Today was a great day on the trail, albeit tiring. Last night the wind was howling for hours, but I slept well after the last two nights of crap sleep. I heard the coyotes heading out at night, then regrouping in the morning. I always love that!
The itinerary for day was a rather boring one – the long road walk to Rawlins, continued from yesterday. Ed drove me to the spot where we stopped yesterday, then we reprised our system of him dropping me off 3 miles (4.8 km) up the road, then hiking back to meet me.
Not very long into the hike, my lower back seized up. So I ditched my (light) pack and soldiered on.
Wind, Sun, Cyclists and Trail Angels
Today eight cyclists passed us, all doing the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. A few stopped to chat with us, including a lovely couple from France. We also had loads of trail angels, formal and informal, who stopped to offer us cold water and even cold apples!
We passed our first CDT hikers on a southbound (SOBO) thru-hike, which was fun.
The day was super windy. At one point my hat and neckerchief blew off of my head. I retrieved the hat, but lost the neckerchief, which blew far away.
Another Day in the Bag
I made it just shy of Rawlins, then called it a day. Tonight we’re staying in a motel (I’d forgotten that!) which is great. We can shower, wash clothes and clean all of the dust off of us.
Snowshoe
Today’s Miles: 20 (32.2 km)
CDT Miles to Date: 1,176.5 (1,893.4 km)
CDT Miles to Go: 1,923.5 (3,095.6 km)
