Rawlins to Atlantic City, Wyoming (Mile 1,629 to 1,742)

September 24th to September 30th

Day 1: It was a late start today. I had to wait for the mail to arrive with my winter tent. Allison and Frank at the Brickyard Inn, where I was staying, were super accommodating. They did my laundry for me which they usually don’t do and they allowed me to have a super late check out today as I waited for my package. Needless to say after it was all said and done I got on the trail about 3pm. I only did about 6 miles just enough to get outside of town. My pack seems to be a lot heavier. The new tent is 3 lbs more than my old tent and this next stretch I’m carrying about a gallon of water at least for the next day or two to avoid a known bad water source that taste like cow manure. My new winter tent is phenomenal though. It is completely enclosed, so it’s a lot warmer. It’s also designed for snow and blizzards, so it can handle these 40-50mph winds extremely well. Overall not much happened today, but I am making my way towards Atlantic City, where I will resupply before pushing on into the mountains.

Day 2: When I woke up and opened my tent I saw an antelope running across the field 20 feet from me to join a group of antelope about 100 feet off to my right. I got a late start getting on the trail. I packed up my tent and then managed to lose 2 tent stakes that were still in the ground. I searched for about 20 minutes and finally found them. (They were level with the ground so they were hard to see)

I started walking about 8:35am and the antelope were all over. Every couple miles I would hear a snort, then see one staring at me, then it would run away. About 11:30 I came to the last good water source for about 30 miles. I decided to have lunch there and ate part of a summer sausage I bought in Rawlins. I then filled up a little over a gallon of water and pushed on. There were some horses roaming around. A black one with a white diamond on his head kept watching me, but kept his distance. I’m not sure if they were wild or owned by someone. I pushed on and after a few miles the trail skirted highway 287 for about a mile before jumping back on BLM land. I was walking on a hill overlooking a gulch and managed to come upon some antelope that were down below me. As usual they stared for 10 seconds then sprinted off. The rest of the way was down a dirt road and the whole way I kept following some antelope that would sprint ahead then I would catch up and they would sprint ahead again. They repeated this for several miles. They are pretty fun to watch. I finally got to spot that I decided would be a good campsite and I began setting up my tent. It went a lot smoother than last night since the wind wasn’t blowing very strong. Before long I was chewing down on some dinner and settling in for the evening. The coyotes have began howling off in the distance.

Day 3: I woke up this morning and watched the sunrise over a mountain way off in the east of the prairie. I ate my breakfast as it was coming up creating red and orange streaks across the sky. Once it was up I felt it necessary to put on the song “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles as I packed up my camp. When I got out of my tent I was surprised to see two antelope who were equally surprised to see me. They were about 20 feet away and we stood staring at each other for about 15 seconds before they decided to run off. I finished taking down my tent and got on the trail a lot earlier than yesterday. I made sure not to make the same mistake as the previous morning. As usual throughout the morning antelope run to and fro. The road I’ve been walking down seems to go on forever. I actually walked the whole way down one continues road today. A few hours in I saw three horses off in the distance. I know now that these horses are wild! I whistled to them and held out my hand. They came running my direction, but stopped about a quarter mile out. They wouldn’t come any closer, but instead turned and ran across the plains in front of me. As they sprinted all three in a line their manes and tails were blowing in the wind. The sight embodied the very feeling I feel out here in the wild. Complete freedom. I was amazed at how fast they ran across the field and were over the hill off on the horizon. If only I could move like that. I continued walking and the miles to the next water supply slowly started going down. I stopped for a break sitting down on the dirt road. When I stood back up I saw a fox that didn’t know I was there. Sitting down I was level with all the brush. The wind constantly blew at 40+mph. More antelope were off in the distance and when I got close enough they ran off. I got to the first water I’d seen in 25 miles or so. The A&M Reservoir was decent, but there was supposed to be water flowing straight from a pipe about 1.5 miles up. I know better than to pass up water in the desert though, because there could be an off chance that the next source is dry or no longer running. So, I filled up some water from the reservoir and pushed towards the better water to make camp at. I finally got to the pipe and that was exactly 20.1 miles for the day, so I set up my tent right alongside it. Setting my tent up in the high winds was... fun. Once I got everything anchored down I began to relax. I was glad to have a good supply of water.

