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.

SUMMARY:  We woke to skies that were gray with smoke and as the sun rose, it was an orange ball in the sky. Breakfast was wonderful—all the Chalmer House guests sit at the big dining room table and enjoy great food and conversation. We had to tear ourselves away for “chore time”.

My job was counting food to see what we had, then get more if needed, and visit the ranger station to learn all I could about fire closures on the CDT. The rangers were great at explaining the closures, and hopeful that the trail will reopen in a day or two.

Meanwhile, Bill’s job was to get us a GPS and load it with waypoints. Hooray—he got one! After checking out of Chalmer’s, we went off and got a cell phone, had lunch, and hitched 2 rides to the trailhead, ready to get back to the CDT. Despite the very smoky conditions, there were plenty of hikers! The CDT access trail so far is just beautiful—lots of lakes of all sizes, meadows, dramatic cliffs and canyons, and (very indistinct with so much smoke) the impressive peaks of the Wind River Mountains.

We are camped at 10,000 feet, and should be back on the CDT early tomorrow.

DETAILS:   We were so tired last night that we just collapsed, and I didn’t write anything in my journal.  So this morning I lazed about in bed and did last night’s journalling before we got up and went downstairs for the amazing Chalmer House breakfast.  Wow!  They actually serve in “courses”–first yogurt & fruit & granola, then muffins, pancakes and sausages.  Coffee and juice in abundance, too!  We all sat around the big dining room table and it was great to meet the other guests–sort of like joining a large family!  We also learned about Chalmer House–it’s the oldest continually operating hotel/B & B in Wyoming!   The downstairs part is built of logs–the upstairs is frame, and it was added later.  One of the ladies even insisted on giving us her phone number in case we needed a ride.

Then it was chore time.  Fixit headed out to find a GPS, and I counted our food–we need enough for 4 days.  I was also concerned about reports we’ve been hearing about “the CDT is closed”, so I went to the ranger station to find out.  The rangers were very helpful–they showed me the exact location of the fire and said the trail should reopen in a day or two, since the fire is burning AWAY from it.  They said there would be signs posted on the trail itself with the latest info, once we get closer to where the fire is.  On the way back to Chalmers, I stopped and got some more food, and had 45 minutes left before checkout time to get everything loaded into the packs and ready to go.

Meanwhile, Fixit had found the sporting goods store in Pinedale and bought a Garmin like the one Elusive had.  He had the guy at the store load it with waypoints for Bear Survey and for Ley maps.  And it clips onto his pack shoulder strap with a carabiner, so it’s quick and easy to get at.  We left Chalmers and found a cell phone place, got a cell phone and set up service for it.  We called our friend who mails our resupply packages, to let him know our new phone number, and after lunch, we started trying to hitch a ride to the CDT access trail.  It wasn’t easy at first, but finally a local rancher spotted us and gave us a ride partway up, as far as a ski resort (I got to share the back seat with his horse’s saddle!).  Then a sweet older couple in an RV gave us a ride the rest of the way to Elkhart Park trailhead.

Elkhart Park is HUGE!   And it is BUSY!   There were hikers and cars everywhere!  I talked to 3 young guys and was able to look at their maps to familarize myself with the trail back to the CDT.  Fixit likes to just “wing it” and have adventures where you don’t know what’s going to happen, but if I have a chance, I like to find out as much as I can, first!

So at last we were headed back to the trail, “armed” with a GPS.  The access trail is very nice, and also very busy–we met lots of hikers and backpackers.  When we stopped for a Snickers break, along came Nips, so we filled him in on what to expect at the trailhead and in Pinedale, and about the fire closure.  He is very tired, and was looking forward to being in town for a rest.  He said that Squirrel and Early Bird were in Pinedale yesterday, and headed out this morning.

Along the way, the air was very smoky, and that obscured the big views, but the closeup scenery was wonderful–many lakes of all sizes, dramatic canyons, huge rocks and cliffs, green forests….and best of all, no worries about losing the trail!  If only this could last….but alas, J. Ley and others warn that up ahead, the CDT is hard to follow.  Well, we have a Garmin…hopefully we’ll make it through!   Tonight we have a very nice campsite in the trees.  Tomorrow we will be entering “grizz country”  (grizzly bear).  Yikes!

SUMMARY:  We woke up to clear (no clouds) but smokey skies, and very determinedly set off to find the CDT (praying a lot!) We got back to the area where the trail disappeared, and started out, bushwhacking, on a route that looked like it might work. Surprise! A short time later, there was the CDT! We cheered and hurried on.

But a little while later the trail totally disappeared again. We searched in vain. Back to bushwhacking with a compass…then hooray—rock ducks in tall grass! We followed them to the edge of what we hoped was Sedgwick Meadow, where there was supposed to be a trail to a road that would get us off the mountain. Yes! There was the trail!

