Day 089 - Continental Divide Trail - Elkhart Park to Upper Jean Lake

Day: 089

Date: Saturday, 03 August 2024

Start: Elkhart Park (but staying in Pinedale)

Finish: Upper Jean Lake

Daily Kilometres: 28.3

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

Total Kilometres: 2596.4

Weather: Warm and sunny.

Accommodation: Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Microwaved breakfast burritos

  Lunch: Cheese & meat rolls

  Dinner: Rehydrated meals

Aches: Dave - 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:

Irish, our volunteer shuttle driver, a retired local resident who hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2022, picked us up at exactly 8am as promised.  We had a good chat with her as she drove us back to the Elkhart Park trailhead.  The trailhead carpark was packed with scores of cars with license plates from many states.

We began hiking at 8:45am, retracing our inbound steps from Thursday for the first 9km before taking the Seneca Lake Trail another 7km back to the CDT.  It was busy, with overnight hikers setting out and others returning.  We even met a few people we saw on Thursday who wondered what we were doing heading out.  When we explained, they often seem a little over-awed, and perhaps a little envious.

The day was warm and sunny and the scenery superb again - rugged rocky mountains backing reflective lakes.  The trail was generally very rocky and technical and it was often slow going, especially on the little rocky passes that separated the seemingly endless lakes.

Once we reached the CDT and turned northwards, there were far fewer hikers and, for the last few hours of our hiking day, we didn't see any.

We cooked dinner by a lovely lake around 5pm and then endured mosquitoes for our last few kilometres of the day.  Around 7:30pm, we found a spot to put up the tent near the trail near the top of a low pass with some patches of snow visible nearby.  We are quite high again, at just over 11000'. 

Day 088 - Continental Divide Trail - Pinedale

Day: 088

Date: Friday, 02 August 2024

Start:  Elkhart Park (but staying in Pinedale)

Finish:  Elkhart Park (but staying in Pinedale)

Daily Kilometres:  0.0

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

Total Kilometres:  2568.1

Weather:  Warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Omelette/Scramble & fries, toast & jam

  Lunch:  Cheese & meat rolls

  Dinner:  Enchiladas, rice & beans, icecream.

Aches:  Nothing reported

Highlight:  We managed to watch some of the Olympics on TV, including the exciting Men's 10000m final.

Lowlight:  Trying to book accommodation in Yellowstone National Park at the height of the season.  Having booked a cabin online at Old Faithful (very scarce), Dave booked backcountry campsites (also scarce) that fitted with that schedule.  Later, he received an email saying he couldn't have the cabin he had booked and offering an alternate at three times the already expensive price.  We have cancelled the Old Faithful booking and will have to try and rebook the backcountry campsites from our next town, Dubois, since it is too late to do it today and we are back on the trail early tomorrow.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

A lazy start to the day for Dave while Julie went for a run in the local area and actually saw a moose!

After breakfast at a nearby cafe we did our shopping.  Pinedale seems like a nice little town oriented towards outdoor activities in the nearby mountains.  Lots of accommodation and cafes and bars, relatively compact, which is good for hikers like us, well-cared-for, and with a Western flavour.  At the Visitor Center, there is actually a room set aside for CDT hikers to hang out, with goodies, coffee, a PC and charging ports.

The afternoon was spent on planning and laundry, followed by a sub-par dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant which was disappointing.

Part of our planning revolved around working out our options to get around a new wildfire that has reportedly closed the CDT a couple of days ahead of us.  Another part was making campsite and cabin bookings in Yellowstone National Park, where we will be in ten days time.  We thought we had it done, but will have to start again when we reach our next resupply town, Dubois, in five days time (see above).

Day 087 - Continental Divide Trail - Falls Creek to Elkhart Park

Day: 087

Date: Thursday, 01 August 2024

Start:  Falls Creek

Finish:  Elkhart Park

Daily Kilometres:  24.5

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

Total Kilometres:  2568.1

Weather:  Very cold early then warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks

  Dinner:  Burgers & fries, icecream.

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

Highlight:  The view from Photographers Point towards the peaks of the Wind River Range was both unexpected and extraordinary.  A chain of rocky peaks across a deep chasm in which could be seen a blue lake far below.  Sadly, a photo won't do it justice.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke to another very cold morning at 5am, keen to get hiking towards the trailhead at Elkhart Park and a hitchhike to Pinedale for a day off.  It is noticeably darker in the mornings now and soon we will be packing up in the dark.  Despite the cold, the dawn was beautiful in the high alpine meadow where we had camped.

