After a great blueberry pancake breakfast, I bade Samantha and Steamboat Spring adieu and began traveling south to Leadville, Co. My plan was to visit High Mountain Institute and spend a few days camping in the high Rockies. My plan was thwarted. As I was down shifting into the town of Minturn, just beyond Vail, the cam chain on Lucinda snapped. She popped out of gear and drifted to a resting place just outside of a clothing consignment shop.
To fix her would mean opening up the engine and accruing an expense beyond her worth. Uncertain of myself and of my next steps, I pushed her to the trail head of Grouse Meadow, about 10 minutes from where her pistons fired for the last time. I stashed most of my belongings in the woods near the parking lot, packed what I needed to camp for a few days and took to the hills.
On Monday, July 12th, I will leave Colorado by train and travel eastward. The loss of Lucinda has taken some wind out of my sails and seems to me an end to a marvelous adventure. So much has taken place within a relatively brief period of time and a slow conveyance eastward will allow me to see the country in another way and perhaps, to put the Kid to rest.
