Continental Divide Trail: Days 107-114

Day 107

Forward progress: 16.7 miles

Total distance on trail: 1,540.1 miles

I really tried to sleep in. I did. But I hit 6:30 and simply couldn't stay asleep. The others slept longer. Since I'm by far the shortest, I had a weird spot on the floor in the corner, and I had to play Frogger to get around the two beds and two other sleeping pads on the ground to get to the bathroom without waking anyone up.

The morning was hectic; since I had sort of been anticipating today being a zero, I hadn't done any of my chores yesterday, so I spent the morning scrambling to resupply, replace my water filter at the gear store, mail some excess odds and ends home, and pack all my stuff up. The grocery store was stressful because we have a 6.5-day food carry, which is challenging to plan for. Carrying as much food as we need to eat is heavy, and we don't really have enough room in our food storage for that many days' worth, so we have to be really strategic about what we get. We don't have to do that long, but the other option is burning a full day to hike 11 off-trail miles to a trailhead, hitchhike to Pinedale, resupply, hitchhike back to the trailhead, and hike 11 more miles back to the trail, and I'd rather not waste a day to do that. Carrying the bursting grocery bags the 1.1 miles from the store back to the lodge was the closest thing to an arm workout I've done since getting on trail, and it shows.

We got a ride back to the trail from a man named Roger who lives in Lander. He wasn't even going that direction, he just drove us 40 minutes because... because. He's lived here for several decades and pointed out some natural history in the area as we drove. By 2:30, we were back on trail.

Within a few short miles, we traded sagebrush and cacti for pine trees and aspens. We're officially out of the Basin and in grizzly country. This entails a few extra precautions: proper food storage is a must (people, including myself, have been pretty lax about it these past few months), and we have to eat dinner either before getting to camp or far away from our shelters to reduce food odors near our tents. I'm glad I have a bear canister because I can just lodge it in some logs or stash it under some rocks and call it good, but Shadow and Vibes both have to do bear hangs, which requires effort and the right kind of tree.

We found camp after dark. None of us are too keen to hike after dusk, especially alone, in grizzly country. We could have stopped earlier, but we want to get to a specific campsite tomorrow, and tomorrow's miles look hard enough without adding some extra distance from today.

And sunset was wild tonight!

Day 108

Forward progress: 25.4 miles

Total distance on trail: 1,565.5 miles

Not to be dramatic, but today singlehandedly revitalized my love for the trail and for being out here. I found myself smiling widely and saying "we are SO lucky" pretty often.

We allowed ourselves to sleep in until 6:00, but we knew we had a big day ahead. 25 miles isn't bad, but we had 6,500 ft of elevation gain, which is more reminiscent of Colorado and less reminiscent of what we've become accustomed to, especially during the Basin. We all could have used an extra hour of sleep at least, but we groggily forced ourselves to pack up.

The first 14 miles before lunch, we were all actually in pretty terrible moods. The trail was boring but exhausting, and we went through some heavy blowdown sections. As a result, we all got at least a little lost several times. We were grateful at lunch to know we had less than half our mileage left, but we knew the upcoming miles would be challenging. But in exchange for being physically demanding, we knew they would be beautiful.

At least some downed trees were put to good use to help us cross the creek without getting wet

And boy, were they beautiful!!! I used my camera more today than the last several weeks combined. We're in a part of the Wind River Range called the Cirque of the Towers, presumably so named because of the epic protruding mountains that surround the area. We saw some gorgeous lakes and stunning mountainscapes, and it was just... wow. Like the hiking was definitely exhausting, but worth it.

We made it to an iconic part of the Cirque just in time for sunset: Jackass Pass. It's iconic because the name is funny and everyone takes goofy photos with the sign, but it's also freaking stunning. We couldn't believe our luck, hitting it during such beautiful conditions.

Anyway, for how difficult of a mental time I've been having these past few weeks, today made the whole experience seem worth it. And that's a cool way to end the day.

Day 109

Forward progress: 25.2 miles

Total distance on trail: 1,590.7 miles

Today was like yesterday in reverse. Started challenging but stunning and fun, ended with all of us in kind of a bad mood. At least on the hiking front. But it turned around in other ways!

