In an attempt to have plenty of time to acclimatize for this thru-hike of the Colorado Trail, I decided to head out and WWOOF ("spend about half of each day helping out on a host farm, learn about organic farming and sustainable agriculture, and receive room and board") in Colorado for a month. I ended up in Canon City with an awesome family of four. I primarily took care of their two boys but did a bit of gardening and whatnot. They were in the process of building their off-grid home. The mom just opened her own apothecary and is a trained herbalist (check out her shop/services @sacredspacesco). The only bummer was that it was pretty hot and dry this last month with temps in the 90-100s each day and almost no rain.

These last couple of days have been great. I reconnected with my uncle and aunt who are living in Colorado Springs. Separated by hundreds of miles from all of my extended family my whole life, it's sometimes hard to always be in contact with them and really know who they are and what they do. So it was awesome to get to know just how rad they are. They’re avid hikers, have great taste in music, and just so many other things in common ideologically and philosophically. I've had so many great conversations with them in just these last couple days. Really great to rekindle this family tie!

Yesterday, we got up at 5am and visited Garden of the Gods in time for sunrise - so magical! And then we did all 2,700 steps of the Manitou Incline in 55 minutes! It’s 2,000+ ft of elevation gain in just under a mile, yikes! The "hardest mile" on the Appalachian Trail was just 1,000 ft in one mile and no stairs (they make it worse, trust me!) It was some good prep for the Colorado Trail (but thank goodness the grade is nowhere near that!)

Just a few days until I begin the trail! Stay updated with my journey on my instagram @briidbget and here (subscribe below for email updates)!

Here are some iPhone pics from the last month!