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I’m back at it! After nearly a week of rest, I’m back on the muni heading south. This morning, I relocated to where I’d left the route, then rode back into Frisco and on to Breckenridge. I’ve been worrying about my right knee a little, as it hurts when I try to stand up or use stairs. After it loosened up a little, it was fine. My left knee, on the other hand… Well, I’m not going to complain about it yet. I’ll wait to see how it does tomorrow before whining about it.

I didn’t spend too much time in Breckenridge, though I was tempted. I ate a sandwich for a leisurely lunch (and coffee, of course), then was on my way to climb the second-highest pass of the trip and my 16th divide crossing, Boreas Pass. Some dark clouds were approaching, and there was occasional thunder. I wondered if I was being an idiot; maybe I shouldn’t be climbing to exposed areas at over 11,400 ft in a thunderstorm. I considered turning around and going back to town, but that would have been about ten extra miles of riding, not to mention that I feel like I need to put in some miles after my vacation. I posted the debate to the facebook page, then saw some hikers approaching. I asked them about the exposure on the pass, and they also pointed out that the storm wasn’t so bad and was clearing out. They were right, and taking off my sunglasses helped me realize that. Sorry, Breckenridge, I’ll have to check you out another time.

At the top of the pass was an old building. I believe it used to be a depot and post office. It’s open to cross-country skiers and snowshoers in the winter and is said to be haunted. I met a gal at the top who was showing the cabin to her parents. While snowshoeing, she spent a night there and confirmed that it is indeed haunted. I booked it down the mountain because I’m afraid of ghosts. 🙂

I had one splat this afternoon. I’m not quite sure how it happened. I was riding along at a good clip, and the next thing I knew, the unicycle was on the ground, and I was running. My legs tried, but they just couldn’t keep up and down I went. After verifying that no bones had broken, I looked up at the muni to see it was bleeding. My 4-liter water bag had burst and was quickly losing its contents. I frantically salvaged as much of it as I could.

It sprinkled on and off all afternoon, becoming heavier and steadier this evening. I was getting concerned about finding a place to camp tonight, but I found a place that would work just as it got dark. I feel lucky about that. I can’t tell you where I am though. One reason is because I don’t know, and the other is because I’m probably not supposed to be here. I’ll try to sneak out early tomorrow, but this rain is picking up and starting to seem like it could go all night. I have a new rule: if it’s raining, I go back to sleep. Actually, that’s not new; I’m just finally acknowledging it.