CDT Days 86-88 – Wind River Range

We made it to the Wind River Range! This remote mountain range in Wyoming is supposed to be a highlight of the CDT. We spent more time than we would have liked climbing through fallen trees, but once we emerged from the trees the mountains were astounding!

Day 86 – Mile 1736.7 – A Fun Morning in Lander

We started the day delayed in town. I had to wait for a pair of shoes to be delivered, so we decided to spend the morning at a restaurant/coffee shop while constantly refreshing the UPS tracking website to see when the shoes would be delivered. This ended up being a very relaxing and enjoyable way to kill time. We ate a big breakfast… Then we ordered some more… And then we ordered some more! The restaurant (“Rise”, in Lander, WY) was absolutely amazing! As we were enjoying third breakfast we saw a UPS truck drive by outside so I ran out and asked if he had my shoes. He did! Getting them from the truck saved some time, some walking, and some money! They were going to be delivered to a print shop half a mile down the road, where we would have had to pay to pick them up. With new shoes on my feet we headed to the road to hitch back up to the CDT. A very friendly man named Ken picked us up on his way to go kayaking. We had a great conversation with Ken, who just retired and sounds like he is enjoying the unstructured time! Finally we were back on the trail, which transitioned in just a few miles from the desert we’ve been walking through to a much more mountainous landscape as we get into the Wind River Range. Highlights of the day’s hike included that there was shade and plenty of of water. Also, we have a new super-fast filter to purify water that we picked up in town. Soon it will surely be as slow and clogged as our old filters, but it is from a different brand and for now it is a dream! For dinner we had Spanish rice and beans. Yum! We are in grizzly bear territory now, so after dinner we cleaned up all of our stuff very well and then hung our food/dishes. It is an extra chore, but it’s better than being dead. -T

Day 87 – Mile 1755.3 – Blowdowns

Today we woke up to some rain. We had an extra coffee in the tent while we waited it out and got started hiking a little after 7 am. The rain went away and the morning was beautiful. It was slow going for most of the day. A storm last year knocked lots of trees over onto the trail, so we had to climb over/around/under them. We also lost the trail a bunch and had to keep checking our maps. Trail crews have been out clearing the trees on the trail, but there is still a lot of work left to be done. We were in the Bridger Wilderness for part of the day. Motors are not allowed in wilderness areas, so the trees need to be cut with hand saws making removal take longer. In the Great Divide Basin a few days ago we were averaging about 3 mph walking pace. Today we averaged less than 2 mph. We tried to stay positive, but then it started raining off and on in the afternoon and evening which made things slippery and the slow going navigating the down trees became a bit tedious. I slipped on a rock and took a nice little chunk of skin out of my knee. A little after 8 pm we found a place to camp away from the dead/down trees. We didn’t make it as far as we wanted, but we were ready to be done for the day. The Wind River Range is quite beautiful though, and we saw a couple of sandhill cranes today! -R

Day 88 – Mile 1779.7 – Escaping the Fallen Trees!

We started today much like how we ended yesterday — surrounded by so many down-trees that we could barely make progress. It was very discouraging. We did our best to go around them, but often our best course of action was straight through (ie under or over). After about 4.5 hours, something amazing happened: We made it to the point in the trail that the clearing crew has made it to from the other direction, so we could walk forward again! For the rest of today we enjoyed a cleared trail! It felt so good to walk at a normal speed again. We passed near Big Sandy Trailhead today, which is a very popular starting point for backpackers, so we saw many backpackers on the trail today. I understand why — the area is beautiful! We also saw a friendly marmot basking in the sun. The trail took us past several high mountain lakes with the tall peaks of the Winds towering above. We went swimming in a creek in the early evening, but Renee decided it was too cold to do more than wash her legs. I went all of the way in of course. For dinner we had peanut butter noodles. Yum! -T