We were hiking by soon after 6am, following a trail away from the CDT that would take us to other trails ultimately leading to Elkhart Park, 24km away.  Early on, we had hopes of making it to Pinedale in time for a late lunch but, despite trying to make good time, the trail was rocky and technical, meaning we had to watch every foot placement.

Initially, we descended through pine forest, but soon emerged beside a beautiful tranquil pond, the first of many we passed during the morning, each worth a photo of its own.  We saw a few people camped, but otherwise had the serene and scenic ponds to ourselves.

Later in the.morning we began to encounter more hikers, most out for a few days in this beautiful area.  The kilometres weren't passing fast enough for Dave, and it soon became obvious that mid-afternoon would be the best case for our arrival in Pinedale.  We took our last break at the awesome and unexpected Photographers Point (see above), then walked the last 6km to Elkhart Park, meeting many more hikers along the way, including another group using llamas as pack animals.

We reached the packed trailhead carpark in Elkhart Park soon after 2pm and were given a lift by the second car to pass, driven by a hiker with a dog who had passed us with a couple of kilometres to go.  He was an oil rig worker who had been out hiking and climbing for a few days, and was kind enough to drop us off at our motel near the centre of the small town of Pinedale.

We checked in around 2:45pm and showered, relaxed and ate and drank for the rest of the afternoon.  Later, Julie went out and bought takeout burgers for dinner.

Both of us are looking forward to a day off tomorrow.  Pinedale is quite a long way off the trail and we will have to retrace some of our steps to get back to the CDT on Saturday, but if we hadn't come here to resupply we would have had to carry too much food to get to the next trail town, Dubois.

Day 086 - Continental Divide Trail - East Fork River to Falls Creek.

Day: 086

Date: Wednesday, 31 July 2024

Start:  East Fork River 

Finish:  Falls Creek

Daily Kilometres:  35.8

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

Total Kilometres:  2543.6

Weather:  Very cold early then mild and sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix

  Dinner:  Chicken & rice

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

Highlight:  We cooked and ate our dinner at Hat Pass (10885’), between two very rocky peaks and well above the treeline after a long technical climb.  Awesome scenery in every direction.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We had a day of stunning alpine scenery and challenging technical single-track trail.

Initially, it was very cold as we set off hiking at 6am wearing nearly every item of clothing we had with us.  There was frost on the ground and our hands were frozen from the tent packup.

But, soon, the sun reached us and after an hour’s hiking our hands had thawed out at least.  It was another hour or two before we removed the extra layers.

Our trail took us from one high alpine valley to the next, each with one or more lakes and lush meadows.  Jagged rocky mountain peaks were the backdrop and the trail passed many rocky outcrops and boulder fields and crossed many streams, only one of which required wet shoes/boots and socks.

We did see some hikers, including a few southbound CDT thruhikers, but not nearly as many as yesterday, so often had the valleys to ourselves.

Most of the day was spent between 9500’ and 10500’ with one major climb in the late afternoon over Hat Pass (see above).

Because the trail was often quite technical and slow, our progress was also slow and we didn't reach out goal campsite until 7:50pm.  It is a beautiful spot in a high meadow and we watched the sun gradually fade from the nearby rocky peaks as it set.

Tomorrow, we detour about 24km off the CDT to Elkhart Park Trailhead from where we hope to hitchhike to the small town of Pinedale, another 25km away, to resupply and have a day off.  We are a little apprehensive about how easy it will be to get a ride.

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.

Day 084 - Continental Divide Trail - East Sweetwater River to East Fork Squaw Creek

Day: 084

Date: Monday, 29 July 2024

Start:  East Sweetwater River

Finish:  East Fork Squaw Creek

Daily Kilometres:  33.3

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

Total Kilometres:  2473.7

Weather:  Very cold morning then warm, hazy and sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/ Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals

Aches:  Dave - lots of niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  The views on the steep descent towards Little Sandy Lake which was backed by towering rocky peaks - Wind River Peak, Independent Mountain, Mt Nystrom - was spectacular and exceptional.

Lowlight:  Late in the day, when the track was often barely discernible, we missed a turn and unhappily wasted half an hour.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We slept in.  Having stayed awake until 10pm last night reading all of the hiker comments about the upcoming Cirque of the Towers Alternate option to the CDT, when the alarm went at 5am and it was bitterly cold outside, we opted to roll over and sleep for another hour.  Our justification was that having decided not to take the Alternate, the turnoff for which we would reach in mid-afternoon, we would save at least an hour over the next two days.

The reason we decided not to take the Alternate, which is apparently a scenically spectacular 33km, was that it would involve some very steep climbs over some mountain passes on sketchy trail, and Dave was not keen.

