Day 081 - Continental Divide Trail - Bison Basin Road to Sweetwater River

Day: 081

Date: Friday, 26 July 2024

Start:  Bison Basin Road

Finish:  Sweetwater River

Daily Kilometres:  40.7

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

Total Kilometres:  2392.4

Weather:  Mild to warm and partly sunny with a strong wind for much of the day.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix

  Dinner:  Chicken & rice

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

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were woken at 3:30am by the sound of a strong wind buffeting the tent.  It was too noisy to go back to sleep and Dave feared the tent could be damaged if it got any stronger, so we got up at 3:45am and packed up camp.  By the time we had finished the wind had abated a little but, an hour later, it became very strong again and continued into the early afternoon.

Although Dave was complaining about lack of sleep and fatigue from yesterday, one advantage of the early start was that it meant we should comfortably be able to cover the 39km+ we hoped for the day, giving us only about 20km tomorrow morning into the tiny village of Atlantic City where we have a B&B booked for the night.

We hiked using our headlamps for the first hour or so, backed by a beautiful sunrise gradually illuminating the sagebrush plain in front of us.  The day seemed a repeat of yesterday in that, after a few kilometres, we spent the rest of the morning gradually climbing through a series of valleys, this time to about 7500’.  The CDT followed a complicated course, as was the case yesterday, connecting up a series of unused 4WD tracks that took it in the desired direction.  It would have been hard to follow on a hardcopy map, but our navigation app proved up to the task.

Water availability was again an issue, and we planned our day and breaks around the few water sources, which we generally shared with the few cattle we saw and, later, a herd of wild horses with a number of foals.

We crossed a high treeless plain with some attractive rocky outcrops for much of the afternoon and, as some small trailside markers told us, we were following the route of the famed Oregon and California Trails used by wagon trains taking settlers west in the 19th Century.  What a trip that must have been, and what a forlorn and depressing sight the Great Divide Basin must have been to those optimistic pioneers.  It really was a lot of nothing, though the distant snow-patched Wind River Range became a feature of our afternoon view.

Around 4pm we began a steady descent along a better gravel road, meeting an English couple mountain-biking south along the Great Divide MTB route, the first people we had seen all day.  After a bit of gnarly single-track we reached the Sweetwater River and camped near its banks at around 5:30pm.

We had an early night, looking forward to showers, laundry, soft beds and some junk food tomorrow, after four very solid days across the Basin.

Day 080 - Continental Divide Trail - Crooks Creek to Bison Basin Road

Day: 080

Date: Thursday, 25 July 2024

Start:  Crooks Creek 

Finish:  Bison Basin Road

Daily Kilometres:  44.1

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

Total Kilometres:  2351.7

Weather:  Warm with hazy sunshine in the morning, overcast with a strong warm wind in the afternoon and a brief shower.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Tuna/Chicken & rice

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles plus sore toes and shoulder chafing; Julie - sore toes.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  After a long day, missing a turn with 5km to go, and wasting about 15 minutes.  Not a lot in the scheme of things, but frustrating at the time.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by soon after 6am in the knowledge that we had a long day ahead of us.  To reach water to camp for tonight we needed to cover 43km+, as there were no water sources after about 22km.

It promised to be a warm day, with quite a lot of heat in the sun by 7:30am but, as the day wore on, a haze developed which grew into cloud cover and it wasn't as bad as feared, but still thirsty work.  However, it did become very windy and we were battling into an unpleasant strong warm headwind for most of the afternoon.

Although we were continuing to cross the Great Divide Basin, after few kilometres,  we began climbing a mountain range that even had a few trees on it, getting up to about 8000’.  Mostly, however, the vegetation remained sage brush or tussocky grass, and treeless.  At the top of the climb, we remained high for many kilometres with good views from the bare ridges down to the plain below, from whence we came.

Although we dipped down into some valleys, we did stay high until near the end of the day, even catching some glimpses of the jagged Wind River Range where we will be in three or four days time.

The last hour saw us lose significant elevation until we reached our target trailhead at 7000’, soon after 7:30pm, where there is a very welcome water cache and we camped nearby.  Dave was very tired and sore.

Day 079 - Continental Divide Trail - Bull Springs to Crooks Creek.

Day: 079

Date: Wednesday, 24 July 2024

Start:  Bull Springs 

Finish:  Crooks Creek 

Daily Kilometres:  38.4

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

Total Kilometres:  2307.6

Weather:  Hot and sunny

Accommodation:  Tent 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/ Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix

  Dinner:  Chicken & rice

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles plus a couple of sore toes; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  The water cache, maintained by a church group from a little hamlet about 15km from the trail, was a most welcome stop for breakfast.  They had even provided cushions for us to sit on while we drank and ate.