I slept terribly; the price we paid for hiking until nearly dark was we didn't have time to find good campsites, so the ground I was pitched on was very slanted, which means I had to remain balanced all night to avoid sliding off my sleeping pad and into the side of my tent. Oh well. I wish I could say I was in good spirits, but I was simply too tired.

That is, until I began hiking. From the get go, the scenery was beautiful. Sometimes grand, sometimes serene. I'm a sucker for alpine lakes and dramatic peaks, at that's what the Winds do best.

It took us until 9:30 to do 3 miles. In fairness, we stopped a billion times, partially to catch our breath, partially to admire the views. We gained 1,200 ft of vert in a mile and descended on the other side at the same rate, so going quickly wasn't an option. But holy smokes, was it breathtaking in more ways than one.

By 11:30, we were out of the Cirque alternate and back on the official CDT. After such immaculate scenery, we all confessed ourselves a little... disappointed. The views were still pretty, but not like what we'd just been in. It didn't have that same grandeur, and we were sad to be out of it, even if the hiking was easier. We took our lunch break at 12:30, and when we left, we still had 15 miles to do, but we knew it would be easier hiking than our morning miles. But not as fun.

The afternoon was just about getting through. It's just that way sometimes. The only breaks we took were to filter water, and otherwise we slowly but surely churned out those miles. We were just grateful to get to camp before sundown, and as we all set up our tents in silence, you could feel that none of us were in a good mood, and all of us were just glad to be done for the day.

While eating dinner, we discussed our options for tomorrow. We're entering the Knapsack Col alternate, named for the intense saddle (I learned that "col" is just another word for a low point between prominent peaks) that one has to climb over to get between Titcomb Basin and the Peak Lakes parts of the mountain range. The 3.5 miles before and after the pass are uncampable because of the terrain, and from where we're camped tonight, our options are a 19-mile day or a 26-mile day. 19 miles sounds lovely, but we don't have any wiggle room in our food situation, and that would make for a longer last day into town. The 26-mile option looks exhausting. 7 tough miles to end the day.

Miraculously, I know some hikers who had taken the detour into Pinedale and were planning to return to trail tomorrow. Shadow had the idea to ask them to bring some extra food for us so we could camp at the lakes in 19 miles. Within minutes, Garmin texts were sent, and food is on the way!! I'm so happy. Not just because of the food, but these are hikers I haven't seen since northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, and I've been dying to see them again! Tomorrow's going to be a good day!

Day 110

Forward progress: 18.8 miles

Total distance on trail: 1,609.5 miles

Ughhhh why can't every day be shorter miles like this??? (The answers are food scarcity and the need to get to the end before the weather turns. But STILL.)

We allowed ourselves a late wakeup and didn't start hiking until almost 7:30. We knew we still had a hard day of hiking ahead, even if there weren't as many miles to do, but it was hard to motivate ourselves to put on our frozen shoes. I was grateful to have some sunlight during breakfast to thaw mine out a little bit.

The majority of the day's elevation gain was in the first half, and we were able to knock most of it out before lunch. I was moving a bit more slowly than I would've liked, but part of my reduced pace was because I kept stopping to admire and try to capture the landscapes in photos and videos that I know can never do the real thing justice. The wildflowers are going crazy in this area right now, and I'm always happy to see big mountains and lakes.

Our lunch break was well over an hour long, and we made sure to take lots of smaller breaks throughout the day as well. We had the time to admire, so we took it. We relished in dipping our feet in the snowmelt-fed water, which at least temporarily alleviated the throbbing.

Even with loads of breaks and an hour and a half lunch, we got to camp around 5:30. We scouted a large patch of grass several hundred feet from the lake and the trail, as this is what the wilderness area necessitates, and were delighted to find several flat spots. The guys were brave enough to get in the lake up to their waists. I dipped my hands in while filtering water and that was cold enough for me.

