Day 085 - Continental Divide Trail - East Fork Squaw Creek to East Fork River

Day: 085

Date: Tuesday, 30 July 2024

Start:  East Fork Squaw Creek

Finish:  East Fork River

Daily Kilometres:  34.1

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2507.8

Weather:  Very cold early then mild with hazy sunshine.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix

  Dinner:  Tuna/Chicken & rice.

Aches:  Dave - all the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  The whole afternoon was a highlight as we climbed to 10000’ and reached a vast grassy meadow bordered by conifer forests.  To our right, and ahead, was a succession of jagged and scenic peaks of the Wind River Range.  We passed a chain of beautiful lakes separated by short rocky climbs.  Many photos were taken.

Lowlight:  With only a kilometre to go to our planned campsite, we had to ford East Fork River and, rather than end up with wet boots/shoes and socks, we spent time changing into our camp shoes and back again which was a bit of a chore.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by soon after 6am on a very cold morning.  We remained in the shadow of the mountains for a couple of hours as the sun rose and stayed cold.

Our mood wasn't helped by the gnarly trail that was occasionally hard to follow and we made very slow time through the forest and sagebrush clearings with limited views.

The trail and views gradually improved as the morning wore on and after our lunch break at the Big Sandy River, near where there was a National Forests campground and trailhead, the trail improved markedly.  It was well-trodden and we soon discovered why,  encountering many people - trail runners, day hikers, overnight hikers, groups with llamas as pack animals, a pseudo-cowboy (complete with pistol on his hip) riding a horse leading a pack horse.  There were families, couples, a large group of men and boys, and individuals, all soaking up the truly breathtaking scenery (see above).

On the better trail we made faster time, but also lost time chatting to some of the hikers we met.  The afternoon seemed to pass quickly and towards evening we left the crowds behind and found a nice tent site high on a ridge at around 7:20pm having had a fantastic day.