It was another pretty cold night in the tent, what with the rain and all. Like yesterday, I had to pack up a sopping wet tent in the morning. The skies were gray and it was pretty chilly out. Same old, same old.
Not too long into my hike I met a couple on an ATV. The guy was a hunter. We chatted a bit and he even offered to give me his extra pair of mittens when I mentioned I’d lost one the other day. How nice!
Shortly after they drove off, I came across a spot with a lot of dead trees, just as it got a little windy. Not knowing how the day would shake out weather-wise, I stopped for 30 minutes to dry my tent.
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Aiming for the CO-WY Border
Once I crested some pass, the weather became sunny, although the temperatures were cool. I was on Jeep roads most of the day, which are sometimes easy and sometimes hard.
A bunch of “motos” passed me, and some ATVers. I also spied some hunters. Oh – there were a wealth of great camping spots all day. Unbelievable, compared to yesterday.
When I was about 6 miles (9.7 km) from the border, I found two coolers filled with trail 
magic! (And a bunch of chairs next to the coolers.) One container had all of these Starbucks canned drinks, while the other had sodas, candy, Oreos and fruit snacks. I took some candy, a can of root beer and downed a Starbucks espresso with cream. (My first canned Starbucks drink – it was good!) Thanks, Trail Angel!
Settling in for the Night
I’d realized at the trail magic stop, when I was almost out of water, that what I thought was a stream up ahead (and my ending point for the day) were “small pools of water.” I got nervous that I’d have to eat a cold dinner and have no hot coffee in the morning. Hopefully those small pools of water would be there.
Near the end of the day, I crossed into Wyoming. Yes! Another state completed. The CO-WY border was marked with license plates and rocks that spelled out CO and WY and other fun things.
I found the camping spots noted in the FarOut app, but it took awhile to find the small pools of water. Once I did, though, I saw how other hikers tried to make a pathway to it to help others find it, using branches and rocks.
I’m supposed to be in Encampment tomorrow night, which I’d LOVE. But I’d have to hike an awful lot of miles, and I don’t think I can do it unless the trail became perfect. Ha!
Please pray no rain tonight!
Snowshoe
Today’s Miles: 15.4 (24.8 km)
CDT Miles to Date: 1,097.3 (1,765.9 km)
CDT Miles to Go: 2,002.7 (3,223 km)