We followed the trail down to a dirt road, then hitched a ride down to the highway, and roadwalked to Pinedale. It was hot and windy and like being back in the desert again, but we finally made it. We dare not continue on the CDT without a GPS.

DETAILS:  We got up to a somewhat smokey but clear morning–all of last night’s clouds had vanished, and we were determined to find the CDT again!  Fixit was hoping to be able to continue on, once we found the trail again, but I was thinking, “If we can just find Sedgwick Meadow, on the other side of it is a trail that would take us off the mountain, and then we can just roadwalk to Pinedale.”  I  could not see how we could manage any longer without a GPS–we have lost so much time already by not knowing where we are.

Last night I spent some time studying the maps, and came up with a way to bushwhack till we could intercept another trail that could take us back to the CDT…hopefully.  So we hiked back to where we lost the trail yesterday, then took out the compass and started the bushwhack.  Wow!  Only 15 minutes later, we found the trail!  And it was the CDT, complete with an emblem on a tree!   We cheered and rejoiced!

We were able to hike right along for awhile, but alas!  Once again, the trail tread suddenly did its vanishing act, in a forested area.  We searched and searched for it…no luck.  So it was back to bushwhacking with the compass, figuring that since Sedgwick Meadow was so large, we’d eventually run into it.  After awhile, we reached a rather damp and grassy area in the forest and surprise!   A big rock duck!  And then another, and another!  We followed them for a ways, hoping they might be CDT.

The rock ducks led us to the edge of a very large meadow.  Was it Sedgwick?  We did not know, but the confirmation would be if we could find a trail running along the other side of it.  We hurried across (not easy–the ground was very uneven) and yes!!  There was a very nice trail!

But now we had a very big decision to make.  Fixit wanted to continue hunting for the CDT, since we knew it did cross the trail we were standing on.  I wanted to turn off and head for the highway and get a GPS, ASAP.  I said to Fixit, “I want to get back on the CDT, too!   But this is crazy!  Look how many times we have lost the trail in just the last few days!  And we don’t even know where it is right now!”  So in the end, we decided to roadwalk to Pinedale instead of continuing to play hide ‘n seek with the trail in the forest.

We followed the trail down to the road that goes to Big Sandy Lodge, and started walking toward the highway, hoping for a ride eventually.  Awhile later, a car came along–it was a photographer heading home from a backpack trip.  He gave us a ride to the highway, and from there we started the walk to Pinedale, stopping off along the way to eat at a restaurant.   It was like being in the Great Divide Desert again–sagebrush and wind and heat.  There were osprey nests on platforms along the highway, and every time we passed one of them, the ospreys began circling overhead and “yelling” at us.

Finally, very late in the day, we got to the outskirts of Pinedale and began looking for someplace to stay.  But to our dismay, every motel was full, booked up by “the oil guys” (fracking crews).  We are glad that “the oil guys” are helping the local economy, but bummer for us–and two of the motels listed in Yogi’s town guide were closed.  But we finally were able to get a room at the Chalmer House B & B.  The staff there were very welcoming and kind, but we felt very out of place, all dusty and stinky and grungy from the trail.  There was no way to wash our clothes, except for our socks, which I did in the bathroom sink.   We had “The Red Room”, where William Henry Jackson had stayed.  He was a photographer in the West of the 1870’s, and lived all the way to the 1950’s.  Quite a guy!

Once we were cleaned up, we ate at the nearby Chinese restaurant, then went back to the Red Room and collapsed.  Tomorrow we will get a GPS!  And a phone, too.

SUMMARY:  “Back to the PCT!” was our goal this morning, and shortly after breakfast, hooray—there it was. We  were hiking very happily along a very nice trail, when we met none other than Elusive, who is 72. He was very glad to see us and knew who we were, but he had bad news. “This isn’t the CDT. We’re on the wrong trail.” He was using his Garmin GPS to help him get back on the CDT. We’d all missed a key turnoff junction.

Fixit went to get out Guthook so he could help navigate, and that’s when we discovered our cell phone was gone—it must have fallen out of  his pocket yesterday. So now we have no GPS, and this afternoon we lost the trail again and without GPS, we could not find it. So we went back (I hate going backwards) till we knew for sure we were on the CDT, and now we are hoping for someone to come along to be our guide (Elusive had left, and I stupidly did not think to ask him). We are praying about what to do.  This is getting ridiculous.

