Follow me on the CDT: The Flip, Wyoming and Back
Pure luck. It felt like pure luck that the pieces of a plan loosely constructed in 30 minutes was unfolding as imagined. I sipped my soda and pulled my legs up on the passenger seat of the car. This very morning we had woken up in Chama, gotten a ride 3 hours south to the Albuquerque airport, picked up a rental car, and were driving through Colorado. I kept peering up at the mountains around us confirming to myself that yes, indeed there was a lot of snow left.
Being in a car, the whole roadtrip as a matter of fact, felt like a luxury. A vacation from my vacation thru hike. We could stop at any store we wanted. I could buy a watermelon to eat if I wanted because weight be damned. I could watch Netflix as my phone charged in the USB port. Like I said luxury.
It was going to be a late night. We had a 12 hour drive from Albuquerque to Rawlins, WY and had only picked up the car at 2pm. Jinx was going to spend the week back home while Jedi and I hiked the basin and had a plane to catch the following day. At 11pm, way past hiker bedtime, we made it to the cheapest hotel I could find on the highway.
By 10am the following morning Jedi and I were standing on the CDT 60 miles south of Rawlins. Jinx was on the way to the airport with the rental. First part of the plan executed perfectly! To make the moment even more perfect I was taking bites out of a deliciously fresh watermelon as we walked down the road.
The Great Divide Basin is the most loathed section of the CDT and possibly of all 3 major trails. It is a 180 mile stretch of flat, hot, windy, sagebrush covered landscape. It is public ranch land that is reminiscent of southern NM where you see more cows than people and share their water. Most thru hikers come through the basin in July when the temperatures are close to 90 and the sun more glaring than ever. By flipping up here the last week of May, I was getting a chance to see the basin at a more opportune time.
Immediately my expectations for the basin were proven wrong. Yes, it was a dirt 4x4 road but the wide open nature of it made you feel alone. More alone than the mountains of NM. Here I could see for miles and know there was no one around. The landscape had more gently rising bluffs than I thought and it gave the illusion of the early 2000 Dell screensaver.
On a road in flat conditions, the miles came easily. In just two days we walked back into Rawlins for breakfast and resupply for the larger section north. While hiking, a town breakfast is the meal I crave most. I love breakfast foods but won't let myself eat with the reckless abandon as I do on trail. In Rawlins, I filled up on pancakes, toast, bacon, eggs, and hash browns. The large breakfast did little to curb me buying an exorbitant amount of food for next set of miles. With the heaviest pack yet of trail we left Rawlins for the final 120 miles.
Another benefit of an early season basin hike is avoiding rattlesnakes. A few miles out of Rawlins I heard one, angry in some sagebrush. Even 15 steps away it was coiled tight pointing at me. I am happy to have that be my only rattlesnake encounter thus far. They don't so much enjoy rain and hail which is what we experienced just a few hours later.
With a horizon as wide and far as the eye can see, you can watch storms brew and move over the land. It is beautiful to watch a distant thunderstorm contrast with the yellow grass... When you know you aren't going to be rained on. It also means that you can see when you are walking into a storm. Nearly the entire horizon in front of us was black despite it being only 4pm. I kept walking dreading the moment I would feel the cold prickle of rain. When it hit, it was more than a prickle. The storm wall hit with a force I've never experienced before. Hail whipped my face and stung my ears. We scrambled for cover. Since everything around us was only as tall as our calves we had to settle for kneeling in a foot deep wash and covering our faces with Tyvek. This was far from the hot basin I was warned about!
Once the storm wall passed, it was a steady drip of sleet. The dirt underneath our feet turned to a sludge of mud and cow poop. Every other step slipped out from under me. It was an easy decision to call for an early night.
The following day brought another hail storm. Desperate to not be beaten by ice again we raced down the road trying to out run the wind. When I looked up to check our progress against the clouds I saw a majestic animal framed against the dark sky. A white and black stallion, unphased by the storm, watching us hustle by. This portion of the basin is home to wild horses. While the elk, antelope, and cows shy away from humans the stallions approach unabashed. This was the 4th stallion who had galloped closer to the road to keep a keen eye on us until we passed their herd. Even far away there is no mistaking that these animals are wild compared to their domestic counterparts.
The weather relaxed after that and the remainder of the basin was high 70s, no cloud cover, and light wind. Without a single tree we were in sun exposure constantly and my tan deepened drastically. No more rattlesnakes made themselves heard but the ticks came out in droves. Every time we had to move away from the road to get water, we would return from the grass with at least 5 ticks clutching our gaiters.
It was easy hiking and enjoyable compared to the last cold week in northern New Mexico. Our daily average was close to 30 miles and it felt natural. The biggest slow downs were constant cow traffic and honestly my obsession with the cow herds. While not stallions, some the cow's coloring was pretty... And some terrifying. I stared for quite a while at two calves who looked straight out of The Shining.
On the 5th day from Rawlins we entered South Pass City. Not actually a city. A historical mining town preserved for touring right in the middle of trail. This marked the end of the Great Divide Basin. From here the trail ascends into the Wind River Range which is under snow, so back to Colorado we go! Overall the basin proved to be the right call for us. The warmth was a nice reprieve and the snow reports indicated drastic melting in the San Juans. It will be a change adjusting back to a forest trail opposed to the long 4x4 roads, but hey that's the CDT!
The road trip back was just as enjoyable. The three of us were excited to be together again. To mark the occasion we made a special stop at Olive Garden for unlimited bread sticks and salad. This has been a recurring food craving for a few hundred miles now. I am proud that we finished our entrees, two full salad bowls, and 6 baskets of bread sticks.
The next day we were back in Albuquerque and ready for the public transit tour. A train and two buses later we were back in Chama. In total our flip and back took 10 days, 7 hiking days and 3 travel days.
Time to start Colorado!
