Resupply day usually takes up at least 2 to 3 hours. Unless the resupply is mailed to my friend’s house, I have to go to the post office, which has specific hours. They’re usually closed on Sundays, so sometimes I have to wait until they’re open. When you get your box, you have to make sure that you have enough food. If you have too much food, you have to figure out how to give it away. Then you have them pack it up, and you’re ready to go.

On my way to the post office from the hotel, I had no luck getting a ride. Once I arrived, the process was very smooth, and I was excited to get a new pair of shoes!  I needed to go back to the hotel to reorganize. I waited at the door of the post office and asked people for a ride. After asking around for 15 minutes, Kurt, who had helped the CDT hikers before, took me back to the hotel. I thanked him for the ride and spent the next hour getting ready.

Once again, I tried to hitch a ride from the hotel. This time to the trailhead. I started walking on the road, and when I heard the car, I stopped and tried to get a ride. No luck! As I prepared myself for extra miles to the trailhead, a sheriff’s car pulled over and the guy in the car said, “Weren’t you hitchhiking the other day? I’m the guy who gave you the eggs!” OMG! It’s Alex whom I met at the Battle Pass a few days ago! He kindly offered me hard-boiled eggs when I asked him if he had any food that he wouldn’t mind sharing with me. He was in the sheriff’s uniform, so he looked different, but it was him! “This is what I do during the week. Where are you going?” said Alex. I told him that I am trying to get a ride to get back on the trail, but I had no luck. “Get in. I’ll give you a ride.” It’s amazing how the universe brought us together again, and I got help twice from this guy, 84 miles away from where we met last time. I thanked him for the ride when he dropped me off at the trailhead. As he was leaving, he said, “I’ll give you more eggs if I see you again!” 

I waved at him until he drove off. Now it’s just me and the vast land of sagebrush for miles and miles. For the rest of the day, I walked through the high desert land with no shade, carrying 8 pounds of water that would last till the next day. I felt exposed to all the elements, and it was similar to walking on the ridge line of Colorado mountains. The difference is that Highway 287 is running parallel to the CDT, the altitude is around 6,500 feet, almost half of where I was in Colorado, and it’s bone dry. I had dry feet at the end of the day first time in 60 days!

Around 6 pm, still the hottest part of the day, the trail merged with County Road 63. A truck came by and they gave me 2 liters of cold drinking water! It tasted so delicious, and it was helpful that I didn’t have to filter the spring water that I collected earlier. For them, it was not a big deal, but for me, it was a lifesaver. I appreciate the random kindness that people share with me.

With my thirst gone and my body revived, I kept hiking till the evening. I set up a camp in the shade of low bushes at the edge of dried playa. As I prepared and ate my dinner, I saw the beautiful desert sunset and moon rising. I stared at the wide open fields and sky, and thought what a beautiful evening, a completely different view, and this is so rad! 

The next morning, I woke up in the dark noticing orange light coming through my tent to fly. I opened the tent door and saw a huge, almost full moon in bright orange color which was about to set over the horizon. I was like, oh my Gosh, how incredible it is to wake up to see this! It’s gonna be a great day again!

Before I left Rawlins, I checked the weather forecast, and I knew it was going to be 90° for the next couple of days. I planned to cover more than half of the daily mileage before noon. It was still dark when I left my camp. Slowly, the East horizon turned to purple and blue then orange and the sun came up. The desert sunrise and the sunset are incredible. The wide open field turned to gold. There was no wind. I heard birds chirping, and saw a jack rabbit running among the bushes. As the day progressed, there was a gentle breeze that came on which was nice. There was no single cloud in the sky. I passed an electric well and saw a CDT hiker camping there. They’re supposed to be another one in 16 miles so I got enough water to make it there.

This section gave me a sense of remoteness. I didn’t see the highway anymore. I didn’t even see cows. I also noticed that there was very little air Traffic so it was very quiet. I saw a few pronghorns and one of them got really curious about me. It kept running, stopping, staring at me to check me out. The pronghorn headed north with me for a while and I enjoyed watching how gracefully it ran through the Sagebrush. The sheep stopped to look at me and I tried to catch up to them. We played that game for a while.