DETAILS:  Shortly after breakfast, we were back on the CDT.  Not sure what we will do about a whole day lost.  I thought to myself, “At this rate, we’ll be needing to beg food from other hikers pretty soon.”  There were some pretty lakes and lily ponds along the trail, and the lilies were blooming, which was very cheering!  And the trail tread was very nice (just dirt, no rocks) so we were sailing along, crossing creeks and thinking, “We’ll get some good miles today!”  Not long after we’d crossed a creek, and were hiking along admiring the pretty meadow and forest, we spotted a hiker coming toward us.  It was an older guy, and as he came up, he said, “You must be Fixit and 3rd Monty!  I’m Elusive, and I’ve been wanting to meet you!”  Well, we had heard a lot about him, too, from the other hikers, so we were very glad to see him.  But Elusive continued.  “I’ve got bad news, though.  This is NOT the CDT.”  Turned out he (and we) had missed a key turn, and he had hiked all the way out to a trailhead parking lot before he realized his mistake, and was now headed back.

Elusive got out his Garmin GPS and Fixit went to get out our cellphone with Guthook, and that’s when he made the awful discovery that the cellphone is gone.  It must have somehow fallen out of his pocket or been left behind somewhere yesterday when we were trying to find the Ley Red Route.  But Elusive had the Bear Creek Survey waypoints on his Garmin, and by using those, he was able to find the CDT again (after a bit of bushwhacking in the woods).  We were very glad to “track” along with him!

At 11:00, Elusive stopped to eat lunch by a pretty little creek, but we pushed on.  He caught up with us again when we stopped to eat, and talked with him a bit more.  Sounds like he’s had a very adventurous life–serving in the Peace Corps, plus living on a boat for 3 years.  He commented that there should be a special group called “Triple Crown at age 70 and Up” for guys who have thruhiked all 3 trails at a minimum age of 70.  He and Fixit would qualify, if Fixit does the AT someday.  He (Elusive) plans to do the PCT next year, which would be his Triple Crown.

While we were talking, it crossed my mind to ask him if he would mind serving as our guide till we can get to the turnoff to Pinedale, since we now have no Guthook and no phone.  At Pinedale, we could probably get replacements.  But I didn’t do it.  Stupid me. Very stupid.  Off went Elusive and a little while later we finished up lunch and headed out, too.  I was watching the trail like a hawk, determined NOT to lose it again, and everything was going great, till at the top of a little hill, in thick forest, the trail just stopped.  Fixit and I hunted and hunted, trying to find it.  No luck.  So we turned back (again!!) and walked until we were sure we were on the CDT.  Then Fixit left his pack with me and walked “forward” again, determined to check every possible “turnoff” we might have somehow missed.  I stayed with the packs and prayed like crazy for another hiker to come along, somebody with GPS, so we could follow them until the Pinedale turnoff.

Fixit came sadly back.  He had had no luck finding anything.  So there went an entire afternoon, wasted.  All we could do was camp right by the trail, determined to ask anyone who came along for help with navigating.  Once I was in my sleeping bag, I studied the maps very intensively, and thought about the landmarks we’d been able to see (very few; the forest is too thick here to see much) and picked out a possible crosscountry route we could try tomorrow. If I’m right, hopefully we will intersect the trail and find it again.  So it’s back to “Lord, You know where we are.  Please help us.”  We’re not in any danger–if we really did have to bail out, we could just head west and hit the highway again.  But we really want to find the trail.  And if I am right, tomorrow morning, we could reach a dirt road that would take us down to the highway, so we could roadwalk in to Pinedale, if we need to.  We will see.

SUMMARY: Looking at our maps, we thought this would be “Cirque of the Towers Day” — we planned to follow a Ley alternative route to get there. At first it went well; we were hiking on nice trail in a magnificent valley with towering rock spires, a beautiful river, green grass, wildflowers…but at the end of the valley, the trail faded and stopped.

“No problem” we thought. “The map says follow the creek and then up the mountainside on the north side of the lake where the creek starts.” But no, there was nothing but an impossibly steep wall there–no trail. We spent the rest of the day searching—no trail. So we finally gave up and headed sadly back. What a magnificent valley—but we wasted a whole day.

DETAILS:  When we got up this morning, we figured it wouldn’t take long to hike the couple of miles to the turnoff junction for Ley’s red route to Cirque of the Towers.  Well, those were two tough, rough, steep miles that took longer than we planned.  I actually prefer uphills–downhills on rough trail are really hard for me.  But finally we reached Little Sandy creek and found the junction (it even had a sign!).  We happily turned right and soon reached another key junction, also marked with a sign.  One trail went to Big Sandy Lake, and the other trail was the Ley route.

