CDT69
2ed July Sunday
26 miles
Last night I got just passed Rawlins town and walked until dark, must have been just before 10 o’clock I stopped and setup camp.
The trail with no shade
Real slow start this morning, 6am and within two hours of my walk, water is running real low untill I come upon a water course, Bull Springs , fenced off to keep the cattle out. Looks clean enough, if I ignore the small things swimming about. I used the filter to make sure, whereas, a couple of days back I drank straight out of the streams that came from the showy mountains of Colorado . Now it’s cattle land and back to carrying water.
Water at last, good clean water
So tired today, low in energy but what helped me get through the morning was listing to music.
The landscape is hot, dry and featureless. No trees to sheld myself from the sun during my morning break and lunch. No more ice Coffee from the mountains of Colorado but instead warm coffee drinken from an empty pennutbutter container that I now use as a shaker bottle.
Just before lunch a sole white horse I spotted to my right at a far distance stood watching me. I carried along the 4WD track and he made a point to set an intersecting course to meet me., looked friendly enough and it just stopped in the middle of the trail and watched me. As I got closer it jumped about playfully and trotted ahead then stopping to see if I was following. It soon got tired of me and carried along on a trail to my left without a second look back.
Further up along the trail, I came across another couple of horses
Getting late in the day and according to my map I was within 5 miles from a good water source, I’ve dranked the last of my water and could feel the thrust setting in, I had to stop every hour just to rest then push myself on again.
Finally I was on sighting distance to the reservoir, reports on my map was a mixture of good and bad for water condition, one report this time last year said don’t rely on this as a water source as cattle, hourse have stirred up the mud and added their cow poo and made the water almost undrinkable. Resent report which was 4 weeks back says it’s flowing good with clear water, but soon I’ll know for sure.
Simular plants to what I found in New Mexico
On arrival there was a camper van, a couple’s foot prints I have been following for a few days, I have finally meet with their support crew, their mother named mother bear.
I was welcomed, given water and i must have downed two litters straight away and not long after I was given a great meal of tarcos, with live fresh sailds. So healthy .
The couple were on their mid forties, no kids and worked hard all their life and now taking a year our to travel to do their own thing. There plan wasn’t to do the whole CDT but two states only, Wyoming and Colorado. They were a great couple and they were interested in my life style New Zealand, Australia, Thailand and S Korea.
Andy, Sara and mother bear.