Day 76 – The Lander Dip
Day miles: 12.2
Trip miles: 1497.6
I woke up to a wet tent, but a beautiful morning. Since I couldn’t get my box in South Pass City until 10AM, and since I was only 3 miles away, I slept in a bit and took my time getting ready. The morning sun helped to start the process of drying my tent, but I knew I would need to lay it out in the sun later.
The morning walk to South Pass City (SPC) was pretty easy. There was one rotting, partially destroyed log bridge over a creek that I was convinced was going to collapse under my weight, but it held fast. Not too long after, I reached SPC.
I wasn’t sure what to expect. I sort of thought it might just be the old foundations of a forgotten town, but it was much more. South Pass City was a preserved old gold mining town. It was very well done, and you could visit exhibits in the different houses. Everything was arranged or decorated as it might have been back in the day.
Wandering around the old town took quite some time. There was an old schoolhouse, a general store, at least three saloons, a hotel, and houses of various notable individuals. One example was Esther Morris, who was the first female justice of the peace in the US.
Since there was so much to see, I walked down to the visitor center, which was really just a gift shop. A lady came outside and pointed out an outlet for charging electronics, as well as a place where I could lay my tent out to dry. She also gave me my resupply box.
I set up my power bank and phone to charge, laid out my tent bought two ice creams and a birch beer from the gift shop, and went back to finish checking out the exhibits. If you’re ever in the neighborhood, I highly recommend stopping by. There was a lot of interesting information about gold mining as well.
The hikers I met yesterday at the trail magic (Vista, El Floco, Hendrix) rolled in, and we chatted briefly about the storm last night. Everyone had survived, anyway! A guy named Jee Mac also arrived. I had met him in the lobby of the Econolodge in Rawlins. He had left a day after me! Apparently he hiked some pretty big miles through the basin.
It was getting close to noon, so I left them and began my hike to the road so I could hitch to Lander. I still had about 2.8 miles to go. The trail almost immediately called for us to cross a barbed wire fence, which is not common – usually there is a gate. I did a kind of push-up sun salute yoga-ey move to get under it, then dragged my pack under as well.
It was a bit of bushwhacking and walking in a general direction until I reached a dirt road. I walked this until I hit another fence and realized I needed to head north a bit to get to a cattle gate. From there it was smooth sailing. Wyoming has tons of interconnecting dirt roads and cow trails. The roads frequently fork into twos and threes, and often cross other roads. You definitely have to make sure you’re going in the right direction if the trail is not signed.
I got to highway 28, the road to Lander, somewhere around 12:30. It only took me 15 to 20 minutes to thumb a ride. I could see another hiker coming towards the road in the distance, but they were too far away yet to wait. My ride had a bunch of hunting gear in the truck cab, so it would have been a tight squeeze anyway.
The two guys who gave me a ride were super nice. Lander residents, they had been fishing for trout and scouting for elk. Apparently elk hunting season starts in six weeks. They told me that the Native American (they did not specify which tribe, though I assume it would be tribe specific) name for elk translated into something like forest ghost. They described how quiet and crafty elk were, saying that sometimes they would just see one eye peek out from behind a tree, and then the elk would just vanish. I told them about the elk that bugled for an extended period near my tent in New Mexico. They said that elk have a large library of different sounds. Anyway, hunters are interesting to talk with because they know a lot about the local wildlife.
They dropped me off right in the downtown strip (it’s a little over a mile long) at Wild Iris Outfitters. I picked up bear spray there. A can of bear spray cost $49.99, but totally worth a bit more peace of mind in grizzly country. The brand of spray was called Counter Assault. I loved how specific it was. I could almost picture someone on Saturday Night Live spoofing a commercial for the product. “First, you have the ASSAULT – that’s done by the bear. Then you make a COUNTER ASSAULT whereby you assault back after the bear first assaults using Counter Assault Bear Spray. Mr. Miyagi approved for defense only.”
Bear spray equipped, I walked a few doors down to Gannett Grill for lunch. I had a burger, side salad, chips and salsa/guac, and Dr. Pepper. I ate outside, then moved inside to down more soda and charge my electronics. I later realized that there were outlets outside.
Vista was outside eating with a hiker from Switzerland named Mr. Freeze. I stopped by to say hello on my walk out. My next stop was the local grocery about a half mile down the road. Since I had decided to hike the 160+ miles to Dubois without stopping in Pinedale, I needed to top up my food a little. My resupply box in South Pass City was based on a Pinedale stop.