As we walked along “our” trail, we did get nice views of Little Sandy Lake down below (actually, it’s pretty big–not sure why they call it “little”??)  Then we reached a spectacularly beautiful valley with amazing rock towers and spires.  “Wow!” we said to each other, “This is almost as good as Cirque of the Towers, except it’s not a cirque!”   The trail continued on up the valley, following a creek.  The wildflowers were gorgeous, and there were huge boulders and rocks with layers in them that were bent and twisted.  Fixit and I walked along oohing and ahhing.  It was amazing.

But the valley came to an end with sheer walls all around, and the nice trail disappeared.  At first this didn’t worry us–we’ve sort of gotten used to the idea that the CDT does this–and a look at our maps was very reassuring.  All we had to do was follow the creek up to its source (a lake) and then from the north side of the lake, the trail would switchback up to the top of the ridge and down the other side.

But when we got to the lake, we found that the north side was an impossibly steep wall, with no sign of a trail.  Hmmm.  Out came the maps again, and we thought, “Maybe the trail goes up that canyon near the lake?  It is sort of on the north side, sort of.”  So we climbed up the canyon to have a look.  The end of the canyon was another very steep wall with no sign of trail.  So we decided that Fixit would climb up it to the top and look around.  If he spotted the route, he would signal to me by waving his trek poles, and at that point, I would climb up, too.  If he couldn’t find it, he would just come back down.

Fixit was gone for quite awhile.  He did reach the top, but then disappeared (to look around, I hoped!)  I waited and waited and waited, praying he would be safe and would be able to find out where to go.  I tried to keep my mind occupied by looking at the spectacular view back down the valley.  But finally Fixit reappeared and started coming down.  Oh no.  That meant no way through.  When he reached the spot where I was, he said, “I couldn’t see any sign of trail or route or anything, and going down the other side would be more than I think you could handle.  It’s pretty scary-looking.”

So very sadly, we turned and started back down to the valley below.  It was about 5:00 by the time we were on the valley floor again.  Soon we found the trail and started heading back.  Awhile later, we met Stop ‘n Go and two other guys heading up.  We told them what had happened to us, but they decided to go for it anyway.  Hope they make it!  They are all young strong guys, so I figure they will.

Now we are camped partway back to the main trail, with almost an entire day of hiking wasted.  Megabummer.  Now we won’t be able to see Cirque of the Towers–we’ll have to hike as fast as we can, with no side trips.  But that valley we went through today was magnificent, and we are grateful we could see it!

SUMMARY:  Earlier this morning, our CDT “trail” was actually dirt roads, and it kept switching from one road to another, so we had to be careful. Finally it was back to trail, which was great, except for all the blowdowns (trees fallen across the trail). So many of the trees are dead that this is a real problem.

But then, in the distance up ahead, we heard a lovely sound—chain saws! And finally we caught up with the team–horses waiting patiently, loaded with equipment, then ladies clearing the trail of cut logs and debris, and finally (up front) the men with their chain saws, doing the cutting.

Everybody was having fun, and we were mega-glad to see them! After we passed, it was back to blowdowns again. Well, tomorrow maybe not–we’ll be up above timberline.

DETAILS: It was actually warmish last night and this morning–no shivering to get dressed!  We were (for awhile) still on dirt roads, which is confusing when you get to a junction with another dirt road, and don’t know which one is the CDT, because there is no sign to guide you.  But we are back in the mountains for sure now–trees, creeks, cliffs, even some snow when we look UP just a bit!

Finally we were back on TRAIL, which is nice because it’s less confusing (no “mystery junctions”) but not so nice when it is blocked by a bunch of blowdowns.  Because of all the dead trees, what was once probably just a few blowdowns per year has become a major problem.  It is no fun when you are hiking to constantly have to face a giant mass of “pickup sticks” and try to figure out how to get around/over/under them.  But then we came to a section where obviously somebody had been working on the trail–there were a lot of freshly cut blowdown trees, and the trail was clear.  Then we came upon a “horse group”–3 people, 3 horses and 2 pack mules, packing CHAIN SAWS!  All right!  When the 3 horse people saw us, they said, “Are you going to Canada?” (Turned out Bambi passed them not long ago, and told them we were behind him.)  When we said, “Yes!” they told us, “Well, we’ll try to clear the trail for you guys!”  We were hiking along as quickly as we could, hoping for 20 miles today despite the constant delays from the blowdowns earlier.

On the east side of the trail, we had views of the very impressive Wind River mountains (including some snow), and to the west, we could see glimpses of desert far below.  We are so glad to be done with the desert!   We were walking through lovely meadows and rockhopping over streams, when in the distance, we heard a wonderful sound–chain saws at work!  Another trail crew!  We finally caught up to them, and they were quite a well-oiled team.  First we met the horses, lounging in the shade, but with their packs still on.  Then we met a crew of ladies who were pushing and pulling  and throwing cut pieces of logs and branches off the trail, then finally we got to the “point men”–the guys with chain saws, attacking the blowdowns.  They are all volunteers, and they said they are really having fun!  We thanked them very fervently, because the last section of trail has been such a pleasure to walk on due to all the work they’ve done.

