I’m Back — Adventures With Samson-The-Bear

On 8/22 I did 15.7 miles to a ridgeline near Green Mountain. On 8/23 I did 25 miles to Trail Creek. On 8/24 I did 26.9 miles to Newcomb Creek. On 8/25 I did 22.5 miles to Highway 40. On 8/26 I took a zero in Steamboat Springs. On 8/27 I did 24.1 miles to forest road 104. On 8/28 I did 25 miles to forest road 751. On 8/29 I did 20.7 miles to the border of Rocky Mountain National Park. On 8/30 I did 27 miles to Grand Lake.

Listen to "Rocky Mountain High" by John Denver. It feels good to be finished with Wyoming, but weird there is only one state left.

After leaving Rawlins I was technically out of the Great Basin but I was still walking though desert sage brush and drinking saline water under the scorching sun. I ran into my first patch of trees about 60 miles South of Rawlins; I climbed into the small grove of Aspen and let out a hallelujah and took a super long break, it was the first tree and subsequently the first shade I had seen in 180 miles. I have run into a few hikers since then, and that patch of Aspen has come up in almost every conversation. The Aspen not only marked the end of the desert but also the beginning of a forested climb to higher and cooler elevation. Once I started to climb up in elevation I pushed to make it to Encampment, WY to get in before the Post Office closed for the weekend.

I got up early on the 22nd and made it to Battle Pass and started to hitch. It took 35 minutes before the first car came over the pass and it stopped to pick me up. When I have gotten a hitchin MT and WY I always play the "where's the gun game" because I think it is state law in both of those states that every vehicle must be locked and loaded. This particular hitch was too easy since I had to move several rifles out of the way just to sit in the front seat. I think everyone in these states has watched Red Dawn a few too many times. I got into Encampment early and hung out in a tiny coffee shop/antique store while my batteries charged. Once charged up I headed over to the local restaurant where I ate two plates of nachos, two sides of fries, two buritos, a giant slice of pizza, a couple of PBRs and a salad because I need to keep it healthy in town. I never got quite as full as I wanted to but figured I should hitch back out of town and try and make some miles before it got dark.

The next day I was walking through the forest where I spotted a license plate on a tree. I had been looking forward to this day for a long time as it marked the state line between Wyoming and its southern neighbor. I was so excited I did a photoshoot (since I mostly hike by myself that involves my trekking poles, rubber bands and my camera timer). I hit the trail hard after the border crossing, mostly because I had mentally prepared myself to hike at 14,000 feet and climb over non-stop jagged mountains. While that time will come, the Northern section of the state is relatively chill. I went over a few 12,000 foot passes but mostly hovered around 10,000 and was below tree line. I crossed a few snow fields and took my breaks at high alpine lakes. It didn't take long for me to forget I was in the desert just a few days ago.

I pushed hard to get to the next town since I needed my tent repaired. The doors on my tent fly no longer worked and when it rained I would have to curl up in the back of my tent to keep from getting soaking wet. My tent is made by Big Agnes which is headquartered in Steamboat Springs so when I hitched in I went to their store to see about a repair. They treated me like royalty when I walked in. They let me take a shower in the back of the building, showed me where I could charge my electronics, and gave me a loaner tent to stealth camp in town while they fixed my tent. Steamboat is super expensive and too costly to get a motel so they let me sleep on their front lawn in the middle of town as long as I setup my tent at dark and took it down in the morning too keep the local police happy. I had to spend two nights in town while my tent was being repaired, but it afforded me the ability to try all of the local breweries.

I got back on trail on the 27th. It started out as an 11 mile road walk which surprised me since I thought I was done with road walks but after the road walk I took a trail gently up into the mountains crossing several high passes. Over the next two days I hiked on and off with two different people, Nom and Max Heap. It was a treat to hike with people as I have been flying solo for so long and rarely see a hiker on trail. After descending the last pass I camped at the border of Rocky Mountain National Park. There are a lot of rules and regulations if you camp in the park so my plan is just to camp at the border, get up early and just walk through the entire park in one day and get out before I have to set up camp again.

Entering the National Park was awesome. I ran into a pack of coyotes, 2 huge mule deer, a bunch of moose and an elk all in the first mile. The CDT through the Rocky Mountain National Park is a horseshoe shaped trail with a solid climb up to a beautiful ridge line and then a gradual descent following a creek. On my way up I was reminded of the brutal winter this area had as avalanche debris was a common sight. Some piles were as high as 30 feet and I'm told down south some of the debris fields are 60 feet tall. As I headed up the ridge line I ran into a heard of about 100 elk just relaxing at 12,000 feet. Since it's a National Park the animals don't have a fear of humans and just started at me as I walked by. After passing the herd I hit the main ridge and got my first long ridge walk. It was an awesome view as I was completely surrounded by peaks. It was a quick up and a quick down, but it gave me a small taste of what the rest of the state has to offer.

I’m no Engineer but I think this bridge is out

I hit the sweet spot in this state. No snow, No Mosquitoes, plenty of wildflowers and water. Just need to get out before Winter hits.

He didn’t even care that I walked 10 yards from him