The grocery had everything I needed. I bought a chicken salad sandwich and downed it there, just getting an early dinner in myself so I could carry 6 days of food that I would not touch until tomorrow.
As I was finishing up my sandwich, Hendrix popped in looking for the bathroom. He was heading back to the trail as well, so we walked out of town and hitched together. It only took us about 25 minutes to get a ride.
Once back on the CDT, I walked with Hendrix, getting to know him a bit. Like Chef in New Mexico, he was also from Bend, Oregon. The evening weather was cool and lovely.
Almost immediately the trail changed. We were climbing up, and presto chango there were trees all over the place. The basin was officially behind us.
We camped as it was getting dark. I think it was the first time I camped by someone else since the New Mexico road walks. I was grateful to be out of the basin, for the kindness of those who gave me rides today, and that Lander was a pretty cool little town. Tomorrow I would really start to get into the Winds – exciting!
Day 77 – Into the Winds
Day miles: 25
Trip miles: 1522.6
I had a good sleep last night, albeit kind of short as I woke up early. I had a feeling the miles would get challenging today and I wanted to get a jump on the day. I made coffee, had some oatmeal, and then headed out as Hendrix was just coming alive.
The morning was quite cool. Wyoming has the potential for big temperature swings. It was the first decently chilly night and morning in a while – the basin, of course, had been warm.
I hiked through more transitional landscape. There was still lots of sagebrush in parts, but I would soon disappear into the forest. I was definitely climbing, working my way up into the Winds. I could see the pale white face of the mountains in the distance, beckoning me over.
I definitely felt the weight of my pack on a few steep climbs, but water was quite abundant now, so I barely carried any all day. That was fantastic!
I ran into a Texan hiker named Blizzard, whom I had not yet met. He told me he had hitched 52 miles past Lander into Riverton just to go to the Dairy Queen there. That’s definitely commitment, and now I know how he got his trail name!
Later in the day I went through a series of blowdowns. It wasn’t too bad, but it definitely slowed me down. I turned off at a junction to take the Cirque of Towers alternate. This is a popular one in the Wind River Range. It goes a bit higher than the regular CDT and is supposed to be quite beautiful.
I made it 4.2 miles into the alternate, which is roughly 20 miles long. Once I got through the blowdowns (which were also from that big Sept. 2020 storm that hit Colorado), the scenery started to get interesting as I walked down into a valley full of lakes and creeks, with towering white cliff walls all around. It was stunning!
Prior to this I met a guy named Lorax. He was working on cutting through some of the blowdowns, and had already made incredible progress with his hand saw. We chatted for a bit, and then I moseyed on. I’m so appreciative of people like him who go above and beyond to help keep the trail a trail!
Today was my first day of fully implementing my bear protocols. I took a break to cook dinner and eat miles before making camp. My food, cookware, and toothpaste are all in Opsaks (special hermetically sealed plastic bags that contain odors), and then I have them in an Ursack (bear chew/claw proof, Kevlar-like material). I tied the Ursack to a tree away from my tent.
I camped in a valley near a rushing creek. I don’t normally camp near water like this, or in valleys if I can help it. I like to avoid areas like this due to wildlife and the inevitable condensation. There were also a million mosquitoes around, but fortunately I only got a handful of bites.
I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of this alternate tomorrow. I think it is just going to continue to reveal beauty. The weather was great today and hopefully will be for the next few days. We shall see!
Day 78 – The Cirque of the Towers
Day miles: 24.7
Trip miles: 1547.3
It’s hard to explain the beauty of the Winds. I can show you pictures and video. I can write about the experience. Nothing will come close to the beauty and scale I experienced. For me, it was the most beautiful and incredible section of the CDT so far. If you only choose one section of this trail to explore, the Winds would be an excellent choice.
Imagine white granite mountains with jagged peaks circling valleys of lush green. The valleys are coated with wildflowers and full of creeks and beautiful, trout-laden, clear blue lakes. White granite boulders are scattered across the ground. The whole scene looks like some kind of film set, or maybe just paradise.
I woke up to a soggy tent from condensation in the little valley. I made coffee and a hot breakfast (3 packets of maple brown sugar oatmeal), then headed out.
I knew the hiking today would be tough, so I kept a decent pace to my walk initially. As I climbed higher on my way out of the lush valley, the forest started to open up a bit. It gradually yielded to white granite boulders, green grass, and wildflowers.
At the end of the valley where I was to climb over a pass, there was a small, beautiful lake with a jagged white peak behind it. It was stunning! Little did I know that this was only the beginning.