We realized we couldn't see the trail from our tent site, so we had dinner up the hill to hail down the others when they arrived. It was so fun to see them!! I haven't seen Zoolander since the canoe trip and Daydreamer and Link since New Mexico, so it was super fun catching up and eating some of the extra food they kindly brought for us. We're anticipating a cold night and frigid morning, which I'm sure will make getting out of bed extra tough, but we stayed up chatting until we were all too cold to stay out of our tents.

Day 111

Forward progress: 24.5 miles

Total distance on trail: 1,634.0 miles

Today has taken the lead as my favorite day on trail. I would do today over and over again if I could, even though it was also incredibly physically demanding at the onset.

When I woke up to my alarm at 5:15, I was concerned at how dark it still looked outside. When I unzipped my tent, the sky looked a little too cloudy. Not that I normally love rain or potential thunderstorms, but the goal of this morning was to go up and over Knapsack Col, and we knew that we would be highly exposed for the first several hours of the day. On the plus side, it was substantially warmer than we'd anticipated, and I took off my fleece after less than a mile of hiking.

As we approached the bowl, we discussed the option of turning around and bailing to the town of Pinedale if our way forward was too unsafe. Fortunately, as we got closer and closer, the clouds began to clear. The sky still was a little too gray for total comfort, but we knew our way forward was forward.

Just before the initial ascent, we miraculously ran into Fresh Prince and Clover, both of whom we believed were several days ahead of us. It was fun to reunite with more old friends, and we joked about how the last time we saw each other was on a different sketchy section of trail (the Knife's Edge). Aside from being happy to see familiar faces, I was glad to have more people around me who had experience with the kind of hiking we were about to do.

The east face of Knapsack Col has a section of class 3 scrambling, which means three points of contact are required to make forward progress. Basically, it's a less vertical form of bouldering. I was super grateful that the class 3 stuff was on our way up and not our way down; I'm not comfortable fighting gravity over that kind of terrain, especially with a pack. The way down had some class 2, but nothing sketchy. The way up was hard, but we found a really solid line to take that avoided any sketchy traverses, and the worst that could be said about it is that it was slow going. But I had SO much fun picking my way up the rocks, and I kept smiling when I'd turn around to see what we'd already ascended. As an extra bonus, we got blue skies for most of the climb.

We took a long break at the summit to catch our breaths and have a snack. Then we began the tedious descent. It was miles of boulder hopping, which just required being smart and trusting yourself to find stable footing. Again, not sketchy, just time-consuming. But man, was it freaking gorgeous!

By the time we stopped for lunch at 12:30, we'd only hiked 9 miles. Kind of a demoralizing stat, especially knowing we still had 15 miles to go. Luckily, the 9 miles were extra strenuous, and the 15 miles were extra easy, so we knew they'd go quickly enough. Based on the elevation profile, I expected to need a lot of audio stimulus to remain engaged in the hiking, but I only needed about an hour of podcasts to get through some boring miles before it got super scenic again!

Our campsite target was a campground a little off trail because the campground host is said to give trail magic. Plus a privy never hurt anyone, and spigots with potable water sounded nice. We were willing to fork over the $12 for a site if we could find one. But it never came to it, because when we arrived, a woman across from the campground host's site was also doing trail magic, which included letting us tent at the site! She also made us tacos for dinner and took our trash and is letting us charge electronics in her car. She's called Catch Up and hiked half the CDT last year and the other half this year, so she knows what we need! The campground host, Jenna, brought over some folding chairs and beer and is making us sandwiches to go in the morning. We have the fullest hearts and stomachs.

I think a large part of why this trail magic was so meaningful to me was that it's been several days since I've been in a town, and it will be several days more. Some hikers do the CDT to avoid being around people, but I am not one of them. I love being around people, and I miss the small comforts of civilization all the time. There is something really magical and special about spending so much time away from people and conveniences and just being immersed in the outdoors, but this particular stint between Lander and Dubois has made me realize how much I enjoy being in society, too.

Start to finish, what an incredible day. I feel so lucky.

Day 112

Forward progress: 21.7 miles

Total distance on trail: 1,655.7 miles

Today was by far my latest on-trail start time. I guess the campground was technically a half mile off trail, but we hiked in and out and set up our tents, so to me, it counts.

