The Winds: Days 52-64

MC: There is something truly special about seeing an area of the country that 99% of the population will never see due to the obscenely difficult terrain you have to hike on in order to view it. You don’t get to drive your SUV to the parking lot and hike a quarter mile to see the pretty views, you have to earn this one, and many people will never get that option. The Cirque of the Towers was like a scene from Lord of the Rings, it had a beautiful Mordor feel to it, with its towering peaks surrounding you from every angle. The Cirque is a part of the Wind River Range in Wyoming, which is considered one of the top highlights on the CDT due to the ruggedly beautiful landscape that surrounds you. This landscape comes with a price though and it’s not cheap. Each day our legs were beaten down from the rocks we traversed over and the steepness of the grade that the trail provided. I wish I could say that I truly enjoyed the section because I was told that it’s a major highlight; was it beautiful? Yes. Was it the grandest landscape I had ever witnessed? Yes. Did its altitude and boulders demoralize me? Also yes. 

Hannon and I have enjoyed Wyoming more than Montana and Idaho, and we intend to come back to this state with our trailer to visit again. I look forward to the day we get to vacation in these mountains because what we are currently doing is work. Hiking is our job, and we have to do it for roughly 10 hours a day. And when you’re working, sometimes the beauty that surrounds you can be lost on you, which is unfortunately how I felt at times during this past section.

My personal highlight of this section was our wildlife encounters, which included three more moose! Moose count is up to 5, and I have dubbed them my favorite animal on trail. Moose can have a reputation for being aggressive, but we have experienced none of that behavior. We have seen gentle gigantic animals that appear curious with you as much as you are with them, and it is truly a treat to see these great northern mammals in their habitat. 

Next on the docket is the Great Divide Basin, which is flat, thank God. We do have to walk 30+ miles each day to get to Rawlins, but after our hiking in the Winds, I’m not too concerned with being a little bored in the flatlands. Colorado is on the horizon, and so is the halfway point for our adventure, so crazy.

HD: The section of trail from Dubois to Atlantic City, Wyoming was our longest of the entire CDT (8 days and 168 miles). It was also our most anticipated. It did not disappoint.

We could see the Wind River Range already from  20 miles north of Dubois. It is a massive north/south stand-alone range in the middle of Wyoming, with dozens of 13,000’ peaks, glaciers, and 7 days of subalpine hiking all above 10,000’. It took us two days just to get into the range from Dubois, but once you’re in, it’s like a different world. 

Day 3 began with a 20 mile hike up the Green River valley, the other major river of Wyoming along with the Snake. We hiked to the source of the Green River on the morning of day 4 before going over our first major mountain passes.

There are lakes, rivers, and glacial rocks that dominate the landscape; is mostly above treeline. The trail conditions varied from smooth dirt to technical and steep rock hopping. It was everything all at once.

The weather changed again on us; it rained in the evenings almost every day,  causing us to adjust our planned hiking length as we fought to remain on schedule.

The highlight of the hike was our foray into the Cirque of the Towers. I haven’t seen anything like it in person; the closest pictures are maybe Cerro Torre in Patagonia. There is a high price to pay for entering and exiting the Cirque, the passes in and out are the most difficult that we’ve experienced. It is a place special and unique enough to be unforgettable. 

Even with these grand experiences, my most vivid memory was on the last day. You walk out of this massive mountain range and all of a sudden it’s just gone, replaced by a forest of short aspen, lodgepole pine, and sagebrush. It happens so fast – exactly the opposite of the start where you see the mountains coming for three days.

Wild animal encounters were frequent for us on this section. We two-stepped around a mom and calf moose on the trail, we saw our first bull moose in the evening on day 7 from about 10 feet away, we watched a peregrine falcon work the rodent population over, and we finally met the elusive and cartoonish Pika (sorry for the mispronunciation in the Wild Animals video – this was my first encounter with such a creature!). Marmots, elk, and ground squirrels were everywhere as well.

Tomorrow we head into the Great Divide Basin, a 150 mile area of sagebrush and high desert. The hiking couldn’t be any more different. It’s fast, flat, and without any tree cover. We hope to make big mileage days (and nights, if necessary) and avoid the violent thunderstorms that are common this time of year. And then – Colorado beckons.