 

As the morning progressed, it got hotter and hotter and I tried to drink water to stay hydrated. About 8 miles to the next well, l I saw a white box on the side of the trail that said water. During my journey on the PCT, I saw many water angels supporting PCT hikers through the Mojave desert. It was common to see a water station put by somebody. For CDT, it’s so remote and there are not as many hikers as the PCT, I haven’t seen any water stations like this. This was the first one and I was really excited. I opened the box and there were gallons of water that were ready to drink. My water filter has gotten to the point that it didn’t work well so I was happy to see the water that I could just drink. I wish there was a thank you note that I could leave for whoever put money, resources, and time to help us get through this section. I just said thank you as loud as I could and saw a pronghorn horn at the horizon looking at me.

I did it very well in the morning. Regardless of how sandy the trail in a slight uphill was, I was able to put more than half the miles that I wanted to put for the day.

In the afternoon, the trail became more sandy and difficult to walk. Right when I was getting tired of walking on the sand, I saw the 1,600 sign on the ground, I was so excited! The entire trail is 3,100 miles so at this point I made it more than half. Wyoming is about 500 and Montana/Idaho is about 1,000. It is still a long way to finish at Glacier National Park and seeing the sign of the milestone on the trail helps me realize how far I have made so far. 

As the evening approached, I started looking for a camp in the shade. Since it’s an open field with all sagebrush, it’s difficult to find one. I saw tall sagebrushes about 250 feet off the trail. I went to check it out and sure enough, there was a shady spot among the bushes. I was so happy that I didn’t have to look further for the night. 

The next day started with seeing pink hues in the morning sky mixed with gradations of color from orange to red. It was beautiful with a slight overcast. The air was cool, the cows grazing peacefully in the hills. As dawn broke, I saw the silhouette of trees on the horizon. Oh how excited I was to see  trees for the shade! 

The trail took me on the climb to 8,000 feet. I came to a spring that was enclosed to protect the water source from the cows. But the cows got inside the enclosure so the cow dung was everywhere. I walked all the way to the source of the spring, and yet there was still cow manure everywhere. From the map, it looked like it would be a challenge to find a good water source that day from the wells or springs. The next spring would be 28.8 miles away at Weasel Spring. That meant no spring water source until the end of the day. The water smelled like rotten eggs. I thought I better find another water source soon. 

Water is life. I wish that we do better to protect the water source, especially in a desert, where water is so scarce and critical to everyone. I rushed to finish the uphill climb while it was still early and with the overcast that protected me from the direct sunlight.

The quality of water is important to me. I knew that all the sources ahead of me weren’t great so I kept my eyes out for any signs of potential freshwater. When I passed one of the dry creeks, I looked downstream and saw a group of Willow trees in the drainage. Willow trees are an indicator of freshwater. Many people have been using it to find water. I saw that it was off trail, and went down to the drainage to the willow trees. Near the trees there was a pool of spring that was coming out from the ground. I saw a lot of algae and of course, cows have found this precious water source so their dung was everywhere but not in the spring. Downstream from the pool, the water was running. I scooped up a little water- clear and no bad smell. I thought this might be the best water I would get until I hit the Weasel Spring. I collected enough water for the rest of the day and went back to the trail. I was lucky to find the water and also proud of myself to tune into the cues from the land. 

I passed a meadow that had dried and yet, still, lupin and buckwheat were blooming. As I was passing a dried up creek, I saw deer running in the field. Deer and pronghorn sheep are the two common ungulates that I’ve seen in this stretch, especially pronghorns. I enjoy looking for these animals since I have good visibility across the open land. Otherwise, it was a monotone field with little change.