I woke up naturally around 5:30 and enjoyed the distant calls of the sandy hill cranes. I was the first one out of my tent at 6:20, and I was shocked at how cold it was. We were barely at 8000 feet, but it felt way colder than yesterday 3000 feet higher. Catch Up made us eggs and bacon for breakfast, and Jenna invited us to eat inside her heated RV, where she made us steaming mugs of tea. It was all way too cozy to pass up, and we took our sweet time in the warmth. We finally dragged ourselves away from the comforts of warm food and good company around 8:30.

The walk back to the trail was stunning. We took the long way by the lakeshore instead of the road, and it was well worth the extra few minutes!!

Our first few miles to the top of Gunsight Pass was the hardest physical part of the day, as we ascended 75% of the day's elevation in those 8 miles. We had lunch at the first water source on the other side, laughing at having only done 8 miles by noon. The remaining miles were physically very easy but mentally very difficult. It got windy and dark. The forest was full of partially-downed trees that creaked in the wind. Vibes saw several actually fall, and I'm glad it was him and not me because I would be so shaken up after that. None of the creek crossings had good rocks or logs to hop, so our feet got wet over and over again. And it sucks having it in your head that you likely just left the prettiest scenery until the end behind you.

We struggled to find good camping tonight. As the mileage worked out, we found ourselves at 6:30 having to choose between camping in the trees in a previous burn zone (read: lots of dead trees, potential tree fall), camping on top of a ridge (read: super windy, nowhere to hide from the incoming dark clouds), or hiking 8 more miles in the dark in grizzly country (read: not smart or safe). We chose partway up the climb to the ridge near (but notably not in) trees from the burn zone. Our spots are lumpy and uneven, and the wind is still not ideal, but we have to find comfort in the knowledge that it could be worse.

Day 113

Forward progress: 24.7 miles

Total distance on trail: 1,680.4 miles

We woke up to obscene amounts of condensation on our tents, which resulted in all of us sleeping in (or at least lying in bed extra long). But we didn't have to get a jump on the day. The total elevation gain of the day was under 3,000 ft, which meant the miles were flat and easy and fast.

Not much to say about the day. We took a lot of long breaks because we could. Every 10 minute water filter break turned into a half hour. Our lunch break was 2 hours long. It felt good to laze around.

We know we could have gotten to the highway junction today, which is only 6.4 miles from where we're camping, but our plan is to nearo in tomorrow and zero the next day, and getting to town tonight would have meant paying for an extra night of lodging. Instead, we'll do an easy 2 hours of hiking tomorrow.

I'm hungry, and I'm aching, and I really want to wash my socks, which have gotten soaked by water crossings and dried on dusty trails several times over several days. I'm ready for Dubois.

Day 114

Forward progress: 6.4 miles

Total distance on trail: 1,686.8 miles

It took us less than 2 hours to get to the highway. We were all incredibly motivated to get an early start and sprint to town. On this 8th day away from civilization, I am quite ready for food and comfort.

We got a hitch in less than 20 minutes. Daydreamer, Shadow, Vibes, and I piled into the driver's truck, and we were so happy to be heading toward Dubois. Our driver was a little nuts, and sometimes she was a bit too distracted for how quickly she was driving, but we got to town in one piece by 9:00.

First stop was obviously breakfast, where we all ate massive quantities of eggs and bread and sausage and potatoes until we were stuffed, and then we got some pie and ice cream because we were always going to have room for dessert.

We were so excited to meet back up with Zoolander, Bushwhack, and Link in town! This next stretch requires some strict backcountry camping permits through Yellowstone National Park, so we made plans to be on permits together. It's going to be nice to be forced to do a specific number of miles and know exactly where we're planning. We all want to do pretty slow days through the park, and the campsites are spaced out in a weird way so we can't do our normal mileage anyway. I'm ready to relax.

Vibes, Shadow, and I are sharing a motel room. We got snacks and drinks from the grocery store across the street while our laundry was going, so we have no intention of leaving the room unless we have to for the next 36 hours. We get to zero tomorrow, and my body and brain are so ready for it.