Day 69 – The Near Bounce
Day miles: 19
Trip miles: 1324.3
I tried to sleep in since the post office didn’t open until 8:30. The light and increased road traffic, however, had me up a bit early. It was fine – I knew I had stuff to do.
I walked over to the gas station and purchased two breakfast sandwiches and a coffee. I then took those back to the RV park where I sat in the laundry building, charged my phone, and devoured my vittles.
When I was done, I walked the mile down to the post office and picked up my resupply box. At this point, the tracking number showed my package still in transit. I mentioned this to the ladies working there, and they kindly said they would bounce the box up to Rawlins for me when it arrived. Encampment had the friendliest post office I have ever visited!
I left and walked a mile back to the RV park to organize my food, as well as spray my clothes with the permethrin from my resupply box. Unfortunately a flock of birds enjoyed the picnic table I was drying everything on as much as I did, and pooped on some of my garments before I realized I needed to find another table to dry them on. Laundry is for the birds! Sorry. I had to.
Once I had gotten myself organized and ready to head out, I got a last minute email that my shoes had been delivered! I was excited and quickly called the post to make sure they didn’t bounce them forward. According to some other hikers, the post office workers had been trying to ask around so they could contact me. It was all very sweet and worked out in the end.
I walked the mile back to the post office, but this time with all of my gear. I needed to go that way to hitch out of town anyway. I swapped out my old shoes for the new pair, which felt amazing. Then it was time to hitch.
I walked to the end of town and waited. Highway 70 didn’t have a lot of traffic, but I was in a good spot. It took me over an hour to find a ride. It was hot out, and while I had shade, I did not have a bathroom. I had chugged a bunch of water at the RV park, and after a while I needed to pee.
There was no where to go, so I pranced around a bit in my own adult version of the pee pee dance, then I headed back down the street. The only place that seemed to be open was a liquor store, so I ducked in and asked the owner if I could use his restroom. “You’re not going to take a bath in there are you?” The owner asked. Clearly he’d had a prior experience in that regard. I replied, “No, I’m just a guy in his 40s who has to pee and can’t hold it.” That seemed to assuage all fears, and he let me pray to his porcelain goddess.
I returned to work my corner and finally got a ride from a lovely woman named Susan from Denver. She clearly understood hikers because she asked me if I wanted to be dropped off after the short road walk was over, or if I was trying to achieve continuous footsteps. I said the latter, so she dropped me where I had hitched into town.
I was feeling pretty lucky at this point. The rest of the day was just hiking over hills and through valleys. I noticed some cactus today on the trail! I think soon I will have come full circle and the terrain will look like the desert again.
I walked later into the evening just trying to find a decent camp spot. I couldn’t believe I hiked 19 miles; it felt more like 14 or 15. I was definitely tired though and ready to eat and sleep.
I was grateful for my luck with the shoes, the kind people of Encampment, and the ride from Susan today. I’m excited to see how the terrain changes tomorrow as I get deeper into Wyoming!
Day 70 – The Push
Day miles: 38.2
Trip miles: 1362.5
Today was a new personal mileage record for me. I finished my day at about 8:30PM. I probably would have walked enough to get my first 40 mile day in, but I saw a mass of Grinch clouds and thought I was going to get crushed by a storm. The wind was picking up, and although I had no real cover, I thought it was a good idea to get my tent set up and batten down the hatches. I did…and then nothing came of the Grinch clouds.
If I had been in Colorado, I would have taken a beating for sure! Dark clouds like that are a guaranteed storm in CO. But in the Wyoming basin, maybe not? I guess I will see; that was only one data point. But let me rewind to the beginning of the day. The end was rather anticlimactic – no storm and I fell asleep hard.
I woke up early to some bird song and a sleepy forest trying to open its eyes. I was hiking by twenty past six. It took me about 10 or 15 minutes to clear the forest, and I didn’t walk through trees again (and probably won’t until I get through the basin).
All of a sudden, I was in the high desert again. Sagebrush was the dominant shrub and cactus were all about. Prairie dogs replaced pika and rattlesnakes are back in style (though I haven’t seen one yet, thankfully). Wispy, shin-high strands of grass sprouted from dry, cracked earth. The sweet smells of high elevation were replaced by the mixed scent of dust and sage. The Divide is nothing if not a variety of extremes.