As the day progressed, I was becoming more and more dehydrated- just being exposed to the sun and the wind, and hiking at a faster pace than I usually do. I was desperately looking for any shade where I could take a break, but of course, none. Then, all of the sudden, I heard a vehicle behind me. I turned around and saw a truck. The elderly couple stopped right next to me and asked if I was doing okay. I asked if they had any extra water and they kindly gave me a bottle of ice-cold water! I chugged it up in a few seconds as they watched me. The water revived me and I was thankful for this encounter. Then, I came to the CDT bulletin board standing sign with a box that says CDT hiker water! I was excited when I opened the box and saw many gallons of water! There was a notebook where I could leave my name, which direction that I’m hiking, and other information. This water angel station was originally started by a 2015 CDT hiker and now a different angel takes care of it. Knowing that this section is very tough to find good quality of water, I took 2L of water since I was already out and I thanked whoever put this water out for us.

CDT just doesn’t get easier. Section after section comes with different challenges. I think these challenges are what makes the CDT the most challenging thru-hiking route in the country, if not in the world. How often do I get desperate for very basic needs in my everyday life? The trail experience teaches me to be comfortable with uncomfortable situations. I understand how precious it is to have water, shelter, transportation, and food. I have a better sense of and understanding for people who don’t have basic needs met and want to extend my resources for those who need when I can.

I saw the Wind River Range far away the day before and it started to look closer and closer. That’s where I took my first NOLS course and eventually, I became a NOLS instructor to teach wilderness traveling skills that I am using today. Without NOLS and the support I received from many mentors, I wouldn’t be hiking this trail today. It is a special place in my heart with unforgettable memories and I was getting excited to enter the Winds in a few days 

For the rest of the afternoon to the evening, I kept walking. Regardless of how much water I refilled from the water cashe station, I was getting dehydrated. I stopped every hour to drink some water, but it didn’t seem like it was helping, and I had to keep moving, wishing that I was a pronghorn sheep so I could move faster and more gracefully. Somehow I missed the Weasel Spring- it was not there so I had to go an extra 5 miles to the Upper Mormon Springs to get water. By the time I got to the springs, the sky was gray and wind was blowing hard. The spring was surrounded by the rocks, so the cows couldn’t get in and the water tasted fine. I went to look for a campsite out of the wind but it was difficult to find a place sheltered from the wind. I found a slightly better spot down the hills and settled in for the night. 

The next day, at 2 am. I woke up hearing a thunderstorm and saw lightning through my tent. It’s early, but I thought I wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep so I got up and had an early start. As I walked out to the vast open field, I saw the lightning show, the nature‘s fireworks through the clouds at the horizon. It’s a full moon tonight and the trail was heading toward the west, so I could see a big moon through the clouds a few times before it disappeared.  

I saw something orange reflected by my headlamp on the trail. One flew off but the other one stayed on the ground. I got closer and saw a tiny owl. Their eyes reflected orange light when my headlamp shined. They were either northern pygmy owls or burrowing owls. I have never seen a small desert owl like this one. They were cute! After this encounter, I saw more of them flying around or in the bush. I guess they are active until sunrise.  

It was a perfect time of the day to hike. It was cool before sunrise and I felt the moisture in the air that helped me stay hydrated. The lightning show went on, then it disappeared after sunrise.

For the rest of the day, I just kept moving, thinking of getting to Lander. I passed South Pass City, a historic town, and soon, the landscape changed to be more rolling hills with trees. When I made it to Highway 28, I hitched a ride with Wesley to Lander. When he dropped me off at Safeway, he said, “Message me when you get to Glacier National Park. Good luck!”

I bought some food and ate before Liz, my NOLS mentor and a special friend, came to pick me up. “Good to see you!” said Liz and she took me to her home. I walked into the house and everything felt familiar and normal- some memories are there for a long time. Maybe forever. She handed me fresh towels, spare clothes then cold bubbly water and said, “Here, you can have this while you take the bath.” 

It’s good to be with people who know you and understand you. It’s good to be with someone who can talk for hours, have ridiculous memories together and laugh out loud. Tomorrow, as I usually do, I will leave like a wind, with a hope that I leave a trace of another fun memory together.