But once we passed the chain saws, sigh….it was back to wrassling with blowdowns.  We reached a wilderness/hiker register, and discovered that 4 other CDT hikers went through earlier today.  When we stopped to eat, another CDT hiker came by–Easy Strider, so that makes a total of 7 of us nearby to each other on the trail.   Easy Strider said that in the storm yesterday, he was at South Pass City with his resupply box contents and pack contents all spread out on the grass.  The storm hit so hard and so fast that he was not expecting it, and a bunch of his stuff got pretty messed up.   But he (and we) are really enjoying the awesome mountain scenery we are in now, and everybody (including us) is making plans for going to see the famous Cirque of the Towers tomorrow.

The only bummer today was a hiker (not a CDT hiker) out with a very untrained dog that acted like it wanted to eat Fixit.  Stupid dog…even stupider owner, taking such an animal out on the trail.  We are not dog fans, and this is one of the reasons why we are not.

But we are very excited about getting to Cirque of the Towers tomorrow!

SUMMARY:  Today was like a CDT “collage” for us.

Piece 1 – Breakfast on the deck (surprise! We weren’t expecting it) provided by Mrs. “Wild Bill”. She told us about what it was like to live year round in Atlantic City.

Piece 2 – Second breakfast (after getting our packs reorganized and ready) at the Miner’s Grubstake. Found out that Laurel, the manager, used to live in San Francisco. Great Conversation. Conclusion: Staying in Atlantic City is WAY better than hitching into Lander.

Piece 3 – Visiting beautifully preserved and restored old mining town of South Pass City. Could spend all day there, easily!

Piece 4 – Lost the trail—took 3 tries and a lot of frustration.

Piece 5 – Weather! While we were trying to find the trail, black clouds and wind so fierce I could hardly stand up came racing in. Rain, too. Oh great!

Piece 6 – Finally the weather cleared, the trail climbed out of the desert, and we are back in the mountains, with trees and creeks! All that in one day!

DETAILS:    Well, in our cozy cabin at Wild Bill’s, we could not hear the party over at Miner’s Grubstake, so we slept well, and in fact, slept in till 7 am!!  When Fixit went outside, he was spotted by Mrs. Wild Bill, who told us she would have breakfast ready for us on the deck, very soon.  Breakfast??  We didn’t know that was part of the deal!  Nice!  And that was the beginning of what I can only call a “CDT Collage Day”, because we got a little bit of everything we’ve been experiencing out here, plus some, all in one day.

Collage piece #1  So Fixit and I had a very civilized breakfast–we were clean and rested, and sitting in very comfortable chairs on Wild Bill’s house deck, with great views, on a lovely morning with lots of clouds in the sky, so it wasn’t too hot.  And the breakfast was great–scrambled eggs, muffins, fruit, coffee, oj.  We had fun eating, watching the hummingbirds at their feeder, and talking to Mrs. Wild Bill, who told us what it’s like to live here year round.  She said Wild Bill does a lot of gunsmithing, he makes custom knives and he builds cabins for the ranchers–in fact he has one under construction right now.  He builds each cabin on a trailer, then tows it out to the ranch, sets it on a prepared foundation, and there it is!  We asked her about what it was like in winter.  “Very peaceful” she said.  “We really like the winter.  Most people in town leave, but we stay, and we really like it.”

Collage piece #2   Fixit and I loaded up our packs and walked over to the Miner’s Grubstake for a SECOND breakfast.  Yum!  Laurel, who runs the restaurant, was there.  She said the party last night went till way late.  “Good thing you were over at Bill’s,”  she said.  We ate and ate and talked to her at bit–turns out that she used to live in the San Francisco Bay Area (where we’re from).  Wow, amazing to meet someone from our “back home”.  We are so glad we came here to Atlantic City–some of the hikers who go to Lander dismiss it rather condescendingly with “Oh, it’s just a rundown town with a bar and some food”–but we found friendly, downhome folks and a nice place to stay.  No need to go through the bother of hitching, then finding a motel and eating at McD’s, where nobody knows you and nobody cares.  We love these tiny mountain towns with REAL people in them.