The trail was hard to follow, but the direction of travel was not, so I pointed myself towards the pass and headed straight up. It was steep, but evened out a bit when I got up to the actual saddle of the pass. The views were stunning – not just of the valley I had come through, but of what was to come.
Over the pass more dramatic, jagged granite cliffs surrounded a valley of white granite boulders, shimmering lakes, and lush green grass. The rawness of it and the contrast of the colors were what made it so stunning.
A hiker named T-bone passed me at the top of the pass. I picked my way down slowly after him, careful not to fall on the rocks and talus. I had a feeling that the mosquitoes down by the lake were going to be pretty feisty, so I applied some deet before descending.
I hiked along the side of the lake, and as expected, the mosquitoes increased in intensity. Then, I go to a section where I was rock hopping between boulders, and literal CLOUDS of mosquitoes rose from the cracks in the rocks and all around me! I experienced ridiculous swarms of mosquitoes in Colorado in 2019 walking alongside irrigated fields. These clouds were much thicker, and despite my having used deet, the mosquitoes made contact with every part of my body, clothed or otherwise.
I quickly closed my mouth, but immediately got one in my right nostril. I frantically swatted one hand in front of my face as I moved as quickly as possible over the boulders. It was almost comical – a million desperate mosquitoes all determined to take a bite out of me so that they could have a shot at replicating their genetic code.
Thanks to the deet, I didn’t sustain that many bites. Most of what I got were through my permethrin treated shirt. I don’t actually find permethrin to be that effective for more than a day or two. The coating seems to break down quickly. Though I hadn’t washed my clothes since I applied it, mosquitoes were blatantly landing on my shirt and biting me through it. I suppose it could have been much, much worse without it though!
I saw T-bone pull over and start to apply deet. I was glad when I finally got away from the clouds of tiny vampires and back to a more normally horrid level of mosquitoes. Why is it that these beautiful places always have the worst mosquitoes? I wondered whose blood they drank when hikers weren’t around. I pictured a little chipmunk walking by covered in hundreds of mosquitoes, crying a tiny tear. In reality, they probably just laugh at us and enjoy a mosquito-free existence.
The Cirque of the Towers route got progressively more beautiful as I hiked further. The jagged granite cliffs seemed to surround me, which I assume is where the name “Cirque of the Towers” came from. The craggy granite peaks had interesting shapes and housed lake after lake in the valleys I walked through.
I met T-bone’s hiking partner, Happy, and learned that he was from Lincoln, Nebraska and Happy was from Dallas, Texas. I always find it interesting to learn where other hikers are from.
Later at the top of another beautiful pass, I was talking with Happy when I heard someone call out “Hungry Cat!” I stared at the man, unsure of who it was, and then I heard him say “It’s Hot Rod!” It took me a second, but then I remembered meeting Hot Rod and Peaches right after leaving Winter Park, CO on the climb up Mt. Flora. I had not seen them since.
Happy and T-bone knew them both quite well, so we went down to say hello. I learned that Peaches had hurt her knee and they had gone home for 10 days. They had returned to try to hike the highlights of the trail, but her knee was not well enough to continue to hike every mile. I felt bad for Peaches, but was glad that she could still see the highlights. Who knows – I may see them again in Yellowstone!
The four of them were in the thick of catching up, so I pushed on a bit farther. I needed to find a good spot to dry out my tent and quilt from the night’s condensation. I found a huge boulder with plenty of sun, but also shade on the bottom side, and laid out my gear to dry. I sat in the shade and had a snack. I was so hungry. A 6.5 day food carry was tough. Not only could I not really carry as much food as I would like, but it was a long stretch of 25ish mile days without a top up of town food. I could already feel it becoming hard not to eat more than my daily allotment.
After my gear was dry, I walked down to Lonesome Lake. The surrounding peaks juxtaposed with the deep blue water were stunning! There were quite a few section hikers and other folks about. Several people were fly fishing. It’s really hard to convey the scale of it all, and pictures will never do it justice, but I can honestly say it was the most beautiful hiking scenery I have ever experienced.
From Lonesome Lake there is a steep climb up Texas Pass, followed by a steep, scree-filled descent. The scenery does not disappoint though! I really liked Texas Lake and Bob’s Lake on the other side of the pass. They seemed to have fewer mosquitoes and were beautiful places to swim or fish.
I hiked out of the Cirque alternate and back to the main CDT via a very long valley, eventually leaving the majestic towers in the distance. It sprinkled a bit as the evening kicked in. I found a campsite overlooking Raid Lake just in time for sunset.
