Day 074 - Continental Divide Trail - Battle Pass to Sage Creek Road

Day: 074

Date: Friday, 19 July 2024

Start:  Battle Pass 

Finish:  Sage Creek Road

Daily Kilometres:  48.3

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

Total Kilometres:  2171.8

Weather:  Mild early then mostly warm and sunny in the morning with thunderstorms and rain periods in the afternoon.

Accommodation:  Tent 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks

  Dinner:  Snacks

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - painful trench feet.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  In the afternoon, as we descended from the high mountains to lower hills in Wyoming, it seemed that the CDT planners made sure that we crossed over the summit of every hill, even though they did not offer any significantly better views.  It was tedious up and down on rocky trails across sage brush-covered hills.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by 6am on a milder morning than usual after periods of light rain overnight.

Our route for most of the day was to continue following the ridge of a range of mountains towards the north-west.  After a steady climb on a 4WD track we reached just under 11000' on the shoulder of Bridger Peak and were above the treeline with great views.

We stayed above 10500' for another couple of hours crossing meadows and enjoying the views until we began a long descent towards the high plains of southern Wyoming.  As we got lower, the vegetation changed completely and we ended up crossing a series of dry sage brush-covered hills (see above) before a final descent through scrubby overgrown trail to meet a road.

During the afternoon, we met a southbound hiker who remarked how quickly she had covered the Sage Creek Road Alternate south from Rawlins.  Afterwards, as we were planning to take the same Alternate, we discussed her comment and decided that we could possibly make Rawlins by Saturday night instead of Sunday lunchtime as originally planned. The 58km Sage Creek Road Alternate into Rawlins, is the choice of most thruhikers, instead of the official CDT route.  It was shorter and easier walking and passed through much of the same country.

We calculated that, if we walked late into the evening once we reached the Alternate, we could cut tomorrow's distance to Rawlins down to about 50km.  Thus, we walked about 9km along Sage Creek Road through rolling treeless country, once we reached it around 6pm, and found a place to camp in a culvert beside the very quiet road around 8pm.

We just ate snacks for dinner so we could get to sleep at a reasonable hour and plan to get up early tomorrow for our big day.

Day 073 - Continental Divide Trail - Whiskey Creek to Battle Pass

Day: 073

Date: Thursday, 18 July 2024

Start:  Whiskey Creek

Finish:  Battle Pass

Daily Kilometres:  36.3

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

Total Kilometres:  2123.5

Weather:  Cool early then mostly warm and sunny with a thunderstorm in the early afternoon.

Accommodation:  Tent 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - trench toes.

Highlight:  Around 6:30am we crossed into Wyoming and left Colorado behind.  Although we do touch Idaho later on, we really only have Wyoming and Montana to go.

Lowlight:  Julie’s misjudged a step trying to cross a boggy creek and her leg went thigh deep into a sucky black morass.  She was not happy.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We got going by soon after 6am and shortly thereafter crossed into our third state, Wyoming (see above).

After a bit of reasonable trail and roadwalking, Wyoming showed us it meant business and we had a rollercoaster 10km, steeply up and down, as we followed a mountain range to the northwest through the Huston Park Wilderness, culminating in a debilitatingly steep climb, with lots of blow downs, up to 10500’ on an unnamed mountain (on our maps anyway).

From there, things improved and we enjoyed some lovely hiking along a broad ridge populated by scenic boulder knolls and crags, with great views over the mountains to the north and south, despite some lingering thunderstorms.

The descent from the ridge crossed a number of very attractive and very soggy and boggy meadows, bordered by pine forests.  Along the way, we met our first southbound CDT thruhikers who had started in Canada a few months ago.  We expect to see many more in the coming month.

As we neared the end of our day, and Battle Pass, we met a couple of cowboys on foot, one wearing a pistol on his belt, who asked whether we had seen a couple of horses and a mule.  We hadn't.  They did have a couple of dogs with them, otherwise we don't know how long it would take to find their livestock in the vastness of the mountains we had crossed.

After crossing Battle Pass and a very quiet Hwy 70, we found somewhere to camp by the side of a rough forest road at about 6:30pm and called it a day.

Day 072 - Continental Divide Trail - North Three Island Creek to Whiskey Creek

Day: 072

Date: Wednesday, 17 July 2024

Start:  North Three Island Creek

Finish:  Whiskey Creek

Daily Kilometres:  40.4

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

Total Kilometres:  2087.2

Weather:  Cool early then warm and mostly sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals

Aches:  Dave - very tired and the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  Late in the day, a misunderstanding meant that we were separated for nearly 90 minutes and it cost considerable time and energy to find each other again.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by soon after 6am, as usual.  After a climb over a ridge on a beautiful morning, we descended to a trailhead on Middle Fork Elk River where two things of importance to thruhikers could be found, a toilet (pit) and a trash dumpster.

