well, it’s been a (long) while, so I figured I’d fill in some more bloggage. I’m in Steamboat Springs, Colorado now, recovering from a giardia-like illness, so I have some downtime.
We left Togwatee Pass area sometime around the 8th of August. It was 60 miles of forested 2-track to get to kind of the beginning of the Wind River Range. We went over Gunsight Pass; on the descent I encountered a surprisingly aggressive badger, who hissed at me and bared his teeth before running off. We got to Green River Lakes and walked up the Green River for 12 miles before beginning the ascent up towards Cube Rock Pass. This was where the Winds really start to become really incredibly beautiful. After some discussion we decided to go over a scramble alternate called Knapsack Col, which is a steep, untrained pass that really gets you into the heart of the Winds, at least briefly. It added about half a day to the section but was utterly worth it. We dropped into Titcomb Basin onto Titcomb Lakes and walked partway down the Seneca Lakes trail, which was seemingly endless, pristine alpine lakes. We finally got to a trailhead and descended into Pinedale to resupply. We were blessed with this incredibly kind trail angel couple, Jenn and Lindsey, who hosted us and fed us for free. We got back up into the mountains and did a second alternate, through Cirque of the Towers. The views were almost not believable. It took us 4 or 5 days to get to South Pass City, which is actually just a historical mining site with one tiny store that mostly just sells candy and knickknacks to tourists. However, they love CDT hikers, and they hold our resupply boxes for us. The woman actually gave me and Scalliwag her own personal lunch. They also let us use their mop sink in their maintenance closet to take a basic shower. We spent about 4 hours at South Pass City, then we entered the Basin that evening.
I had heard many horror stories about the Great Divide Basin. It is 120 miles of flat, nearly waterless desert. But I love desertscapes–their austerity, their barrenness, their lack of pretension. The life and beauty that exists despite discomfort. Humans have gone into the desert for millennia to connect with the Divine, for these reasons, and others. The Basin was beautiful, but it was the most physically difficult section I have encountered on the entire Continental Divide Trail. There were times that if I stopped hiking, I would almost pass out from dizziness. I battled nausea and struggled to eat for the entire section. Water was intermittent; we had to use one small pond that so full of generations of cow excrement that the water smelled like a science experiment. I drank three liters of that water because there was no alternative.
We finally got to Rawlins, WY where my good friend Constanza was waiting. She flew in from Seattle to hike with me for a week. It was so, so great to see her. We also had CanHacker with us, who we had met in Montana. He got a stress injury and had had to get off trail, so was just helping us and other hikers out with trail Magic. Leaving Rawlins, there was no good ground water for about 20 miles, except for one clean-looking reservoir, which we climbed a chain link fence to get to. We soon found out that this was in fact the municipal water supply for the city of Rawlins, when city workers came and kicked us out. Ah, well. We were 2 more days in the desert, and I continued to feel ill, but muscled through. We gained elevation and got into the forest. We finally crossed into Colorado. The scenery was beautiful, and my strength seemed to be decreasing daily. We finally went down into Steamboat Springs. After 2 days, I started to have gastrointestinal symptoms that pointed to a waterborne illness such as Giardia. This was actually a huge blessing, because Scalliwag was carrying prophylactic anti parasite medication which I started immediately.
The work of thruhiking has settled in. There comes a time when it hurts, and you are tired, and you must push through the pain and the exhaustion and continue on this maddeningly simple dirt path that continues to wind south. This is the deep fascia of this experience. And we hike on. We hope for late snows. We appreciate the positive, loving energy that so many are sending out on our behalf, whether it comes as prayer, or some other form.
2 more months to go.