SUMMARY:  It was great to be back in the mountains—the clouds this morning were beautiful, reflected in the lakes and cliffs and spires of the dramatic Wind River peaks. Smoke is still very much with us, but the main effect is to soften the light. Since we were above timberline at 10,000 feet or so, it was nice to have the glare reduced.

The trail was often very rocky—ow, were our feet sore at the end of the day, since our poor shoes are just about worn out. But towards the end of the day, we did the big descent down into the Green River canyon. The river starts with a long and loud cascade down from the high peaks, into the valley and then settles down to be a roaring mountain river, with a definitely green tint to the water. We are camped tonight on the only sort of flat place we could find, in quiet woods with the river roaring nearby.

DETAILS:  It seemed a bit dark at 5:20 this morning, but it turned out that the dim light was a combo of heavy overcast plus smoke in the air.  We really wanted to get back to the CDT, so we hurried along the trail.  Other than the smoke (which actually made for a very pretty light effect) it was a beautiful morning.  We passed several lakes, and with no wind, the reflections of clouds/mountains were just breathtaking.  We stopped at Seneca Lake for breakfast and feasted our eyes on the gorgeous view.  Then by 7:45 am, we’d reached the CDT!

We’d really hoped for 20 CDT miles today, but with rugged terrain and a relatively late (7:45 is late!) start, we weren’t sure we’d make it.  The trail was very rough and rocky–trying to “make miles” on that is really tough.  In trying to go as fast as I could, I did have one very hard fall, but managed to pick myself up again and go on, with only  a few bruises.   Fixit also got hurt–he had a run-in with a very hard, sharp branch stub that gave him a very nasty cut on his leg.  But we persevered, doing the best we could.  And the scenery was MAGNIFICENT!  The mountains here rise up in great, dramatic ways–some pointed, some blunt-topped, but all of them massive, and they are right next to us!  I felt as if we were hiking among massive, old giants.

We were above timberline for most of the day–around 10,000 feet, so there were still some snow patches and accompanying snowmelt mud.  There were lakes and ponds everywhere–if it weren’t for the chilly wind blowing, I would have been tempted to go for a swim!  Since we were now up so high, the wildflowers were few, but I’m sure that soon they’ll be gorgeous.  We saw no other people all day, except for 3 guys who almost caught up with us till they stopped at “Fremont Crossing” and 2 forest service guys out “working on trail and surveying the lakes.”

We finally reached the looooong descent to the Green River, and were soon back in forest and meadows (the meadow areas are called “parks” on the map).  There was also a rule we’d heard about that really made us wonder.  It was “No Camping within 200 feet of the Trail”.  That’s ridiculous here!  There is virtually no flat ground except by the trail!  The CDT switchbacks down to the Green River, and guess what?   It really is GREEN, and very roaring and rushing, too.  Hope there is a bridge when we need to cross it–no way would I want to tackle a ford that formidable.  The river canyon is really dramatic–you can see where the river comes rushing and cascading down from the snow way up high above.

Finding a place to camp tonight was not easy, with all the rocks, brush, logs and steep terrain, but we finally located a spot up above the trail (out of sight of the trail anyway, though closer than 200 feet).  We will have the roar of the river to listen to tonight.  Wow, are my feet sore from all the rocky trail today!  My shoes are about done (new ones coming in at Yellowstone, hooray!).  And having the Garmin GPS is great–it guided us today when at one point we were not sure where to go.  Technically we are in grizz country now, but we were so tired that we just said, “Phooey on trying to hang anything” and we are just sleeping with our food, as usual.