Collage piece #3   Then we walked 4 miles over to South Pass City, which is a beautifully preserved/restored old mining town, where the whole thing is basically a museum.  There is no place to stay or to get food, so we are VERY glad we listened to the bikers and went to Atlantic City.  But seriously, I could easily have spent the whole rest of the day here, looking at everything.  The highlight for me was the hotel–each bedroom was furnished, and then set up to represent different kinds of travellers, as if the person staying in the room had just stepped out for a minute.  There was a little creek running through town, and a bunch of kids were there, trying their hand at panning for gold.  Our resupply box was waiting for us in the office–heeeeavy with 7 days of food, to get us (hopefully) all the way through the Wind River Mountains just ahead.  Most of the hikers plan to detour to Pinedale, halfway through the Winds, so they don’t have to deal with heavy packs.  Maybe we are crazy, but we will try to make it through–that’s what we did on the PCT in the Sierras.  We did see Early Bird and Squirrel at South Pass City–they were amazed to see us, thinking we were way behind them by now.

Collage piece #4   It was well on into the afternoon before we got back on the CDT.  Fixit is not as thrilled as I am about “old stuff”, so he basically took a nap in the shade while I was running around looking at all the old buildings.  Ugh, our packs were heavy.  We found a CDT post (hooray) but a short time later, we were back to “Where did the trail go??”  We ended up walking along random roads, crawling under fences, trying and trying to find our route.

Collage piece #5   Meanwhile, black clouds were heading towards us, and the wind was growing fiercer till it got to the point where I could not walk at all, but could only plant my trek poles and my feet and brace myself, trying not to get blown over.  It was crazy wild.  And all this time, we were up on a bare ridge, still playing “Where’s the trail?”  Soon I could actually smell rain on the fierce wind, and a few minutes later, we were being pelted by a downpour that actually HURT, it was hitting us so hard.  This continued for awhile.

Collage piece #6  Finally the black clouds, wind and rain moved away, and after 3 “goes” with Guthook, we found the trail!  The sun started to come out, the trail was nice and clear and followable, and the scenery was very pretty–trees!  Rock formations!  Creeks with water!  By the time we stopped to camp, it had turned into a warm and beautiful evening.  While we were setting up, Bambi passed us–he had also passed us in the desert before Atlantic City, but had gone into Lander.  Now he’s back on the trail.  It’s so peaceful here, and we are looking forward to the Winds.  Hopefully, since they are so popular, it will be nice trail there.

SUMMARY:  We spent the morning today walking the pioneer trail—the California Trail and the Oregon Trail were still together. The pioneers described the scenery as being like a great sea of grey-green, undulating in great billows, with rocky islands here and there. Yes!  That’s exactly what it looks like. Their goal at this point was the Sweet-Water River, and that was our goal, too. We cheered when we saw it—a beautiful blue river winding among green meadows and trees.

After lunch, by the river, we headed for Atlantic City—several bikers we met said “Great food, and you can stay for free in a big teepee”. Well, due to a loud, rowdy party at the saloon next to the teepee,  we went to Wild Bill’s Guns & Ammo and rented a nice, quiet cabin instead.

DETAILS:  A good night’s sleep, and we feel WAY better this morning!  Actually, it’s like that pretty much every morning–we go to bed at night with sore feet, sore shoulders, sore hips….and then wake up feeling fine.  And for much of this morning, we felt like we were on a “living history” trek, following the same route the pioneers did.  At first it was a combo of Oregon Trail and California Trail, but finally the Oregon Trail split off and went on its own.  How do we know?  Because there are cement posts with the trail names on them along the way!  The pioneers described this land as being like a great, gray-green, undulating “sea” with islands of rock here and there.  Well, it hasn’t changed!  And another fascinating note is that the whole ground is covered with many-colored bits of flat rock, and the gray-green sagebrush is very dwarf and low.

Fixit and I had fun talking about the pioneers as we walked along, and we tried hard to imagine the huge herds of bison that once roamed this area.  Even though it looks rather barren, I could not help but think that in a way this land is also beautiful, sort of like a giant abstract watercolor painting.

The morning was very cool and pleasant till about 9:30, and then it really started heating up.  Sure enough, right on schedule at 11:00, the wind came up, and blew fiercely for the rest of the day.  Typically it dies down around 6:00 pm.  Wind or no wind, we pushed pretty hard, because our goal was to have lunch at the famous Sweetwater River.  And it did not disappoint!  What a welcome sight–blue water winding through green grass and shady trees, in the middle of a desert!  We had thought about getting water there, too, but there were so many cows around that we decided, “Forget it–only 11 more miles and we’ll be in town.  We can survive.”  So we sat in the shade under the bridge and watched fish jumping in the water while we ate our lunch.  It was tempting to jump into the river ourselves–it was such a hot day–but we now had set our sights on reaching Atlantic City by tonight.  Several bicyclists we met told us “Go to Atlantic City–there’s a great saloon/restaurant, and you can stay in their big teepee outside for free.”  So that’s our plan.

