bearcreek]

Busy, yes.... just got back to Durango after two weeks on a trail crew in the Cochetopa Hills. (new trail coming.....) I do not recommend parking at the TH. Vehicles are occasionally broken into there. You are welcome to park in front of my house in town. You can contact me via www.bearcreeksurvey.com (http://www.bearcreeksurvey.com). E-mail link on front page.

[litespeed]

Busy, yes.... just got back to Durango after two weeks on a trail crew in the Cochetopa Hills. (new trail coming.....) .

What's going on in the Cochetopa????

[bearcreek]

What's going on in the Cochetopa????

30 miles or so of new trail is being built to get the CDT/CT off of jeep trails between Lujan Pass and the bridges over Cochetopa Creek near Eddiesville. We were flagging the route which recently was given the go-ahead by the powers that be. It is the goal of both the CT and CDT to be completely non-motorized at some point in the distant future. Probably will be a few years before it is completely built, but some work is scheduled for this season. Next year it should be a busy place.

[Daniel Fisher]

Thanks Bearcreek! We're already back now, or we would have certainly took you up on that offer. Luckily, our vehicle was undamaged when we returned to it. The hike was great, and we learned a few things too.

First: I packed WAY too much food. While Teresa's altitude sickness exaggerated our abundance of food, after 2 days, 4 hours of hiking, we still hadn't finished our first days food bag. So I carried 5 extra food bags, for no reason. At upper junction creek, I gave away 12 snickers bags to a couple of section hikers. I was hoping to give more away, but aside from them, we only ran into bikers and day hikers.

Next: When we removed our wood burning camp stove from our packing list, we incidentally removed most of our carbs. We didn't notice this until we started craving pasta and sandwiches. Our only source of carbs were the sugars which happened to be in our fatty foods. We tried to think of cook-free complex carb ideas, but we came up short. So we'll probably be ordering a propane camp stove before starting the CT.

Next: I think I drink a lot more water than most people do. I calculated I consumed a little over 1/4 Liters per Mile. I never seemed "slaushy" in the stomach either. I may need to reduce sodium intake or find a way to ration the water better. My 3L camelbak way totally empty when we reached upper junction creek.

Next: Cellphone reception was wonderful! Better in most places than it is anywhere in Cortez. If anyone ask if they'll have cellphone reception in Segment 28, the answer is YES. (anywhere except a low valley)

Lastly, Teresa really struggled with acclimation issues. Probably a legitimate case of altitude sickness by the time we reached 12k feet. Shortness of breath, (she described as a racing heart rate, and difficulty taking deep breaths, which sounds much like asthma, if I recall my childhood correctly), nausea, vomiting, headaches, zero appetite. Meanwhile, I carried a 55 lbs pack from Durango to Taylor lake without any of the above listed symptoms. (A little stiff in the legs, though) I was so concerned, instead of hiking back to Durango, we called in a ride at Kennebek Trailhead. She could have made it, but it seemed like we were risking injury to continue on.
We've been landscaping at 6.2k feet since the end of May, and done several day hikes in Mesa Verde. I expected we'd be good to go. Is there anything we can do to help with this problem?

Here's some pictures, sorry about the quality, I only had my phone for pictures. (Canon 5D's are too heavy to lug around)

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[Cookerhiker]

When did her elevation sickness problems first occur - at 8,000, 9,000, 10,000? In any case, when you start south from Waterton Canyon, you don't reach 8,000 until about 42 miles. I suggest you take those first few days very slowly.

[Daniel Fisher]

On our way to upper Junction Creek, she started experiencing symptoms at around 9k feet, so we stopped and set up camp. Upper Junction Creek is like 7.5k, and she was feeling a lot better there. We filled up our water and continued on to probably about 9.2k feet before setting up camp for day 2. Starting day 3, our goal was to reach our turn around point (7 miles ahead). Within the first half mile, she was experiencing symptoms. Everything just got vastly worse after that. Around Kennebec Pass area, we took about 10 steps between breaks. Which seemed like an amazing feet of endurance on her part, considering her condition at the time.

[bearcreek]

The best acclimatization scheme is to "Go high, sleep low" for a few days. This is the main reason that hiking the trail south to north is not very popular. The first half of the CT is much better for this if you plan your campsites carefully.

Forced hydration is extremely helpful. There is a prescription drug called Diamox that has a very high success rate for preventing or minimizing simple altitude symptoms. You might consider getting some and she could take it for a few days when you start. It is normal to have a faster pulse rate, and common to have difficulty sleeping for a few days while you acclimatize. If she (or you) develop congestion in your lungs or confusion in your head you should go down immediately - those are symptoms of the possible fatal forms of altitude sickness. (HAPE and HACE)

[Daniel Fisher]

After much discussion, we agreed... Teresa will not be doing the CT this year. I'll be going solo. Going to wrap up some details here, and book a flight for Denver probably within the next week. I have a Facebook group following my progress. If anyone here would like to be invited to it, find me on Facebook by the same name, email: [email protected]