After making use of those facilities we began a long climb back up from 8000’ to 10000’ on trails following the North Fork Elk River upstream.

The first part was a bit unpleasant on narrow single-track through wet undergrowth, although as we climbed into the forest the trail was drier.   After another hour, the CDT joined 4WD/ATV tracks which we followed for the rest of the day.  They climbed up through alpine meadows and pine forest.  Most of the time the walking was relatively easy, but every now and then there was a very steep climb on rough rocky trail.

At the top of the climb, there was a lovely hour or two at 10000’ walking through meadows and forest on level trail.  Magic.

Later we began a descent, to 9000’, punctuated with some short steep climbs over knolls.  We lost some time late in the day due to a misunderstanding (see above) and didn't actually reach the water we needed to camp, and a tent site, until just after 7pm, a later day than we had hoped.

Day 071 - Continental Divide Trail - Buffalo Pass to North Three Island Creek

Day: 071

Date: Tuesday, 16 July 2024

Start:  Buffalo Pass

Finish:  North Three Island Creek

Daily Kilometres:  34.8

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

Total Kilometres:  2046.8

Weather:  Mild and sunny in the morning, thunderstorms with hail and rain early in the afternoon, then mostly cloudy.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals.

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

Highlight:  The fabulous craggy/rocky mountains viewed from 11500’ on the shoulder of Mount Ethel were awesome.

Lowlight:  The thunderstorms, accompanied by hail and freezing rain, that rolled through as we passed over the shoulder of Lone Ranger Peak at an altitude of 11800’ were very unpleasant.  Dave saw a lightning strike in the valley below and to our right, which made us feel very exposed.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

The mosquitoes made packing up a chore, and we were glad to start hiking soon after 6am, wearing a coating of insect repellent.  Otherwise, it was a beautiful morning and we were soon bathed in sunlight.

The early hiking was across quiet meadows and past perfectly still alpine ponds, though it seemed that we were always climbing.  We were mostly above the treeline and began to have spectacular views to the east and west.

As we climbed, the trail became more technical and challenging.  It was more a route, marked by cairns, than a maintained trail, and Dave found the going slow with his still heavy pack.

However, the higher we went the better the views and it was a rewarding ascent onto the shoulder of Mt Ethel and then onto a high treeless plateau for a few kilometres.

After some undulations we began the climb over the shoulder of Lost Ranger Peak and stopped for our lunch break as the skies became dark and the thunder rumbled.  It didn't start hailing and raining until we crossed the shoulder, but we were still very high and the weather was unpleasant and a little scary (see above).

After descending from the mountain, we crossed a very soggy plain and it became evident that we had missed the worst of the hail, as there were impressive accumulations of hail on the ground for the next few kilometres.

The last part of our day involved a long technical descent, often interrupted by blown-down trees, that was a good test for tired knees, until we reached a forest road at around 8500’, off which we found a spot to camp at 6pm.  Didn't get quite as far as hoped today, but the trail conditions were challenging.

Day 070 - Rabbit Ears Pass to Buffalo Pass

Day: 070

Date: Monday, 15 July 2024

Start:  Rabbit Ears Pass (but staying in Steamboat Springs)

Finish:  Buffalo Pass

Daily Kilometres:  29.1

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

Total Kilometres:  2012.0

Weather:  Warm and sunny with a thunderstorm and some rain in the late afternoon.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Microwaved breakfast burritos.

  Lunch:  Ham & cheese rolls

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals.

Aches:  Dave - very tired with the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  None in particular.

Lowlight:  The mosquitoes were terrible in the evening.  It was almost impossible to eat dinner without swallowing mosquitoes which were buzzing in hordes around us and crawling over everything.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We got an Uber (with a very chatty driver) from our apartment in Steamboat Springs at 7:30am and were back on the trail at Rabbit Ears Pass (named for a nearby mountain that looks like it has ears at its summit) by 8am.

The day was already mild and sunny and the mosquitoes were out.  Our packs were very heavy with 6-7 days of food (one day's food = 1kg) to see us through to our next town, Rawlins in Wyoming.  We could have carried less and resupplied along the way in a very small town called Encampment, but that would have involved hitchhiking from, and to, the trail on a very quiet road and the town didn't have much in the way of supplies or accommodation.

We decided to save time and hike straight through to Rawlins, though Dave was second-guessing this decision after a mile of hiking with his very heavy pack.  We took some extra short breaks to make the day easier and, in the end, covered more ground than we had budgeted.  Generally, on our first day out of town, we only budget for about 24km, given the likely later start, heavier packs and uphill hiking, so were happy enough with our 29km today.

