CDT68
1st July Saturday
Start at 1,585 mark this morning
28 miles
Resting on top of a hill having my second breakfast, with an undisturbed view of what’s ahead. The landscape has change significantly, no more mountains with snow but rolling hills with green pastures as far as the eye can see.
I have a decision to make in a few miles time, either deviate from the official trail which would cut about half a days walking or continue on along the CDT. I’m not trying to justify my actions should i take the “Shortcut” but the good thing about this trail compared to the trail in New Zealand, is that there are many options. Two weeks back I was hiking with a Canadian firefighter and we opted to come off the snowy mountains and walking through a town called Fraser. I saw a different part of America that I wouldn’t normally see if i continued along the trail. It was a pleasant change that the Canadian hiker introduced me to. But still, most of my walking will be on the trail.
Hot and dry road walking, wasn’t such a good idea after all
I took the short cut and it turned out to not be a good idea after all, it was a long dusty road that went on forever. There was little water supply along the way and the long climbs uphill was just too hard. Come late afternoon a local from Rawlins stopped and wanted to know what and where I was going. Being farmlands all the way from here he strongly advised me to get into his truck and save the 25 miles of walk. I accepted and within an hour he dropped me off at the camping grounds.
Dusty hot campsite with no shade, no thanks
The office was closed until a couple more hours but the price list on the door to stay was 25 dollars and after looking about the camp ground, it would have 25 dollars just to put my tent under the burning hot sun without coverage.
There was an American couple there as well, retired and last year they toured new Zealand and commenting how advanced new Zealand was compared to what they offered here in the likes of camping facility such as no shade for tent sites, no kitchen and cost much more. But at the moment they were stranded at the campsite, last night they plugged their electric car into the PowerPoint but it tripped out and didn’t charge over night. So they had to pay again and wait to get enough charge to get just over 200 miles.
Me with the locals
Town centre was just half and hour away where I’m sure I’d find a laundromat which also usually has WiFi and power to charge my phone. Fortunately a hiker in a car stopped and offered me a lift, late year she did the whole CDT and was keen to help. She recommended Bucks as a place to eat before hitting the trail again
Bucks restaurant
Looks terrible but it did the job