When we crossed the river on the road bridge, we soon reached a ROAD sign about Atlantic City.  The CDT, however, leaves the road at that point and wanders off among the sagebrushed hills, on very rough tread.  It took Fixit and I about half a second to decide “Phooey on the trail–roadwalk!”

So in spite of the afternoon wind and heat, we gave it our best, even though we were awfully low on water.  Thankfully, along the way, we were able to get a bit more water from some people in a car, and from a guy on a bike.  Atlantic City, it turns out, is down in a valley, and the downhill to get there is pretty steep.  It’s a very old town, and sadly, every other house is for sale.  We headed straight for “The Miner’s Grubstake” saloon to get something to eat.  We found the staff all in a tizzy getting ready for a big birthday party that’s being held tonight (for one of the local ranchers).   But inbetween tearing around trying to get everything ready, they were very kind to us, and we had a great meal of buffalo burgers, salad and pie.  Our entertainment was watching the beginnings of the cowboy birthday party.  Ummm…..it seems that cowboys are really into whiskey.  They were sure going through a lot of it really fast–one bottle after another emptied.  Whoa.  They also had a cowboy singer, and he was really good.

But the lady in charge of the saloon knew we were planning to stay in the teepee and she came quietly over to us and said, “It’s gonna be really loud for a long time tonight.  Why don’t you go over to Wild Bill’s Guns & Ammo–he’s got a couple of cabins– and stay there?  Otherwise, you may not get much sleep tonight.”  So that’s what we did.  And we had time to wash clothes and take showers, too, before we collapsed on the very comfortable bed in a cozy cabin.  I’m glad we went to Atlantic City instead of South Pass City.  From what I hear, there’s no place to stay or to eat there, whereas here, it’s great.  I’m so glad we met the bikers who tipped us off to come to Atlantic City!

SUMMARY:  Before Fixit and l and I left Rawlins, we had the impression that we were headed into flatness in the Basin. Wrong! Now that we are close to being done, I can say the “Basin” is not flat. You are constantly going up and down, sometimes a little, sometimes (like today) a LOT. We had 3 steep “killer” hills today, and many long hills.

The trail winds, it turns, it twists—you really have to pay attention. The views are amazing, of mountains, distant valleys, rock formations, and no water unless you don’t mind yucky “cow water”. We carried enough water to last all day, and made it to Weasel Spring by 7:00pm, where we gorged on cold, wonderful water. We’re camped in a meadow—the wind is still blowing. Wow, are we tired.

DETAILS:  We had a great campsite last night–very comfortable, and a sunset that lasted for a long time.  But this morning, only a few minutes after we started hiking, we had yet ANOTHER “missed the turn” problem.  Grrrr.  We got to an intersection, did our best (without using Guthook–still trying to save battery) to figure out which way to go, and guessed wrong.  It took about 20 minutes of hiking to realize “this is not the CDT” and go back (up, of course!) to the intersection where we had messed up.  But in spite of the messup, we still made over 27 miles today.

In the morning, we were still in the mountains, with very alpine-looking scenery of rugged rocks, gnarly trees and pretty green pocket meadows (no water, though).  For most of the day, I felt like we were just going uphill, but that’s not really true–there were a few downhills.  But we did have to deal with THREE killer-steep climbs.  Several hikers passed us whom we thought were ahead of us–turned out that they had zero’ed in Rawlins, and we didn’t.  They are young and way faster than we are–an uphill where Fixit and I are slowly plodding up, they just bounce on up– but they also stop a lot more than we do.  And several hikers we’d never met before also caught up with us–turned out they had started anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks BEFORE we did, and we passed them, but now they are passing us.  I think it’s due to everyone starting to think, “Yikes!  Gotta get a move on or I’ll never make it to Canada!”

It was a hot day today, and our heavy water supplies in our packs went down steadily as we tried to stay hydrated.  We reached what I call “sagebrush hill country” and the CDT went winding over and alongside and up & down those hills.  Amazing rock formations were sticking out of the ground.  One of them looked like a very large dragon lying down.  There were occasional cow water ponds–yuck.  Glad we weren’t desperate enough to get water at one of those!

The wind began early today, and blew hard, so that made walking difficult.  We were always either walking into a headwind (tough) or dealing with side winds (enough to make us stagger).  BUT AT LAST, we FINALLY saw some wild horses!  A group of 4 were on the trail just ahead of us–a stallion and 3 mares—we walked slowly toward them, taking pictures.  Finally the stallion decided, “Time to go” and started shoving the mares to make them move away.  One of the mares refused, and she and the stallion had a face-off, rearing up and snapping at each other, before she finally gave in.

Later on, while we were sitting on a hill eating lunch, a lone stallion showed up.  He was a beautiful black horse, and he galloped in circles around us several times, as if he were showing off, or maybe showing us that he was boss?? Then he hung around for awhile and watched us before leaving to go hang out with his girlfriend, a pretty light brown mare.