I enjoyed the morning light dancing over the last few hills before I landed on a dirt road. I arrived at the first water source of the day about 9 or 10 miles in. It was called Savory Creek. The water was indeed cold and clear, and I collected it from beneath a bridge with swallow nests on the underside. It was a beautiful little spot.
The day was already hot. When I got to the creek, I saw two hikers I had met in Encampment, Steelhead and Thighclops, leaving the scene. I met another hiker, Info, at the stream. He and I discussed the upcoming water supply situation. I realized that there was a 28 to 35 mile water carry coming up, depending on the quality and availability of one source. Info pointed out that there was an alternate route connecting the trail to highway 71 earlier and walking the road. It required carrying water. But shaved approximately 15 miles off the distance to Rawlins.
Info left and I sat drinking water and considering my options. I ultimately decided to take the alternate route and walk more of the road. I knew I could carry enough water for that, and it put me in Rawlins a day early. The scenery was going to be roughly the same either way now that things had flattened out. I grabbed just under 5 liters of water and headed out.
I worked my way over to the road via dirt roads on BLM land. It was a windy day, and while that was a little annoying at times, I was grateful for it because I would have been burning up otherwise. It was hot!
I came across two instances of trail magic in the road! Both were coolers full of cold water and soft drinks. That was fantastic and really helped me to conserve my water supply.
The road didn’t have much traffic, so it wasn’t too bad if a walk. And…I was wearing new shoes! I still cant believe my luck that they made it to Encampment. It all worked out great in the end, and just in time to keep my feet comfy during the road walk.
When the road and CDT were once again parallel, I hopped back on the official route. It was clear that most hikers were taking just the road. There were no real tracks and hardly any actual trail – just sagebrush, cactus, and grass in the various washes that I had to cross. It slowed me down a bit, but only for about 3 miles. After that, it was just a series of dirt jeep roads.
I finished the day climbing up and over a tall mesa that I had been looking at for much of the day. It was quite impressive! While the view from the top was incredible, the Grinch clouds were on the other side, and the wind was strong at the top.
You already know how that story ends; all is well that ends well. I was quite tired, less so from the amount of miles I hiked and more from carrying a lot of water weight all day. I was grateful for the trail magic, wind, and the strength of my legs today. Tomorrow I will already be in Rawlins!
Day 71 – Rawlins
Day miles: 7.9
Trip miles: 1370.4
I woke up early with an efficiency flow in mind for my town activities. I typically have list of things I need to accomplish during a town stop, and then I look at where all of the places I need to go are. This largely dictates where I try to stay, and how I will organize my route through town. I am alway trying to be as efficient as possible. Town chores always take longer than expected, and I try to give myself ample time to relax and, of course, catch up on my writing.
I was at the post office 5 minutes before it opened at 8. It was in the center of town, but I would stay closer to the Walmart in east Rawlins. I then walked to Penny’s Diner. Stormy had texted me a week prior to tell me about Penny’s. It’s an old, retro style diner with a counter and some booths. You can watch the cook make your order at the open grill area behind the counter. I had a breakfast skillet with toast, coffee, and a cinnamon bun. It was divine!
I met two hikers there – Kickback and Kite. Kickback said he recognized my hat because he had watched a few of my YouTube videos. I’m always surprised when I hear that (not that it happens often).
I left Penny’s and went to Walmart to resupply. I still had a post office box strapped to the top of my pack, so it was not hard to figure out that I was a hiker…. After that errand, I headed to the Econolodge where I had booked a room.
My room wasn’t ready, but I was able to get my laundry done while I waited. I met a hiker named Jeemac in the lobby. He was a crypto trader from the Bay Area and seemed like a great guy.
Once my room was ready, I set about getting clean and organized. I went to the grocery store to get a healthy, late lunch. I ate an entire bag of salad! Later in the evening I had pizza and ice cream to balance out the salad.
Overall it was a good and productive town day. Rawlins seems to be a really friendly gateway community. I’m going to try and get going early tomorrow, but I need to stop by the post office. I swapped out my Zpacks food bag for my Ursack. It’s a little early, but there are grizzly bears in northern Wyoming, so I am taking some extra precautions with regards to food storage. My last task is to try not to stay up too late tonight!
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