Continental Divide Trail – Day 85

August 16, 2023
Miles Today/ Total: 9.9 / 1,506.1

I was up and on the trail early to beat the heat and reach the highway early. There has been some concern about hitching to Landers due to the low traffic volume.

The trail continued down a gravel road for about 3 miles before turning off and climbing up over a ridge line on single track. The views from the ridge were nice, but the trail was difficult to follow through the sagebrush. I finally came across a two track that was the trail and got back on line.

The two track meandered around a hill and down into a valley that led to South Pass City. This is an old gold mining town that has been turned into a historic museum. Many of the structures were open and furnished as they were in the 1890’s. It was cool to walk through and see how people lived back then.

I ate my breakfast on a picnic table by the “Dance Hall” and met a couple of SOBO hikers there. One gave me his bear spray since he no longer needed it.

I continued on the trail and had a couple more areas where the trail was difficult to follow, but ended up on a two track that led to the highway.

I started walking down the highway toward a parking area about 2 miles down the road, hitching as I went. About 15 minutes a truck pulled over and offered me a ride toward Landers. He was a pipeline project manager from Independence MO out here on business. He wasn’t going to Landers but took me about 20 miles before he had to turn off in another direction. I thanked him, jumped out and started toward Landers about 8 miles away.

I hadn’t even made it through the intersection when a lady rancher stopped and offered me a ride into town. She even drove by a couple of businesses that catered to hikers in town so I knew where they were.

She dropped me off at Safeway where I was able to do my food resupply and I repacked my food in the shade next to the building. I walked across the street and checked into the Silver Spur Motel. After settling in I headed downtown to get some food and ended up at a Mexican restaurant. I ate and then walked down to Wild Iris outdoors and picked up a bear canister as I was heading into grizzly territory.

Back at the motel, I showered, washed my clothes in the tub and hung them up to dry in the room. I spent the rest of the day planning my New Zealand trip and watching a little TV. Even though I was in town I started getting sleepy about 8:30 and was in bed my 9:00.

I’m looking forward to getting back on the trail and heading into the Wind River Range. It’s supposed to be a beautiful part of the trail.