Day 60: Two Months In!

August 13th, 2024

Mile Marker: 1260.8

Miles Hiked 17

This morning we woke up around 6 AM and were ready to get up and out of camp. It was town day and we had 17 miles to get there. Time to boogie.

We watched the sun come up behind the clouds and rolled along pretty easy. We knew the terrain today was going to be more chill and that we would likely be able to keep a faster pace.

But Journey and I were extremely fatigued. After a few miles in we could feel the deep fatigue in our legs and were itching to be in town already.

We found it pretty amazing to see such a drastic change in landscape from the winds to this more flat area that will soon turn into the Great Basin. Who knew Wyoming is so diverse and has such amazing mountain ranges!

We also noticed a lot more sage bushes that scratched our legs as we walked by.

Today proved to be another one of those days with a ton of blowdowns. To the point where I was becoming frustrated. On a day where we looked at the map and it should be a fast moving day, of course we have something to make us go slower. GAH!!

So much trail work needs to be done in this section and I’m very grateful for the work that has been done because I’m sure it used to be way worse.

For the last 7 or so miles we turned into a gravel road and ran into Captain. We shared what had gone on in the last couple days and how he had gotten ahead.

Such is trail, always an ebb and flow of merging with people.

We followed the road for a bit and could see far off into the distance, at the flatness we are soon to be walking through. Without the wind the sun felt extremely hot and made us a touch nervous for the heat in the Basin.

We made it right before the highway and saw these huge tall fences. Journey let us know they are for the snow and to hold it back so that it doesn’t pile up on the road.

He also jokingly said it’s what holds the grizzlies back since everyone says there are no more grizzlies after this highway. HA HA

However, we are able to dump our bear spray here and will continue south into grizzly free zone! Can you believe it!

We got to the highway and realized there was no area for people to pull off, so we walked down a way to a pull out area and stuck out our thumbs. Unfortunately… hitching to Lander can be a tough deal. We stood for around 45 minutes waving and showing our thumbs to people until finally a lady and her son pulled over.

They lived in a neighboring town and were able to share more about the area. I also didn’t realize we were only 2ish hours away from Salt Lake City. As they talked I pulled out my map to see where in the world I was.

They claimed to like the area but that winters were pretty harsh. During this time of the year it definitely seems to be more people around as they are traveling. I sat watching the clouds morph with amazement. How beautiful it is out here!

We enjoyed chatting with them for the 35 minute drive and had them drop us off at a restaurant so we could finally eat. Yay!

Lander is a bigger town than we expected at a population of around 7,500, this is much different than what we have been in!

Journey and I ordered a chicken sandwich and salad. Both were just delicious and getting a huge salad was just what we wanted!

We then went to the post office to pick up a few boxes. One box was our sun umbrellas to help us have shade in the Basin. One had a new pot for me so that I can either cook or cold soak my food. Journey got one a few weeks ago and I became rather jealous of how fast his food is ready! His friend also provided some backpacker meals in the box for us. And lastly, we got a huge resupply box from my best friend Kari!

Both of us were so thankful for this box as we will not have to resupply much in the grocery store! This was such a huge help, thank you Kari and fam so much!!!

Kari and I go way back, knowing each other in grade school from softball teams but not becoming good friends until high school. I can still remember the first basketball tournament we went to together and almost instantly bonding. Even though we haven’t lived in the same town in quite some time, we can pick up like nothing has ever changed. Kari is a best friend anyone would be lucky to have. Love you girl.

We then started to do our laundry and lounge around until dinner time where we headed back to the same restaurant because we didn’t want to walk far.

Once in town we are the most lazy! We plan to zero tomorrow to try and recover before the Basin! I’m so thrilled to get some sleep.

Iz and Oz