[Day 72] South Pass

The mosquitos were plentiful this morning. For such a dry desert with limited wildlife, I am confused how these bloodsuckers manage to live on.

In the morning, I hiked my way towards Atlantic City, a boom-to-bust mining town that sprouted from the 1867 gold rush in the area of Wyoming known as South Pass. Breakfast before my hitch into Lander sounded pleasant. I, unfortunately, came to realize Atlantic City was a mile off trail. South Pass City, a town of similar origin and fate as Atlantic City, was three miles directly down trail. I made that my expected stop for some junk food.

I cruised along dirt roads parallel to the official bushwhack that is the CDT. I am usually game for cross-country travel, but with all the ticks, this was a no go for me. I wasn’t in the mood to be picking ticks off in Lander. Old mining operations dotted the rolling hills, as the terrain progressed from flat desert to sparsely forested hills. This feels like the edge of the transition back into the mountains.

I made it to South Pass City only to discover it was Pioneer Days in town. The small town of, I’d guess, twenty residents was shuttling in a few hundred for some festivities. The entrance into town was blocked off, and it appeared fees were being collected. I wasn’t about to pay to enter a town, then pay to eat some junk food, then leave minutes later. I seem to have the worst luck timing my arrivals into these towns.

I pushed the three miles to Highway 28, my hitch point to Lander. The hitching wasn’t easy. Cars and semis flew by at over 80mph, and there was nearly no shoulder. A driver from the other direction pulled over and gave me an apple and banana and asked how the CDT was going. Then, he proceeded to turn around and head the direction towards Lander. Highway 28 almost exclusively passes through Lander. Why didn’t he offer me a ride after recognizing my need for a ride, pulling off to give me food, and ask vehemently about my hike? I have no clue.

Eventually, after an hour with my thumb out, Molly, who works as a public communicator for the BLM, got me into town. We talked about the interesting objectives and goals of the BLM — particularly how it is a multi-use public land agency that works on restoration, preservation, and recreation while simultaneously balancing land usage for oil and gas extraction, grazing, and other infrastructure. Interestingly, those are quite a set of contrary activities that come at the expense of each other. The multi-use nature would certainly make it difficult to communicate a clear objective to the public.

In Lander, I hit a diner called the Oxbow. A Santa Fe skillet and stack of pancakes was filling. I followed that up with some ice cream. After a few hours in the park doing my digital content work, I was ready for another round. I got myself a king prime rib dinner at the Oxbow. I was chewing on that steak until 8pm.

I headed to the park for free camping. I tried a dip in the Popo Agie River to replace a shower, but the rocks and algae made it difficult to not fall on my butt. Tomorrow’s objectives include breakfast, resupply, and prepping for grizzly country.

Signing off,

Zeppelin / fReaK (ON a leash)