CDT + GDT: Encampment to Rawlins - First Taste of the Basin
Resupply 14 | Steamboat Springs to Encampment, WY
Resupply 15 | Encampment to Rawlins
Day 62, 31.5 miles.
This morning I hiked what I hope will be my last five miles of snow on this trail. I went straight from too much snow and water everywhere to no water anywhere in the basin. I’m now having to look ahead to figure out how long I’ll need to carry water for before the next source. The wind was just as strong as it had been yesterday, and there was nowhere to hide once I descended into the plains. It was the kind of wind where you can lean very far without falling over because the wind is holding you up. Occasionally I could get out of the wind in a stand of trees. There was a lot of beetle kill and deadfall and the leftovers of logging operations. In the late afternoon I was primarily moving in a northwestern direction, so the westerly headwind and afternoon sun were right in my face. At one of the places I got water, I found wild mint growing on the banks. When I use a wild plant I like to thank that plant out loud per indigenous practices. I harvested it and put it in my water which felt so luxurious and tasted great. Since I spent most of the day on dirt, I wanted to test my ankle today and see how far I could walk before it started to hurt. I made it to about 31.5 miles before I felt any pain so that’s when I camped. I haven’t used any pain medication in three weeks that it’s been hurting because pain is a signal and I want to hear it, respond to it, manage it. I’ve kept my mileage light and taken long breaks in town. Hopefully it continues to improve. Now I’m here in the sagebrush with the vesper sparrows and the elk and the antelope.
Day 63, 36 miles.
I carried 3.5 L for this stretch thinking it would be hot and dry in the exposed basin, but it was cloudy and cold. So by 4pm I had made it all the way to the next reliable source about 25 miles away with water to spare. To lighten my pack I drank a lot of water. At one point I poured myself some bone broth powder and drank that for protein. Then I looked up and realized some cows were staring at me drinking my beef bone broth. I felt this was a tacky move on my part but it is what it is. In the FarOut comments for this section it seemed some people thought this stretch was boring and recommended taking a car and skipping it. But I thought it was beautiful big country. You don’t have to be a purist about a continuous footpath to know there is value in hiking what’s hard, ugly, or boring. To walk across the country you will inevitably come across areas that are boring: power lines or highways or deforestation or just areas that kind of seem “in between” the good stuff. It’s all part of it and I don’t want to pick and choose what I experience. On the other hand, I might just be fresh out of the snow and excited for anything new, cruisy, and stable to walk on so maybe I’m just looking at the landscape in a honeymoon kind of mindset. While I was on the dirt road, a man drove by in a truck and offered me some water and a ride to town. I said I had to walk it unfortunately but thank you. He asked how many miles I had done today. So far just over 27, I said. Well! You better eat this can of peaches, he said, and drove off. I ate the peaches and mixed the water into my Mtn House dinner which was a Korean beef dish. So far this is my favorite of the meals they’ve sent me and I’m impressed they all tasted great cold soaked. I hiked 36 miles today and carried the same water for 33.5 miles apart from getting the extra cup from the peaches man and a Gatorade from someone else. Longest accidental water carry I’ve ever done.
Day 64, 5 miles into Rawlins, 14 miles out. 19.3 miles total.
On the remainder of my highway walk into Rawlins today, a man pulled over and asked if I needed water or a breakfast sandwich. I’ll take a breakfast sandwich, I said. He handed me an egg McMuffin and asked, you want a job today? I was so confused. What do you mean? I need someone to move some trucks, he said. Oh I’ve gotta get out of Rawlins today, I told him. But he’s smart to ask thru hikers, it’s a population that is usually long on time and short on cash. The whole place was very friendly. At Ace hardware where I grabbed a replacement battery for my camera, a man in the checkout line told me he owned the ranch I walked through in the last 15 miles. It’s rare I get to tell a rancher how beautiful their land is, so that was special. Then at the post office another man gave me a bottle of water and some snacks, and a second man asked me where the bubble of hikers was. He maintains a water cache here and wanted to know when to set it up (unfortunately unavailable to me; I’m too early). And the priest at the Episcopal church gave me a ride to the grocery store and back when I stopped by their free food pantry. I’ve walked through a lot of red counties on my walks across the US and I’m certain that most of the people who help me don’t share my politics. There’s a lot of vitriol in American political discourse these days, but in trail towns it’s just humans helping humans. No one asks whom I voted for before offering me water. Obviously I have the privilege of appearing as a cisgendered Asian woman. Others may not have the same experience. I spent a long while in town mostly hanging out by the outlets. I treated my clothing with Permethrin that I’d shipped here and caught up on videos and blogs while it dried. I feel like I’m playing catch up in every town. Then I got back on the highway and started down the stretch of long dry flat basin en route to Lander, Wyoming. The trail here is mostly a two track dirt road, or nonexistent. And sometimes there’s not even a gate.
xx
stitches