Day 4: I woke up this morning and a crow was sitting on the fence next to me “cawing” I told him to “shut up” and he flew off. It’s was to early for that. When I got out of my tent another antelope was standing by. It was very overcast and it seemed like it was going to start raining any moment. I pulled out my rain gear and just went ahead and threw it on, it was cold enough anyway so it was nice to have an extra layer. Not to much longer and it started to drizzle. I started walking down the road and it turned west onto a extremely sandy road. For about 5 miles I was just trudging through sand as it shifted beneath my feet. Every couple miles I would stop and empty out my shoes. I noticed some horses off to my right and decided to try and get closer to them. I’d hold out my hand and try my best to keep them calm. Once you get within 30 feet they causally move back away from you. I kept trying, but with no success. I don’t ever expect to actually have one let me let it. It’s mostly just fun to stop and do something other than walking, so it’s a welcome distraction to at least try. I got back on the road and continued on. The rain finally stopped, but it was still overcast. Not to much farther up I refilled some water for the evening since it would be a little ways till the next spring. A few miles up the trail I stopped to watch an antelope that kept snorting at me. I gave up my interest of him when I heard the sound of a horse off to my right. I looked over and there were 3 brown horses grazing on the grass. They allowed me to get a lot closer and the youngest one stood on the hill proudly with his mane flowing in the wind. The closer I got though he would retreat back and then stop and stare at me again. I had a few more miles to camp and it was already about 4:30pm so I decided to go. The trail began to climb up out of the planes and get more into the rolling hills. I came across a group of mule deer down by a stream. Then about half a mile from my camp I came across the largest herd of wild horses. There were 28 total all spread out. 19 of them were down in the valley grazing. The other group of 9 saw me and gathered together and made a stand. They all got in a line almost as in a formation and started walking towards me. They then stopped and started snorting at me. When I wouldn’t move they circled around and then continued watching me. It was such an incredible sight to see. All the while the sun was beginning to set behind them creating a spectacular view in the sky. I moved a little further down the road and pitched my tent. As I was setting up my tent around 6pm the temperature was already at 41 degrees. I imagine it’s going to be a cold night.

Day 5: Last night the horses came by my tent. It started raining around 10:30pm and it continued all through the night. It finally stopped at 7:30am which caused me to get a later start. I looked out of my tent and the entire area was covered with a dense layer of fog. I packed my stuff up and got on the trail. The wind was blowing extremely hard, but I just kept my head down and kept walking. Not to much went on for most of the day. It rained off and on and I walked down a dirt road through this never ending Basin. It wasn’t till about 16 miles in I stopped at a water cache someone left and topped off my water. They left some tootsie rolls in the box too! I sat on the wooden crate as I took a little brake and then got back on the trail. Two miles down the road I see the figure of another hiker walking towards me. I was surprised because I didn’t think any more hikers would be on the trail this late. He was just as surprised and thought I was crazy for walking into the storm. We talked for a little bit on the side of the road. Off in the distance a pickup was coming down the road. It had been a few days since I’ve seen any vehicles. It was an older man and his wife with their two dogs in the bed of the truck. He asked us if everything was alright, two guys in the middle of nowhere isn’t something you probably see everyday. We told him we were good and he wished us luck and drove along. As I was approaching my camp there was a large movement of, what I thought were cows, upon the hill in the distance. They were walking along the ridge about 50 or more of them in a line. As I got closer I realized they were horses! They were every color tan, black, white, spotted, it was incredible. They came down to the creek to drink, but when I got close they all sprinted back up the hill. The sound of their hooves thundering was incredible. I watched them for about 10 minutes and then continued the last half mile till I was done for the day. I set up my tent and began cooking some food. As I was sitting there some deer were on the hill. All I could see was their silhouettes because the sun had began to set. A thick layer of fog rolled in so it is now completely dark out.