In the afternoon, we hiked on as quickly as we could, trying to get to Weasel Spring.  But it was a steady uphill, and it was hot and the wind was making it tough for us.  Finally we were so tired that we just had to stop for awhile and lie down.  Several more young hikers passed us at that point, all looking pretty haggard, too.  One of them said, “You’ll find me at the spring, face down in the mud, probably.”

At last we rallied ourselves to push on, and at 7:00 pm, we finally reached the spring, which was in an enclosed area, with the spring itself inside a sort of tube thing way in the back of the enclosure. Two other hikers were already there, and  we had to take turns getting water, since there’s only room for one person at a time to access the spring.  I’d already drunk 5 liters today of warm water I carried through the heat, so I blew down a whole liter of COLD spring water!!  Ahhhh!  Then Fixit and I took enough water to get us to the next spring.

It was late, and we were too tired to hike any farther (hey, we did do over 27 miles, despite the difficulties!), so we exited the spring enclosure and set up our tent in the meadow nearby, on soft green grass.  Strangely, at the far end of the meadow, there was a car parked, and people, too.  Not sure what’s with them.  But we just wanted to get horizontal, and didn’t care.  There was a beautiful sunset and all I can say is, “The Divide Desert is NOT FLAT!–don’t figure on flat when you are out here!”

SUMMARY:  It is hard to write this without falling asleep! We are very tired—hiking all day only produced 23 1/2 miles because we had to do so much on soft sand. We met our first real SoBo this morning—a Brit named Phantom. He warned us about the sand, and he wasn’t kidding! It was slow, hard going.

We also made two stops to collect and treat water—one early morning and one almost at the end of the day. One spring we passed operates with a valve in a barrel—and in the barrel was a set of bocce balls. Fun! We did not linger—we had miles to do. We met a rancher out in his truck with his 4 kids, bringing salt blocks to the cows.

The day finished with a climb up to 8,000 feet. We are camped up here in a lovely mountain dell with wind in the trees. Yes—trees again!

DETAILS:  This morning was cloudy and fairly cold, with a very cold wind blowing.  Brrrr!  I wore my down jacket and fleece headband.  Our first goal was the A & M (an oil company) Reservoir, where we took on enough water to last us for the rest of the day.  While we were there, a herd of cows arrived.  First they circled around the reservoir fence (obviously looking for a way through!), then finally gave up and RAN to the little creek that overflows from the reservoir.  Wow, they were thirsty!   They stood there and drank and drank and drank.

At this point, the CDT is following a natural gas pipeline road.  In the morning, two guys in a car came along, got out, and went to work on one of the places where the pipe is above ground.   We also met the rancher who owns the cows–he was out in his pickup truck, accompanied by his 4 cute kids, to bring salt/mineral blocks to the cows.

We also met our first REAL SOBO–a Brit guy named Phantom.  He was moving fast, but stopped to warn us that we were about to head into some tough going–very soft sand, for miles.  No kidding!   It was like walking on the dry sand part of the beach back home, with no option to walk on the firm wet sand near the water.  Sometimes we were able to leave the road/trail and walk nearby on sand that was a bit firmer.  But it was such slow going, and so wearing, argh!  To add to the fun, the sun finally came out, and it was pretty hot–only the little bit of breeze kept it bearable.   We passed a water source which involves a valve located inside a barrel.  I’d heard about this place–it has a set of bocce balls inside the barrel.  Sure ‘nough, there they were!   But we didn’t stop for a game, because we wanted to get in more miles…today has been so much slow, hard going.

We finally reached a spring which is the last FOR SURE good water for the next 30 miles.  It was uphill from the trail and inside a very extensive fenced area.  We followed a use path up to it and found Stop ‘n Go was already there, filtering water by using a Sawyer filter plus gravity.  We mixed up our AquaMira and treated the water that way.   Usually we don’t worry about spring water, but there were so many cows around that we decided it was better to be safe than sorry.  Stop ‘n Go says he’s headed for Lander, where he will stop and EAT!  We aren’t planning to go there, but push on to South Pass City.

When we put our packs back on, grooooan, they were heavy!  We both are carrying “max loads” of water.  And we also were faced with a big climb up into the mountains.  Oh well–gotta do what we’ve gotta do–keep walking!   On the way up, we met our second SOBO, which was great!  Tonight we are camped in a very pretty little dell, on green grass, with a gnarly pine tree next to us and dramatic rock formations nearby.  I was disappointed when I figured out our mileage for today–only 23 1/2 miles, even though we tried so hard.  We are both exhausted by the miles of soft sand.  Hopefully it will be easier going tomorrow.