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…

Ann’s parents have found the trail crossing near Crooks Gap! They’ve strung up a tarp for shade, making a little oasis for us. A hot meal and cold drink top us off. I say goodbye to Ann, and Pete and I set off again. Quickly the terrain changes as we climb into the Crooks Mountains.…

All day we follow the buried pipeline across the great basin. The linear route and the vast spaces boggle the mind. We select the next rise as a goal, which sometimes takes hours to reach. Tick checks punctuate the day. Ann’s feet are in pain, and she decides she’ll take a break and exit with…

Posted from Jackson Hole, where we’re resting up for the final push! There’s a new route that mostly stays off highway 287, which is very nice, but adds 4 miles I hadn’t accounted for. This makes for a long day, especially once we start to follow a buried gas pipeline across the basin. You can…

I’m going to add our cumulative wildlife sightings so far to the stats. Maybe I can track them by day from here. A day spent at the Rawlins KOA with Bob and Carol is remarkably rich and busy. We clean ourselves, package supplies for the next section, fine tune gear, tie everything down in the…

More lightning and a little more rain come through during the night, making some more Sticky Mud for us. Luckily it dries over the morning, but the first miles aren’t easy. We see lots of water that looks fine, but our map reports that surface water in this area is very alkaline. We don’t try…

On the divide we meet the one person we see all day, a guy driving around in his truck smoking a cigar. We appeciate the three bull elk that just jumped the fence in front of us. Pete’s knees are hurting him, so we’ve chosen the more gentle route with less certain water. The guy…