• AT HAND: Deuce Lee, The Big Dipper
• LOCATION: Near Breckenridge and Leadville, CO
• DATES: August 9-13, 2023
• STATS: 4 days/3 nights, 42 miles – 8,294 feet EG

Standing atop the ridge like a biblical patriarch, bearded countenance nodding approvingly as the rivers part, flowing to their respective outlets in diametrically opposed oceans. The Continental Divide splits North America in half. To the East the derided, overlooked flatlands and prairies that so many transplant Coloradoans turn their backs to on their way to a final destination in the Centennial state (or beyond). To the West, a wide frontier of deserts, bizarre religious misogyny, and starry, unattainable dreams. Walking the CDT places a person at the confluence of geographical, political and natural division where contemplation of one’s own bipolarity and inclination to seek extremes comes naturally. Staffing up, donning the ram’s blood-soaked shawl, and making a pit stop at the resort for a tall can and some spirits is all part of the magic. Luckily the electric wrath of the heavens only manifests itself above treeline in the afternoons.

Of consequence: Unsuccessfully pitching tents near a massive waterfall; trodding through a paved, prescribed ski vacation monolith; putting eyes on the reservoir from 12,500 feet; getting rained on in the murky, pulsing afternoon; watching a bull moose pirouette with graceful indignation in the middle of our campsite; tremendous vistas above treeline; Subarus galore.