This section is 50 miles on the dot and runs from Deep Jack Trailhead to Rawlins, WY where I connected my footpath and completed the Colorado NOBO Flip-Flop. October 9th.
Day 109, 50 miles to The Hole in the Wall Bar, Rawlins, WY
I woke up around 1 A.M. to take a leak and soon after crawling back to bed I realized I was too excited to get back to sleep. My alarm was set for 3 A.M. anyway so I decided to get packed up and go for it. I also had a hearty double dinner so there was no need to waste time on breakfast just yet. A couple of miles in, I saw a pair of eyes looking at me from in the trees and they quickly darted off. It was too fast for a cow and they seemed to low to be a mountain lion but I hiked with my bear mace in hand for a bit and loudly talked to myself. I crushed 6.7 miles to a small creek where I stopped to water up, eat breakfast, and enjoy a nice warm cuppa tea. I then got lost in the dark and cut across some farmland where I had to hop a fence to get back on the trail. It was around 5 in the morning and I hoped the farmer wasn’t up yet. I soon hit the pavement of Sage Creek Road which would take me 39.5 miles into town. The sunrise lightshow was just getting started and it felt great to be 20% done the mileage before the sun came up.
Pick your poison. A video recap of the day in a short or medium format:
50-Mile Day in 1:55 ⬇️
50-Mile Day in 4:15 ⬇️
Cows stirring awake before the sun.
Spectacular sunrise as I hit the paved road.
Prints for Sale!
Click Photo to go to the Print Shop
I took my second break at North Fork Savery Creek where I ate a wrap, changed out of my PJs, and grumbled about the myriad of cow pies lining the edges of the creek. I hoped my Sawyer water filter was still working properly. I continued blasting feel-good music to help keep my pace strong and any time I saw a dirt cow path adjacent to the road I would gladly walk on it to give my feet a break from the unforgiving pavement. I saw a heard of pronghorns that, of course, kept just distant enough that even with a zoom lens, they weren’t much larger than specs.
Still got a long ways to go.
Entertaining myself on the long 37-mile road walk.
Lenticular Clouds.
Pronghorns.
Numerous times I crested over a hill and could see the fresh asphalt of Sage Creek Road cut across the dull landscape like a black ribbon, curling ahead for miles. I flew past Sage Creek which was white with silt and flooding parts of the road but luckily a good spring was a few miles ahead. When I arrived, I felt like a NASCAR pit crew as I hastily chugged a liter of water and filled up my bottles. Soon after resuming my walk, a local pulled over in his pickup and asked “Do you need a ride? You know it is gonna be below ten degrees tonight?” Yikes. Now I really had to finish the 50-Mile Day because there are no trees between here and town. No place to hang my hammock. No shelter from the cold, wind, and snow.
Sage Creek Road slicing across the open landscape.
Alkaline and silty water, no good.
Remains of a fox, I think.
Best water in the Basin.
Around the 12-hour mark for the day, I was 34.6 miles in and hit a wall. I took a break by a ratty fence to devour some calories and also realized I would be completely out of food. This was reason #2 to get to town. I also noticed some unfriendly dark clouds moving in from the West and they were pushing a cold front my way. I kept hiking on and soon had to break out my puffy jacket as the temperature began to plummet. When the wind picked up I added my FroggTogg rain jacket for extra warmth. When I passed the road’s 7-Mile marker, I realized that I had made it 43 miles so far and broke my previous mileage record on the Appalachian Trail’s 4-State-Challenge. Not long after I caught a glimpse of the outskirts of Rawlins and witnessed it get swallowed whole by a white wall of snow pouring down down the clouds. The winds shifted to hit me head on and the snow that it brought was very wet, clinging to my beard and soaking through my rain jacket. I was running on empty but less than five miles remained between me and town.
The final five miles were snowy.
I felt like an old outlaw when I arrived at The Hole in the Wall Saloon. I kicked the door open and some of the locals stared at this scruffy dude, soaked to the bone, with snow caked on his beard. “I need a beer!” I exclaimed. I dropped my pack and enjoyed another 32oz mug of Space Dust IPA. My 50-Mile Beer. I don’t think a brew had ever tasted so good. The bartender played a lot more dice games, as everyone was in a partying mood for the snowstorm, and a few lucky rolls earned me some free drinks. I stumbled down the block to a tiny motel, ordered a pizza, tried to chat with my fiancée but was borderline incoherent from exhaustion. And maybe also from drinking heavily on a massive calorie deficit. Instead of hanging up my gear to dry out, I dumped it all over the floor and passed out.
Day 110, 0-Day in Rawlins, WY.
I was still out of it the next day. I was thankful beyond words that this motel had vacancy for me because otherwise I would have had to walk a couple miles to the East side of town where all the hotel chains and box stores are located. The only time I left my bed this day was to shower then walk to Anong’s Thai Buffet which was closed. This crushed my soul. So I got a sandwich at a nearby cafe and then walked to a gas station to load up on TV dinners and gross snacks to attempt to balance my calorie deficit from yesterday. I spent the rest of the watching crappy movies on TV, editing photos, and chatting with Sea Lion. Tomorrow would be another long hitch, 250 miles to Denver where I would crash for the night, catch an early flight to Austin, Texas, and join Sea Lion for the City Limits Music Festival. Only New Mexico stands between me and the Triple Crown.