Ed dropped me off at my starting point this morning, where three SOBOs were arriving, hoping to catch a ride into Lander. Ed was heading back to the Denver airport, so he couldn’t take them all the way to Lander, but he could drive them most of the way. One of the three was from Green Bay (!) and another from France.
Despite having my lighter backpack (LiteAF), I was now carrying a bear vault filled with five days’ worth of food. It was SO HEAVY. And I left a ton of items with Ed that I normally backpack with, like camp shoes. I wondered if I could do this.
Digging In
I decided to take frequent breaks to rest my arthritic back. So every time I was feeling tired, I’d find a large rock or downed tree and sit for a while. Sometimes I took off my pack.
Everyone has been raving about The Winds, and I’m sure the scenery will be gorgeous. But today was nothing special. The first few miles were still in desert/Great Divide Basin territory. Then, when I started climbing the mountains, I hiked through blowdowns ALL 
DAY.
I don’t ever think I’ve ever hiked through a full day of blowdowns. Luckily there were always paths around them, so no bushwhacking.
Made It!
I made it to the Little Sweetwater River, where I found a really nice camping spot that was close to the water. I see that I’ll have a MASSIVE climb tomorrow, which is hard with my bad knee and heavy load. I hope to get an early start and just stop a lot.
Wish me luck!
Snowshoe
P.S. I love it when the sawyers carve “CDT” into downed logs!
Today’s Miles: 13.6 (21.9 km)
CDT Miles to Date: 1,307.1 (2,103.6 km)
CDT Miles to Go: 1,792.9 (2,885.4 km)
