Encampment to Rawlins (8/1-8/4): 80.8 Miles
After a morning of sleeping in (until the campground weed wacker woke us up lol), resupplying at the cutest, smallest grocery store in town and calling friends/family back home, we got offered a ride from a gentleman that lives right past where we left off on the trail. He stopped at the post office for me so I could pick up my new water bladder (no more wasting water from leaks while on long water carries!!), then waved goodbye as he dropped us off at the trailhead.
We had all afternoon to hike to our campsite 13 miles in, with aspens and pines still surrounding us. We knew that would be ending soon. With just a few miles left till camp, the wind picked up where I paused on trail to intake the sounds of the gentle breeze weaving it’s way through the empty spaces of the forest. As I got closer to camp, though, the wind was more intense, creating loud creaks from the trees swaying back and forth. The trail changed from a comfort to a nervous feeling. Even while at camp that night, we heard a few trees crack and fall to the ground. Another scene from the deadly beetle kill. The wind continued heavily throughout the night and into the early morning.
The landscape changed the very next day from those tall, shade-providing trees, to miles and miles of sagebrush. Flat, dry and hot landscape. We were back in the desert: The Great Divide Basin. We were also back in cattle country. Being back in a desert environment with all the cows meant we were back to questionable and scarce water sources. Thank goodness my new water bladder had arrived to the post office on time.
We left our roadside camp on 8/3 morning with 5.5 liters (12 extra pounds) of water secured to each of our backs. We would need to sustain this water for 28 miles till our next safe water source that wasn’t even 100% guaranteed to still be flowing. So, we hiked on a gravel road (the CDT trail) all day. We passed several herds of cows, saw a coyote and lots of pronghorns trot in the distance, had a consistent breeze and thankfully, cloud coverage, too. And even better? Flowing water once we arrived! Must’ve been the lucky horseshoe I found earlier in the day. We weren’t the only ones trying to quench our thirst though; a few cows got a little too close for comfort while we filled up our water bladders!
With sore feet from the gravel road walking and tired souls, we hiked just a bit more up a steep climb to end our 32 mile day. We didn’t even cook our dinners, but ate some other food instead, threw our sleeping gear on the ground and cowboy camped for the night. We watched a beautiful sunset and viewed the stars as we fell asleep.
Arriving into Rawlins before 10AM today (8/4) we got breakfast, resupplied, did laundry and we’re staying at our first hotel since New Mexico! The outdoor pool is an added bonus. Back to trail tomorrow!
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