Day 6: It was extremely foggy again this morning. I got on the trail about 8am and before long it started raining. I threw on my rain gear and continued on. The rain stopped and the sun came out so I took my rain gear off. I was walking making some pretty good time and off to my right coming down the hill I saw the horse heard again. Lightning was off in the distance, but I didn’t pay it much attention I thought it was moving south. The heard saw me and one of the studs let out a snort at me. The second time he did it, it was like a command and the whole heard took off running back up the hill. He stood and watched me then turned and ran taking up the rear of the herd. I walked a few feet up and saw a marker that said I was on part of the Oregon Trail. That this was the Seminoe Cutoff. By this time the lighting was getting closer and a few drops of rain started falling. I started putting on my rain gear and as I was putting on my rain pants the storm came right on top of me. I was amazed at how fast it had moved. Lightning was shooting overhead and I was legitimately on edge. The plains are so exposed I looked around and spotted a small rock pile maybe 10 feet tall. I sprinted over to it and as I was running a bolt of lightning struck the horizon in front of me. I couldn’t even count to 2 before the thunder rang out. I put down my backpack and sat against the rocks hoping it wouldn’t strike them. The lightning passed over real close and the hail began to come down. It was at that moment that I realized I’m just like one of the animals out here. We both seek whatever shelter we can find from the storm and wait it out. I just sat there as it passed over then once everything was soaked and the lightning was farther south I got up and started walking. It was still raining, but it was 40 degrees out, so I had to move to warm up. Eventually the rain stopped and the sun came out. I started to warm up, but left my rain gear on. Sure enough an hour went by and another cloud of rain decided to pass over. On and off throughout the day this was the occurrence. Towards the end of the day I came across two antelope fighting they were off in the distance, but had their horns interlocked. Off to the side were two females watching the fight. I could hear their antlers clashing as I stood there. Finally the victor emerged and the loser ran off up the hill. The winner then proceed to prance on over to the two ladies and the three of them started walking. Then the loser decided to have one more go at it and came sprinting down the hill at the other buck. The victor maintained his status by in turn sprinting full speed to meet the young buck and he ran off for good. It was quite the sight! He won over the ladies and they went off into the hills. I was getting closer to my 20 mile mark for the day and finally came upon Sweet Water River. A few cows were around, but the moving large river was a great water source. Probably one of the best in the Basin. I filled up my water and then went a mile more up the road before pitching my tent. I got inside my tent just in time as another wave of rain started coming down. After a long cold and wet day I’m glad to be dry in my sleeping bag. Tomorrow I’ll be in town after 7 days I’m due for a shower.

Day 7: I had some ice form around the base of my tent. Off in the distance I could see the mountains covered in white from the recent snow. I thought about what lies ahead since I’ll be passing through the mountain range. I walked down the road to Atlantic City about 8 miles. I came down the hill into the small little town. For the first time in roughly 200 miles I was surrounded by trees along the road. The aspen trees were all golden as their leaves started to fall. The smell of pine was so strong the fragrance reminded me of when you visit a Christmas tree farm. The signs of fall were officially here. I walked into the town and got to the cabin I was renting. Laurel and Dale the owners of the Grubstake restaurant were extremely accommodating. They are closed for the season, but have rented me their cabin so I can have a place to stay and the restaurant is right next door. Even though it is closed I sat at the bar in the empty establishment as Dale turned on the grill to make me a burger. I looked around the place at all the western memorabilia on the walls. Everything from Winchester repeaters to painted cattle skulls. He said he can sell me some stuff so I can cook at the cabin too. So, I bought 3 eggs, 4 strips of bacon, 4 slices of toast, a little bit of coffee all for tomorrow’s breakfast. There’s no grocery store in town, so this was the best option. Now I’m going to relax before I head out in the morning and enjoy being out of the cold for a bit.