8/21 - Sun - New York Mountain Trail to Eiseman Hut

I woke up and told myself that today was the reward for the work that I'd put in throughout the trip. It would be almost entirely roads, there were multiple towns, and only 4300' of climbing One last hut before I was finished. My quad was still sore but was improving and had become less swollen to the point it could almost pass for normal. I kept my long johns on because I would be walking through towns and my legs were still scratched to shit, even if my knee looked better. 

I got rained on steadily for about the last five of the nine miles into Edwards. I've been wet most of the trip and got through Friday and Saturday a lot drier than I was expecting, so I may as well be soaked on the last day. I ate a hunk of pizza and some Cheddar Fries with strawberry milk when I got to a Circle K. I meandered through a shopping center and then jumped on the rec path towards Avon. Even though it was overcast and occasionally drizzly, I was way too hot with my leggings on. The rec path along Highway 6 was out in the open and it took some time to find a place to take my pants off. 

I was on the rec path for 6.4 miles until it ended shortly after I-70. 0.8 mi after the path ended on Highway 6, I reached the Vail Brewing Company and got a beer. Also got a burrito from the Rocky Mountain Taco Truck on the patio. I loved the Alambre filling- carne asada, bacon, cheese, chorizo, onions, and red, yellow, and green bell peppers. The rec path started again after 0.2 mi. It was 3.3 more miles until shopping Centers in West Vail. I wanted a beer to have at Eiseman, so I stopped at Safeway and got an Ecliptic Carina Peach Sour. I didn't need to buy anything for the last ~10 miles, but I wandered around the store for 10-15 mins before grabbing a yellow Gatorade and checking out. They didn’t have Limon Pepino.

It was another quick 1.4 mi on the rec path before I turned onto Red Sandstone Road at about 8100’. The day had gotten nicer and I had completely dried out. Thinking about how I was down to single-digit miles left was surreal. It was a little after 4 pm and I estimated I was down to 9.2 miles to go and one last 3000’ climb. I had developed the same kind of pain that I'd had for the last four days in my right quad on the left. My right leg still hurt but has been looking and feeling better since it swelled up, so I didn't care. 

0.7 mi from I-70, Red Sandstone became Piney Lake Road, then went back to being Red Sandstone Road after another 2.6mi. It was more steady road climbing for just over 3 miles. I had about 900' of climbing and 3.5 mi to go when I hit the last stretch of trail. The Middle Creek Trail was just an old road that had berms put in and was overgrown. Naturally, it was very wet. My feet hadn't been dry for most of the trip, so I thought it was fitting that they end that way. All I would do was laugh. 

I got on to the lower path back to the road at the Middle Creek crossing and had to climb to the upper spar. At East Red Sandstone Road, the trails were done, roads only for the last 1.7m. After a switchback, I started to take the road that looked most driveable, but the correct way was up a steep 80` pitch. The steps leading up to the hut were only another 0.1 mi along the road, and at 7:28 pm, I got to Eiseman. 36 huts, 322.8mi, and 65,790’ of elevation gain over 11 days, 11 hours, and 2 minutes. I drank my beer on the deck and I was done.