Lowlight:  Biting flies were a nuisance all day.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke at 5am, just as our four fellow thruhikers, who were camped nearby, departed.  They must have woken very early and packed very quietly.

We were packed and gone by soon after 6am on a day that was already warm.  By 7:30am we were hiking in shorts and T-shirts and expecting a hot day, which it turned out to be.

For many kilometres we followed, and could see stretching out far ahead, a 4WD track passing through arid treeless sagebrush country.  We stopped at a very welcome water cache for breakfast (see above) and continued gradually climbing to a ridge at 7500’, about 500’ higher than our starting point, before gradually descending a similar amount during the afternoon.

Our lunch stop was at a creek flowing out of a small dam near where a little-used dirt country road crossed the trail.  It was very hot and there was no shade.  While stopped, two Continental Divide mountain bikers came past, and a local in a pickup slowed to check that we were OK.

The afternoon was more of the same country though the trail became very sandy which made hiking harder and slower.

Soon after 6pm we reached the spring which was our target for the day and camped close by.  It was nice to have running water for a change and we both had a refreshing wash in the cold water after a hot sweaty day.

Day 078 - Continental Divide Trail - Rawlins to Bull Springs

Day: 078

Date: Tuesday, 23 July 2024

Start:  Rawlins

Finish:  Bull Springs

Daily Kilometres:  45.2

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

Total Kilometres:  2269.2

Weather:  Very warm with hazy (from wildfires to the north) sunshine.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Microwaved breakfast burritos.

  Lunch:  Ham & cheese subs

  Dinner:  Tuna/Chicken & rice

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

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Conscious that we had 42km+ to hike today to get to the second of two water sources as a campsite, we woke at 4:30am and were hiking by soon after 5:30am.

Initially, we had about 27km of road walking to do along the busy Hwy 287, with a small deviation after 19km to a solar spring to get enough water to see us through the rest of the day.  The countryside along the highway was arid sage brush-covered hills, occasionally with some cattle visible. The last part of the highway roadwalk was a steady descent to the Great Divide Basin which looked like a desert spread out before us.

Four of the CDT hikers we had dinner with last night, a young married couple from Boston, a young French girl and a retired US serviceman from Reno, who were a “trail family”, meaning they loosely travelled together each day, were hiking the same route as us today and we saw them several times, and ended up camped in the same place tonight.  

At the bottom of the descent, we left the highway to follow a perfectly straight old sealed road into that desert for many kilometres.  There was almost no traffic, but a pickup did stop along the way and the driver, after asking Dave whether he was too old for this, gave us both a bottle of water!

In mid-afternoon, we left the sealed road and followed a rough undulating 4WD track for the remainder of the day, which had become very warm.  However, the earlier road walking had allowed us to make good time, and we reached Bull Springs, our goal for the day, around 5:45pm and found a campsite nearby.  There are cows about and plenty of cow pads around our tent.

Day 077 - Continental Divide Trail - Rawlins

Day: 077

Date: Monday, 22 July 2024

Start:  Rawlins

Finish:  Rawlins

Daily Kilometres:  0.0

GPX Track:  Click here and here for Julie’s Strava & Photos from her runs and walk today.

Total Kilometres:  2224.0

Weather:  Warm and mostly sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Three egg scramble, toast & jam.

  Lunch:  Chicken salad subs

  Dinner:  Cheeseburgers, apple crumble & icecream.

Aches:  Nothing to mention.

Highlight:  For dinner, we joined a BBQ in the motel courtyard organized by a young married couple hiking the CDT who are staying at the same motel and who we met earlier on the trail.  It was an enjoyable evening with lots of interesting stories shared.  There, we also met “Log Man” who is carrying a log on his shoulder (in addition to the pack on his back), for the entire CDT.  He has already hiked the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail carrying his log (to raise money for charity), so he is one tough cookie.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here.

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Another slow start to the day with Dave really catching up on some missing sleep, not waking for 11 hours.

For breakfast, we walked back to the same diner where we had breakfast yesterday and ordered pretty much the same thing again, before walking 2km down to the old part of town and the post office to mail food ahead to our next town, the hamlet of Atlantic City.  By the time we boxed and sorted out addressing, etc, it took some time.  The PO staff were very kind and helpful.  

There is obviously some local pride in the historic old part of town, but still many shuttered businesses.  Rawlins seems mostly dependent on the business generated by the I-80 transcontinental freeway and the transcontinental railway (on which there always seems to be a very long slow-moving freight train) which pass through town.

Then, it was back to the motel and lunch before Julie went to the nearby supermarket to buy the remaining supplies we need for the next 180km-long leg crossing the Great Basin in the Red Desert of Wyoming.  The Basin is a depression on the Continental Divide where no rain that falls ever reaches any ocean and we know that water will be scarce and we will be very exposed.  Also, we are unlikely to have much Internet access, so blog updates are unlikely.

