I left the Holiday Inn in Lander at 10:00 to begin the 1.5 mile walk to the other end of town where the post office and McDonald’s reside. I needed to mail some excess food home and I wanted to eat a burger and get one to pack out with me. When I got there I threw my size 14 shoes in the McDonald’s trash. All went well and I walked to the highway leading out of town with hopes of getting a hitch.
1.5 hours later I had walked a mile trying different places and was pretty dejected. There was a lot of traffic, but nobody wanted to stop. Perhaps it was mostly local traffic? I was hot, thirsty, and had to pee. I walked back to McDonald’s and took care of all three. I also retrieved my shoes from the trash because after standing in my new size 13 shoes my feet were hurting. I guess I’m going to have to carry the extra pair for a while until I figure out which size is right for me.
I went back to the highway and 30 minutes later a very old man pulled up in a brand new pickup. He was going to Rock Springs which is the exact highway I needed (and extremely fortunate). I hopped in the cab with him. He had an oxygen tube to help him breath and very thick glasses. He was a super nice guy, but I felt sad for him. He is 91 and his wife just died two years ago. He is all alone now and bought this new truck and didn’t know how to use it. I had to turn on the air conditioner for him. 🙂
He was a pretty bad driver, hitting the rumble strips all the time and got a flagman furious with him when he almost didn’t stop at a construction site. He tried to give the flagman some water to make amends. Just a sweet old lonely guy in a world that is moving a little too fast for him. When we got to the trailhead he was still going 70 even though I kept warning him that the trail was coming up. By the time he stopped we were a mile past the trail. I just told him thanks and shook his hand and waited for him to leave before walking back the mile. I wish the old guy well. He gave me a ride when nobody else would.
After a few miles on the trail I found a horny toad, saw a herd of antelope, and two deer. I walked into South Pass City since the trail goes right through the center of town. South Pass City is a really cool restored mining town. It’s free for CDT hikers, and you can go in all the buildings at will. The town was empty except for the lady who runs the Mercantile, so I had the entire place to myself. Most of the rooms have plexiglass to keep you from touching things, but there are a lot of interesting antiques with explanations about day to day life back in those days.
I spent quite a bit of time snooping through the South Pass buildings so I was anxious to get going and make some miles. The trail follows Willow Creek out of town. I had several close encounters with cows in this narrow gulch. The trail eventually made a sharp left up a steep hillside which I followed to the top. At this point I could see a beautiful flat dirt road on the plateau on the other side of Willow creek. Consulting my map, I could see that this was shorter and flatter than the official route which goes through Atlantic City. All I had to do was go back down the hill I just climbed and then get up the other side!
Easier said then done. After returning to Willow Creek I started to bushwhack my way up the south side to get to the top of the plateau. It got steeper and steeper and was covered with thick brush. I eventually had to pull myself up the cliff face by branches – all the time slipping in the loose soil and rocks. By the time I got to the top I was exhausted and had several new bloody scratches on my legs. It was worth it though – the next 10 miles flew by.
After 15 miles from the highway I crossed Willow Creek and rejoined the official CDT. It was quite dark and I had a lot of trouble finding a spot to camp. The ground is certainly level, but it is covered with very tough sagebrush everywhere. I finally found a cleared spot off the side of a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. My fingers are freezing and I’m starting to shiver. Good night!