It’s my 37th birthday! I take a rest day with the family, eating cakes and drinking beer. This might help prevent a full recovery of my digestive systems, despite the rest day, but I enjoy it!

Today the only pressure is to not be too late to the trailhead, where my Dad and Sarah are supposed to join Bob and Carol to greet us. The early day goes slowly as we have to pick our way slowly down some frozen snowfields, but once we’re on dirt trail again the hiking is…

The question of the day is whether there will be too much snow on the far side of Shannon Pass to make it over and down the other side. If so, we’ll have at least three extra miles of rough terrain to cover to circumvent it, and probably more the way the miles have been…

We hike for miles through the lake-dotted, glacially sculpted plateau of the western Wind River range. Long miles – each one seems to take us nearly an hour. Lots of small climbs and descents. It’s getting late by the time we reach North Fork Lake, but we press on toward Hat Pass. It’s 8 pm…

We had concocted a plan where I would take off on my own into the Cirque of the Towers today, but since I’m still not feeling fully recovered from my illness I cancel it. It’s nice to stay with the group and see Ann’s parents at our Big Sandy resupply. Swarms of mosquitoes have started…

I’m still feel a little sick in the morning, but able to hike. On our way out of camp a Moose crossed the road in front of us. We meet an excited trail crew on their way out, with news about some almost-finished new CDT tread to Big Sandy. We consider trying it, but opt…

Ann is with us again, and we meet San Gabriel in South Pass City, a northbounder headed for Lander to resupply. He hikes to the highway with us and swaps a few tales. My breakfast is not sitting well, and gets worse through the day of navigating small backroads. By the end I only want…

It’s not far to go into South Pass City today, but there are surprises. As we approach a rise suddenly two small antelope are running full steam toward us with no sign of stopping. By the we register it it’s too late, but the antelope start and swerve away at the last second. Still processing…

The country feels more wild as we descend Willow Creek, and the Sweetwater River canyon has a very remote feel. It’s a great change of scenery, but the uneven terrain on the banks is hard on Pete’s knee. At first we cross the river reluctantly, but soon do so whenever convenient. It’s usually only thigh…

We encounter no ticks overnight, but in the morning they’re everywhere. We decide Green Mesa ought to be Tick Mesa. Unexpectedly we encounter some people. Jeremy from Wheatland is out in his truck exploring Wyoming’s vast public lands. He says you can drive to Rawlins from here without hitting a fence. A rancher from Lander…