It helped that the trail was generally easy walking, with some undulations.  We followed a very broad ridge northwards through pine forests and across wildflower-carpeted meadows passing many attractive small lakes along the way.  A few patches of snow here and there betrayed the fact that we were hiking at around 10000’ most of the day, rather than much lower.  During the afternoon, we did spot a moose grazing on the far side of one of the meadows we crossed.

We met some day-hikers and overnight-hikers along the way, but no CDT hikers today.

Given we had covered the distance we hoped, we stopped a bit earlier than usual, at 5:30pm, soon after we had passed Buffalo Pass and entered the Mount Zirkel Wilderness, and found a tent site a little way off the trail.

The mosquitoes were horrendous while we were setting up camp and having dinner, and we adjourned to our tent as soon as we could to escape the hordes.

We recorded our 2000th kilometre of the trip today.

Day 069 - Continental Divide Trail - Steamboat Springs

Day: 069

Date: Sunday, 14 July 2024

Start:  Rabbit Ears Pass (but staying in Steamboat Springs)

Finish:  Rabbit Ears Pass (but staying in Steamboat Springs)

Daily Kilometres:  0.0

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos from her run this morning.

Total Kilometres:  1982.9

Weather:  Warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Rental apartment.

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Omelette/Avocado scramble & potatoes.

  Lunch:  Ham & cheese subs/Salad

  Dinner:  Roast beef & vegetables.

Aches:  Nothing to report.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: No pictures today.

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Relaxed start to the day for Dave while Julie went for a sightseeing run around Steamboat Springs.  Very impressed.

We then had a very good breakfast at a nearby diner before visiting an adjacent outdoor store to get a few things and were served by an 20-year expat Australian with whom we had a.long chat.

The rest of the day was spent quietly going about the usual in-town chores - planning, shopping, laundry - at a relaxed pace.

For dinner, Julie again home-cooked some food and we had a quiet evening.

Day 068 - Continental Divide Trail - Ironclad Mountain to Rabbit Ears Pass

Day: 068

Date: Saturday, 13 July 2024

Start:  Ironclad Mountain

Finish:  Rabbit Ears Pass (but staying in Steamboat Springs)

Daily Kilometres:  21.7

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

Total Kilometres:  1982.9

Weather:  Cold early then warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Rental apartment

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Nachos/Mexican bowl

  Dinner:  Meatloaf, vegetables & macaroni cheese, peach crumble & ice-cream.

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

Highlight:  Julie's Birthday!

Lowlight:  The biting flies were a nuisance during the latter part of the morning and while hitchhiking.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were gone from our campsite (apparently on private land) by 6am without incident.  Neither of us slept well.  Our tent site was lumpy and sloping and it was unusually warm for the first part of the night.

We had about 22km of road walking ahead of us to reach the trailhead from where we planned to hitch-hike to Steamboat Springs where we had an apartment booked for two nights. The first 3km was along the quiet dirt road we had followed yesterday as a beautiful, but cold, day dawned over the grazing land around us.

The CDT then turned left onto the quite busy sealed Hwy 14, which we followed for about 16km, climbing gradually nearly the whole way through ranchland, though few cattle were seen.   The day became warmer and we were soon down to our t-shirts and shorts.

A right turn then took us onto the equally busy Hwy 40 which we followed up onto Rabbit Ears Pass (9142’) and the trailhead where the CDT leaves the highway.  By this time the small biting flies were tormenting us, as they continued to do when we stopped hiking and began hitchhiking towards Steamboat Springs, 35km away.

Despite the number of vehicles, it took 20-30 minutes before a young.couple, on their way home to Steamboat Springs from a triathlon yesterday in Dillon, a small town we had stayed in two weeks or so ago.  We had a good chat as we drove down to the town and they dropped us off at our accommodation.

We presented ourselves, trying to look tired and in need of a shower, at reception at noon, and asked very nicely for early check-in (check-in time was 4pm!).  The friendly receptionist obliged and we were soon checked in to our very nice and very expensive apartment.  Steamboat Springs is a well-known ski resort and is also very popular summer vacation destination, with lots of outdoor activities on offer, and some.kind of art exhibition on this weekend.

After showers, we went to a nearby shopping centre and bought some lunch, before returning to our apartment via a large supermarket where we bought some dinner to cook for tonight and the usual “in town” snacks.  Also some cheap disposable razors for Dave to use in disposing of his beard, which he did this afternoon.

We enjoyed Julie's birthday dinner in our apartment with a meal she prepared! Now we are looking forward to a day off tomorrow.