Rawlins to Lander (8/5-8/9): 120.8 Miles
It was intimidating leaving town with the rest of the basin ahead: hot weather, little shade + of course not a whole lot of water. We just wanted to get through it as fast as we possibly could.
Lunch breaks were met with water sources of all types: natural springs, well pipes flowing into tires and even a water cache from trail angels! There were also stock ponds and dried up streams we didn’t/couldn’t rely on. We hid from the sun with whatever shade we could find, and stare downs with the cattle kept things interesting.
With only 2 miles left till camp, the open spaces turned from rays of sun shining onto the desert roads into a dark field. A storm was brewing right in front of us. Somehow it missed us, but another storm was right behind it. We quickly set up our tent, unraveled our sleeping bags, filtered water and crawled in. The wind rattled our tarp, making it difficult to keep our burners alive to cook dinner. I didn’t even attempt and ended up eating a granola bar and beef jerky. Ross attempted, but quickly had to settle for the same thing I did. The rain trickling onto our tent put me right to sleep.
This part of the basin wasn’t as flat as I had anticipated, and while hiking up a small hill were 30 wild horses! Their manes and tails blowing in the wind, and just as the desert wind comes and goes, they too disappeared in the distance with only their dust left behind.
Our last day was our biggest yet: 35 miles (10 by 9a, 20 by 1p, lunch 1-2:30p, 35 by 7:45!). Our “hiker hobble” kicked in with 5 miles left, but the mountains’ silhouettes in the distance gave us something to daydream upon. Mountains that seemed to be in reach, but we had to finish the desert first.
We arrived at our last campsite: an oasis of water, trees and grass. It almost felt like we were re-entering the Gila Wilderness after our NM desert experience. It felt so good to see both the SweetWater River flowing + the lush greenery.
We hiked to HWY 28, caught a hitch, grabbed food + new shoes! These shoes made it 848.8 miles, but thrilled to get a new pair. We relaxed in Lander for 2 “zero days”; enough rest to prep us for The Winds!
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