Later, we joined some fellow CDT hikers for an enjoyable BBQ dinner in the motel courtyard (see above).

We had an early night, anticipating a long day tomorrow.

Day 076 - Continental Divide Trail - Rawlins

Day: 076

Date: Sunday, 21 July 2024

Start:  Rawlins 

Finish:  Rawlins

Daily Kilometres:  0

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

Total Kilometres:  2224.0

Weather:  Mild and partly overcast.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Three egg scramble, toast & jam/pancake & syrup

  Lunch:  Chicken salad subs

  Dinner:  Chicken fettuccine, apple crumble & icecream.

Aches:  Nothing to report.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

A quiet day, though with lots of planning and shopping for supplies, some of which will be mailed ahead tomorrow.

We had breakfast at a nearby diner, but ate our other meals in our motel room, which has clothes and gear spread everywhere.  Making ourselves right at home.

Dave spent much of the day glued to the TV watching coverage of Biden’s withdrawal from the Presidential race, but did venture out to buy some bear spray.  We will soon be in grizzly country.

Julie had her usual “in town” pre-breakfast run and took care of most of the shopping as well as laundry.  There are a number of other CDT hikers staying in our motel (which has a good reputation amongst hikers because of its low price and convenient location) and we have had a chat with some of them.

We are looking forward to another sleep-in tomorrow and another quiet day before getting back on the trail on Tuesday.

Day 075 - Continental Divide Trail - Sage Creek Road to Rawlins

Day: 075

Date: Saturday, 20 July 2024

Start:  Sage Creek Road

Finish:  Rawlins

Daily Kilometres:  52.2

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

Total Kilometres:  2224.0

Weather:  Mild early, then warm and mostly sunny, with a late afternoon thunderstorm and rain.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks

  Dinner:  Cheeseburgers & fries, choc chip cookies.

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

Highlight:  We had camped last night with just a cupful of water between us and were hoping that we would be able to find water along the road walk today, though we knew it was scarce.  We had been told that some “trail angels” had left a couple of coolers with water for hikers along the route, but we didn't know exactly where or how to find them.  Therefore, just as dawn was breaking and after 90 minutes of walking, we were very happy to see a small sign pointing off the road to water for hikers, and even more happy to find some ice cold cans of Pepsi in the cooler along with the water.

Lowlight:  We could have done without the steady rain for the last few kilometres of today's hike.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Both of us were awake around 3am and, conscious of the long day's roadwalk ahead of us, we decided to pack up and were hiking by 4am on a very quiet road under a starry sky with the moon just setting in the west behind some thin clouds.  It was very peaceful and we only saw one vehicle in the first few hours as the road undulated through rolling sage brush-covered hills.  Water was going to be an issue all day, and we were very happy to find a cooler with water around 5:30am (see above).

As the sun rose, there were more vehicles, but it never became very busy and there was plenty of room to walk along the roadside.  It was, however, very exposed and we could often see the road winding through the hills kilometres ahead.  We were making reasonable time but, as the day wore on, the sheer immensity of the 50km+ roadwalk with packs weighed down on us, literally.  We were carrying more food than needed and Dave was doing his best to eat down the weight in his pack at each break.  Julie, who had painful trench feet from wearing wet shoes and socks a couple of days previously, applied Body Glide to her feet regularly to ease the friction on her tender feet.

Around midday, a ranger pulled up to empathize with us and check we were OK, which we appreciated.  We found another water cache put out for hikers with 32km to go to Rawlins and loaded up with sufficient water to get us there, adding to our pack weights.

In mid-afternoon, a motorist who had seen us earlier in the day, stopped and offered us some ice-cold water, which we gratefully accepted.  The kindness of strangers helping us yet again along this stretch of road.

We soldiered on and, eventually, Rawlins, along with a busy freeway and freight rail line, came into view.  So, also, did some thunderstorms, strong winds and rain.  As we made our way through the residential streets of the small town, Julie found a wallet loaded with cash and cards in a small park.  Then, when we reached the main street, she Googled the location of the town police station, which turned out to be nearby, and dropped the wallet off there.

Our motel was on the other side of the town which, like many in the US, had an old main street with many shuttered/defunct businesses and, on the edge of town, new business zones with a Walmart, supermarkets, fast food outlets and motels.

We reached our motel, dripping wet, around 6:30pm and checked in for three nights, giving us two days off as a reward for the effort of the last five days and, particularly, the last two, and for reaching the halfway point on our journey to Canada.  Julie's feet and Dave's body will benefit from the two days rest.

We enjoyed some burgers from the nearby McDonald's for dinner and had a relaxed evening, looking forward to a sleep-in tomorrow.