Follow Strider's Rambles

Day 66

Early in the morning, I chatted with my parents. Afterwards I went to the hotel lobby to get more coffee and two other thru-hikers were there. One was Stew, whom I hadn’t seen since Anaconda! The other was a gal named Roadrunner. Stew gave me a hug and we spent the next 1.5 hours chatting. While we chatted, Steam Engine and Mamacita entered the lobby to get coffee and also said hello. Eventually we went back to our rooms to finish tasks before the checkout time.

From the Econo Lodge, I walked 1.3 miles to the post office. When I was four blocks away, I came across the “official” route through town, emblazoned with the CDT logo, like the town of Hot Springs on the AT. At the post office, I mailed my bear canister to Colorado. I had hoped to mail it from South Pass or Atlantic City, but neither worked out so I carried it across the basin, my fondness for it slowly dissipating. My pack already felt so much lighter without it!

Next I headed to Anong’s Thai Cuisine for their lunch buffet. I’d been eating only a short time when Stew joined me, then three other thru-hikers: two gals and a guy named Radio. The food was really yummy. I got multiple servings each of veggie hot & sour soup, fried rice, and eggplant sautéed with other veggies. During the meal, I learned that Stew had a geology degree.

It was nice to chat with other hikers, yet I set out alone. Stew and Mamacita intended to road walk. The others were hitching to Saratoga. At first, I felt sad to be alone when everyone else was part of a group. However, I could have joined Stew and Mamacita, but I didn’t want to road walk or be held to their pace. I realized I was content to be doing my own thing, which was to walk the official route through this next section. I want to hike my own hike.

After nine miles of hiking, I reached the Rim Lake Road picnic area. To prepare for a 24 mile water carry, I got four liters of water at a big lake with a dock. My pack didn’t feel heavy, perhaps because I now have less base weight on my back. I went two miles past the lake and called it a day at 7 pm. It was the last tent site noted for a ways plus I wanted to get to bed early.

Day 67

About a mile into the day, the trail did a three mile bushwhack through the high desert.  I thought about cutting over to Sage Creek Road to hike the miles, but I wanted to practice my bushwhacking skills. Besides it was easy terrain to walk across, the trickiest parts were finding the gentle slopes in and out of the occasional gully. When the bushwhack ended, the trail stuck to Bridger Pass Road – a well maintained and wide dirt road – for the rest of the day.

I hiked over Bridger Pass, which delineates the southeast corner of the Great Divide Basin. Interesting fact, none of the rain that falls in the basin drains into any ocean. I also admired a large group of yellow-flowered bushes that it turned out were Rubber Rabbitbrush. Yellow butterflies swirled around the plants. In the early afternoon, I reached Muddy Creek. The trail crossed it four times. I collected water from two crossings.

Near the day’s end, I finished my book club audiobook, The Wedding People. It was an easy and enjoyable read. Ahead the trail did a four mile u-turn. After perusing FarOut comments, I decided to bushwhack across the top of the tight turn and save myself several miles. It worked as planned and less than a mile later I was at a piped spring. I gathered several liters of water then backtracked 100 feet or so to camp in a grassy area.

Day 68

I came over a rise in the dirt road and saw a pronghorn standing majestically. It saw me, stood still for a moment, then ran into the sagebrush, joined by a couple others. A little later I heard snorting and saw another group on the other side of the trail. At 10 am, I felt mentally tired so I stopped on top of a hill for a coffee break. I dunked GF Chip’s Ahoy cookies in my coffee and it was delicious!

At noon, I arrived at the North Fork Savery Creek. It was a lovely spot, a deep creek that wound through grassy banks. I enjoyed sitting on the grass while I filtered water. By mid-afternoon, the road had transitioned back to trail, then a short time later I was in a mix of aspen and pine trees, the Medicine Bow National Forest.

The trail took me over a series of ridges, occasionally it faded to near nothingness, but was well marked with cairns. My legs were a little out of climbing practice, yet I appreciated the ridge views. Gradually I descended to a trailhead parking area, where I found a flat spot bounded by rocks. Elk bugled amongst the trees. I was eating dinner in my tent when I heard animal footsteps. I looked out expecting to see an elk, instead it was a deer.

Day 69

Usually the miles into a town are downhill or flat, instead there was 2,600 ft. gain and it was smoky. Much of the climbing was on rocky ATV roads that followed a ridge. I saw two grouse, one of which startled me. The last few miles were a descent to Battle Pass and Highway 70. Within 25 minutes, I got a hitch from Joel, a grouse hunter with German Longhair Pointers named Kane and Geebo. I was unfamiliar with the breed; Geebo had super curly and soft fur. Joel had hiked the French & Portuguese Caminos and shared a couple stories about the French trail.

In Encampment, Joel dropped me off at the post office. I picked up my resupply box then headed to the 307 Pub & Grub. My waitress, also apparently the owner, was so kind and friendly! None of the listed options worked for me, however she let me order a side salad and fries, later vanilla ice cream for dessert. She kept my water topped off and let me hang for hours to organize my resupply, send emails, and charge.

There was a party going on in the pub’s back room. It turned out to be the 80th birthday of the owner’s mom. How cool!

Kitty corner from the restaurant there was a bench and hiker box. I’d hardly set my pack down on the bench before an elderly couple asked if I needed a ride back to the trail, they weren’t even going that way, they just liked to give rides to hikers. Bob had lived in town all his life and his wife Roz had been there 50 years. That plus the birthday party reminded me of Livingston, the lovely small town feel!

Back on trail, I felt happy, buoyed by the lovely people that I met in town and on my way in & out. It vanquished the last vestiges of loneliness that I’d been feeling the past couple days. I hiked with gusto and energy! Maybe a mile before I stopped for the night, I saw six to seven elk. Later, as I lay in my sleeping bag, something big walked through the forest and broke branches. I hoped it was an elk.