Colorado Trail Day 7: 22 July 2018
/I am in Fairplay. I have spent the night in a supply closet sleeping, tossing on a small cot. When I wake at 7:30am, my head is pounding and the ringing in my ears has returned with high pitched intensity. Once again my face is swollen, my throat thick. I recognize the room filled with boxes of extra light bulbs, small wrappings of soap, miniature shampoos, lotions. I am at the Fairplay Valiton – an old hotel in Fairplay that shares its WIFI password “HauntedHotel” with the guests. It doesn’t feel haunted but I am aware that an old hotel has old history - years of fantastic stories surrounding a wide array of intriguing guests. Anything could have happened here during the past century. Last night, it was my turn to wander into this old hotel and become a part of the hotel history – a thru hiker with nowhere to stay provided a cot placed in a supply closet for the evening. And now it is early morning and I simply cannot move. I lie on the cot, breathing, willing myself to at least sit up. I try to remember what I have read about acute altitude sickness. Words come to my mind – fatigue, headache, flu-like symptoms, intense hangover. I feel like I am 15-20 seconds behind the real world and I cannot catch up to enter the immediate present. Everything takes effort. 45 minutes later, I do manage to swing my legs down and sit at the edge of the small mattress, my head hanging with weary heaviness. I know that I will need to vacate this room soon. Surely the staff will need access to the supplies. I slip on my camp shoes – grey crocs – and make my way to the door. Across the hall is the public men’s room. I enter, use the urinal, wash my face and then brush my teeth. It’s about the best I can do to prepare for the day. I get back to the room and look at my pack and its contents spilled around on the floor. Then I remember that the hotel offers free breakfast and coffee. So I decide to try to eat something first before I pack up to leave.
I make it to the small dining room where there is a display of fruit, cereal, baked goods. I don’t see any coffee or even any cups. I randomly choose an orange, banana and small muffin. There are apparently no hotel staff on duty. I encounter another guest who is also confused about the coffee and states that apparently we have to make it the lobby. She sets about getting the coffee made while I head back to the room. Sitting on the cot, I slowly peel the orange. I place the first wet slippery wedge in my mouth and am instantly filled with a burst of citrus. I let the fruit just rest on my tongue before chewing and then swallowing. It is sparkling, rich and utterly delicious. I eat the whole thing, my fingers sticky from the juice. Then I eat the small muffin and half of the banana. It feels good to eat again. My body is craving real food. I head out to see about the coffee. It’s apparently done and I pour a cup. I take one sip and realize that the guest has no idea how to make coffee. It’s so weak I just dump the whole thing down the drain in the men’s room.
I pack up my gear. It’s almost 10am now. I really have to go. I don’t feel like I can make it to Breckenridge today. Standing on highway 9 waiting for someone to pick me up seems impossible. All I want to do is go back to sleep. Perhaps I can stay another night in Fairplay. On a whim I call a hotel on my list – The Hand – to inquire about any availability for tonight. And to my utter amazement, they have one room available. I book it immediately. Yes! I have a place to stay tonight – a real hotel room with a bathroom and bed and sheets! And luckily it is only a block away from the Fairplay Valiton. Since I can’t check in yet, I decide to walk down to the laundromat and wash my clothes. As I leave the supply closet, I see the woman who granted me permission to stay for the night. She is checking on some housekeeping. I thank her again and again. She wishes me well and then is off to resume her inspections.
I make it to the laundromat which is one of the smallest I have ever seen. There are 5 washers and 7 dryers. Luckily there is only one other person doing laundry so I quickly get my dirty hiker clothes in one of the washers and then wait for the cycles to complete. An older man walks in. He has a backpack and seems tired and worn. I feel like I have seen him before. And then I realize it’s Frank from the trail! We get caught up on trail news, and I let him know that I am taking a few days off to recover from the altitude. While my clothes are in the dryer, I get a call from The Hand – my room is ready! I can check in as soon as my washing is complete.
The Hand is a very old, rustic hotel with just the basics. The street that The Hand resides seems to be lifted from an image of an old western stage set. There are no phones or TV’s in any of the rooms. While I am checking in, a lovely old golden retriever walks by me pausing to sniff my hand before lying down on the carpeting in the middle of the room. He seems exhausted too. I have been given The Miner room – first right at the top of the stairs. I open the door to the small room, take off my pack and then lie down on the bed covered with a thick layered green patchwork quilt. The bed is soft, the pillows are soft. I simply melt into the mattress and fall asleep for an hour.
When I wake up, I decide to walk to the grocery store in town to get some supplies and liquid to aid in my rehydration. It’s a longer walk than I had anticipated and I am exhausted by the time I get there. I buy some Gatorade, water, apple juice, pretzels. As I am heading back, a man in an old truck stops to ask if I need a lift. Gratefully I climb in. He drives me up the hill toward the hotel. I ask him to stop at a café so I can get some food to take back to my room. At this point, I am once again faced with fatigue. My headache is gone and the ringing in my ears has diminished. But I am simply worn out. Walking is hard. I still can’t believe that only yesterday I was on the CT hiking. Today that would have been impossible. As it is, getting back to The Hand only a few blocks away, seems like an exhausting climb. I hate that I feel this way. I simply don’t understand why I have no energy. But I can’t change the way I feel.
Back at The Hand, I eat most of the sandwich and drink a lot of the water and apple juice. As I am preparing to sleep for the afternoon, I get a text from Lorraine checking in on how we are all faring. I wish I could tell her that we are charging ahead full steam. But I am honest and let her know that I had to get off trail and am in Fairplay resting till I try to hitch to Breckenridge tomorrow. Lorraine immediately calls me. It’s wonderful to hear her husky voice. She will not let me hitch. No way!! She will absolutely pick me up tomorrow morning and drive me the 23 miles over Hoosier Pass to Breckenridge. Lorraine is an angel. And I fall asleep for the next 4 hours with the welcoming thought that I have a ride to Breckenridge. Lorraine will be here and I don’t have to stand on the street waiting for a stranger to pick me up. Tomorrow Breckenridge!
That evening, still exhausted, I think about Julie and Ed. I wonder where they are on the trail. I think about our resupply box in Jefferson. I will have to call the post office in the morning and have them bounce the box to Breckenridge. I think about how lonely I am in Fairplay lying on a very soft mattress in a room called The Miner at the Hand Hotel. But then I remind myself that this is all temporary. And I remind myself to be grateful for this room, grateful for a place to sleep, and grateful for this experience no matter what happens. I have to acclimate to this altitude at some point. And when I do, then I will be ready to start hiking again.
Tonight I sense the rustic town of Fairplay nestled in the valley of surrounding mountains with its old haunted hotels and western film set facades. I am in Colorado lying in a soft bed with a heavy quilt laid on top of my body. I am very near sleep. The Colorado Trail is out there somewhere in the darkness waiting for hikers. Please let the trail wait for me too.