Anyway, it was 7am by the time we started hiking on what was a very cold morning.  Within an hour, it was warm enough to strip down to shorts and T-shirts as the sun rose in a hazy sky.

Initially, the CDT continued to traverse the foothills of the Wind River Range, going up over spurs and dropping down to creeks through a mix of conifer forest and open sagebrush country though, as we gradually worked higher, the sagebrush was replaced by grassy meadows.  There were also plenty of attractive rocky outcrops and boulder fields.  The hiking was pleasant, but slow, on technical trail with plenty of blown down trees to negotiate.

After passing through a National Forests campground offering welcome toilets and trash receptacles, we began to climb steadily and occasionally steeply up to a saddle at 10300’.  Along the way we stopped under some pines in a meadow for lunch and saw a moose cross in the distance.

The descent from the saddle revealed some truly spectacular mountain scenery (see above), though the trail was steep and technical.  We passed the junction where the Alternate route left the CDT in mid-afternoon and it seemed almost immediately that the CDT deteriorated significantly.  It was hard to follow and crossed many blowdowns.  At one point, we annoyingly missed a turn, costing us half an hour.  Even after that, when we were being extra careful, we still lost the trail several times on the rocky forested terrain.

Now that we are in grizzly country, when you are not supposed to cook where you camp, we are having our evening meal at our last break for the day in the late afternoon.  We are also each carrying bear spray on a readily accessible front pocket on our rucksack shoulder straps.

Around 7:30pm, we found a tent site beside the trail and were in bed by 8:30pm, not having travelled as far as hoped today.  No sleeping in tomorrow!

Day 083 - Continental Divide Trail - Atlantic City to East Sweetwater River

Day: 083

Date: Sunday, 28 July 2024

Start:  Atlantic City, WY

Finish:  East Sweetwater River

Daily Kilometres:  30.7

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

Total Kilometres:  2440.4

Weather:  Cool early, then warm and sunny with a short-lived cold rain squall in mid-afternoon.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Fruit, egg & bacon roll, cinnamon scroll.

  Lunch:  Snacks/trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals.

Aches:  Dave - many niggles; Julie nothing reported.

Highlight:  It was very nice to get into the conifer forests and meadows of the foothills of the Wind River Range after days of hiking through the treeless sagebrush plains and hills of the Great Divide Basin.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

A wild storm came through during the small hours with heavy rain and very strong winds which blew a number of things around outside the cabin.  We were very glad we were not camped in our tent in an exposed location.

Around 7:30am, after a good sleep-in, we had a delicious breakfast on the verandah of “Wild Bill’s” where we were joined by the man himself for an interesting chat while we ate.  Turns out he is the same age as Dave, but a few months older.

We did well to enjoy the food while he described in graphic detail the sawmill accident in which he lost a finger and mangled his left hand just a few months ago.  Fortunately, his right hand, and particularly his trigger finger, was unharmed as he is an avid hunter.  Last night he told us about shooting, from his front door, a large black bear that was going through his garbage

We began hiking at 8:30am, with the first 8km being a gravel road walk, involving some significant climbing, to the now tiny historic mining town of South Pass City.  Back in the mid-19th century gold rush days it had a population of around 3000 and must have been a sight to see, but now there are just a few permanent residents plus some summer vacationers.

Part of the old town is now a state historical park, with tours of the old town and mines offered in summer.  We stopped in at the visitor centre, which welcomes CDT hikers, and bought ice creams and drinks which we ate for morning tea at a picnic table with a power outlet set aside for hikers passing through.  Very thoughtful.

From South Pass City, the trail returned to the sagebrush plains for a few kilometres and was quite scrappy walking, but it improved as we approached the mountains and attractive rocky outcrops adorned the scenery.

After crossing Hwy 28, we really did start to get into the mountains and forests again and it was a very welcome change with more to look at, and some nice views to the craggy peaks, and pleasant meadows to traverse.  Also welcome was the number of streams we crossed meaning that water will be readily accessible for a change.

In mid-afternoon, the sky suddenly clouded over, a strong gusty wind arrived, the temperature dropped markedly, and a cold rain began to fall.  Fifteen minutes later it was gone, the sun was out and we were warm again.  Such rapid weather changes have become very familiar to us in the mountains.

We found a nice place to camp near a river around 6:40pm on a beautiful peaceful evening and an owl is hooting nearby as the blog is written around 9pm.  We are a little higher (8300’) and the night promises to be cool.

We have now recorded 1500 miles on the CDT.