I fed the mosquitoes while setting up my tent and reflected on my day. I was blown away! I now understood why many people referred to the Winds as the “crown jewel” of the CDT. I felt so grateful to be experiencing it, and to have been able to hike the Cirque route. I wondered what gems tomorrow might bring.
Day 79 – The Blonde
Day miles: 24.7
Trip miles: 1571
It was a beautiful morning overlooking Raid Lake. I had a decent amount of condensation in and on my tent, so I strapped it to the outside of my pack before heading out. I enjoyed a coffee while looking at the early light hitting the water. Sometimes I am surprised in moments like this that I don’t see moose, bears and deer singing kumbaya along the shoreline together. No animals were in sight.
I walked along a relatively flat stretch of trail, the sun creating some vapor as its heat began to evaporate the dew on the ground. I saw a lone palomino horse in a grassy valley and even heard it whinny. I actually mentally, and later verbally, described it as a “blonde one” to hiker Happy. She is from Texas, and quickly inserted “palomino” into my vocabulary. “What do you call a normal brown one then?” I asked. “Chestnut,” she replied. I found this interesting, but I’ll always think of that horse as blonde.
I stopped to dry out my gear and a group of people on horses passed by. It added an extra “Wyoming feel” to the morning. This was where Happy passed me, already 9 miles into her morning. The horse conversation happened later when both T-bone and I caught up with her.
In between, I passed some lakes and crossed a few rivers. When we all three met up in the same place and discussed horse nomenclature, we were all hungry because we were rationing food a bit, for different reasons. We had a pass to climb though, so climb we did.
Unfortunately, when we got over the pass, there was a storm waiting on the other side. It only took one look to know rain was inevitable. Those two found a big fir tree to take a break under, both for lunch and to shelter from the storm. I walked a bit farther and found a nice clump of firs with a rock to sit on in the middle, and dropped my pack there just as a few small hail stones began to fall.
I hurriedly packed away my camera, pulled on my rain gear, and then huddled on the rock under the tree as the hail intensified. Thunder cracked loudly. The hail was pea-sized, but the trees did an amazing job of keeping the bulk of it off of me. The storm lasted about 30 minutes, and then the rain and hail ceased.
I had three small humps to climb over, and then one more big pass to end my day. I managed to make it over two of the small humps before another thunderstorm crashed through. I deployed the same strategy. The universe must have been looking out for me, because I again found a good fir tree with a rock under it, and sat out the next round of hail and rain. This time some of the hail were the size of small marbles, and the lightning and thunder were slightly more intense. I barely got pelted under my tree, thankfully.
That storm lasted another 30 minutes, after which I hurried to get over hump 3. I did so, and then pushed on towards the last big climb of the day: Lester Pass. Another storm was brewing a bit off to the east, but it was big and dark. It started to thunder, but in the direction of the pass I saw nothing but clear light, so I decided to go for it.
As I climbed up towards the pass, the large storm got closer and closer, until I was right in the edge of it. I experience no precipitation, but the thunder was loud and I could see lightning cracking down in the distance. It was very unsettling as I climbed farther away from any tree cover, and the storm seemed to be closing in on me.
The thunder and lightning intensified, though it was largely behind me and off to my right. I tried not to look, and almost ran up the steep trail to the top of the pass. I was outwardly scared, but inwardly calm, if that makes sense. In other words, my “survival” instincts triggered fear, but my inner monologue knew I would be ok. I had found shelter from the other storms that hit me earlier in the day. To me, the light over the pass was like the beacon of the universe telling me to cross to the other side. So I did.
I paused at the top of the pass, breathing heavily and sweating profusely, and looked back at the storm. Someone back there was getting a real lashing! I dropped over the pass and made haste to get back down to tree line. In doing so, I left the storm behind.
I passed a group of hikers with a campfire by a big lake. They were a bit off trail, so I waved to them but did not stop. It was already 8:30pm – I had lost quite a bit of time waiting out storms today.
I didn’t go too far past the lake. I turned west on the Seneca Lake Trail and camped overlooking the larger lake and group of hikers. It was a good spot, though I knew I would have a damp tent in the morning.
Reflecting on the day, I couldn’t believe my luck with the storms. The forest really took me in and protected me today, and the sky ultimately led me to safety. All I had to do was listen to the earth and try not to listen to my drive to walk no matter what. It was a stop and go day that somehow got me to my desired stopping point. I was positioned right before the junction to an alternate called Knapsack Col. I wanted to hike this higher elevation route, but I also knew that tomorrow’s forecast was supposed to be worse than today’s. I decided I would wake up, look at the sky, and make my decision tomorrow. Right now it was time to sleep.
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