Cold Days and Colder Nights: Big Sandy Trailhead to DUbois, WYoming (Mile 1,792 to 1,915)

October 11th to October 22nd

Day 1: Dad and I had breakfast at the hotel before taking off this morning. He drove me back to the trailhead and we said our goodbyes. I started walking down the trail as dad stood and watched me go. Before long I was in the woods and dad was out of site. I heard the faint sound of the truck door close and I knew I had to go on. It was hard to go back to being by myself, but I know I’ll get used to it again. It was about 12:30pm. The woods were alive with wildlife. The birds and squirrels were chirping. I only did about 8 miles today. When I was walking through some rocky boulders I had a feeling I should look up. When I did I saw an animal staring back at me! At first I thought “mountain lion” but after a second I realized it was a fox. He must of heard the snow crunching and looked over the edge to see what it was. A little later around 4:30pm a bald eagle flew overhead. I watched him for a while and then continued on. The snow has melted quite a bit so the trail was easy to see. Around 5:30 I stopped to make camp. I set up my tent and ate my food away from my tent since I’m in bear country. I then hung my food and got in my sleeping bag. It was already 28 degrees around 6pm and it’s supposed to be about 7 degrees tonight.

Day 2: I was relatively warm last night. A thin layer of ice formed around the neck of my sleeping bag from the condensation of my breath. When I looked at my thermometer around 8:00am it was 20 degrees. I packed up my camp and started moving. For some reason I’m not sure why, I felt really low on energy today. I was trudging through the snow and it shifts beneath your feet like sand. To try and go fast you have to exert a lot of energy. The snow was to patchy and shallow for snowshoes, so I just had to deal with it. A few hawks flew overhead as I was walking, but for the most part it was just quiet with the sound of the wind. About noon I was only 5 miles in. The snow really has slowed down my pace. I kept trudging along. I put on my snowshoes for a moment to get across a field that had snow up to my knees. I’m glad I got some waterproof boots in Pinedale when dad was visiting. I had to ford a few small rivers. Two of them didn’t have any rocks to step on so I had to get my feet wet. Luckily my boots passed the test. About 4:40pm I was 11 miles in and I came across a coyote that was running through the snow. I stopped for the day about 5:30pm before the temperature rapidly drops. I had enough time to eat dinner and get my camp set up while it was still about 34 degrees, once the sun goes below the mountains the temperature drops into the 20s pretty quickly. Luckily tonight is a little warmer than last night. It’s only supposed to be about 14 degrees.

Day 3: It was a little cold last night. I got up and moving this morning and started heading down the trail. About 100 yards from my camp I came across some grizzly bear tracks in the snow. I crossed over a stream and topped off my water. I then continued on down the trail. My pace is still a lot slower, I’m just going to have to accept that the snow slows me down. The good thing is some of the snow is melting, so the trail is becoming visible. The terrain is so lonesome only the sound of the wind can be heard. I’ve barely seen any wildlife. Occasionally a hawk will soar over, but as far as I can see is just white covered wilderness. Around noon I ate my lunch. Anytime I’m stopped I’m always looking over my shoulder. I’ve came across a few mountain lion tracks and I always feel like they might be lurking on the rocks behind me. Wolf tracks are becoming a normal sighting although, I haven’t heard them howling yet. Around 3pm I climbed over Hat Pass. At first I was worried the snow would make it treacherous like the pass Dad and I went over. Once I got there though it was super easy to get up and over. On the other side the snow was up to my knees, but it leveled out as the ground flattened. Around 5:10pm I made my camp. I set up my tent in the snow burying my snow stakes. I ate dinner and then hung my bear bag. I’m now cozy in my sleeping bag. Tonight’s temperature is supposed to be about 17 degrees.

Day 4: I woke up this morning and made some hot tea. It was a welcoming thing, since it was so cold last night. I then packed up my stuff and got on the trail around 8:30am. No more than 15 minutes into walking I came across a large slow moving “furry” animal. At first I didn’t know what it was, but then I realized it was a porcupine! He must of saw me as soon as I saw him because he crawled under a rock crevice that way he only had to defend one side. When I got up to him he raised up all his quills. I knew not to mess around with those because they are all barbed and would be extremely hard to get out of my skin. I watched him for a few minutes, but when he wouldn’t budge I decided to continue on the trail. Today had a lot of elevation change. A whole lot of going up and down the mountains. The snow wasn’t as patchy as the day before, so it made for slow going. I put on my snowshoes when I sunk up to my waist in snow. No sooner had I put them on did the snow become shallow again. The big goal for today was to get over Lester Pass. It’s 11,500 feet and it had me worried as far as the snow that may have accumulated on the slope. Around 3pm I summited the pass. The snow wasn’t as bad as I anticipated. Definitely nothing like the pass Dad and I climbed over. I looked back at the snow covered granite mountains and blue lakes. Then looking forward was a sight to behold. White jagged snow covered mountains all around. To the west I could see the Tetons off in the distance all covered in snow. By the time I got down in the valley it was about 4pm. I only had about 8 miles down for the day. I decided to push until 5:50pm. The terrain is really rocky and every ledge I feel like a mountain lion is waiting to pounce. I guess it’s not to crazy of a thought since I see their tracks in the snow. As the sun began to set I finally set up my tent on a little flat ground next to a cliff. I sat on some dry pine needles away from my tent and made dinner. Then as is becoming my custom, I hung my food. Tonight is supposed to be about 16 degrees so I’m cozy in my sleeping bag.

Day 5: I overslept this morning since I was all synched up in my sleeping bag. I didn’t see the sunlight peering through the sides of my tent. It was 7:45am. I know time doesn’t seem that big of a deal out here, but every hour that goes by is 2 miles lost. I scrambled to pack up my camp. I got a move on about 9am. Everything goes slower when it’s cold it seems. I tried walking fast to make good timing, but the snow really slows me down. It’s almost frustrating sometimes. For the first time in 5 days I decided to walk to some music to get me motivated. I looked around at the mountains and just thought for a moment how lucky I am. Sure, the nights are bitterly cold, but when I wake up and look around me it’s absolutely stunning and wild. I’m going on 5 days of not seeing a soul and only the sounds of the wild. I love it. About 10:30am I was in snow up to my knees and it didn’t look like it was ending soon. I took the snowshoes off the side of my backpack and strapped them onto my boots. I went up and down the mountains and was gliding on top of the snow. I felt like I was flying then and wore them till about 1pm when I started going down in elevation. The snow became shallow and rocky to the point I would be faster without them. I hadn’t seen any animals other than birds and occasionally a chipmunk. I passed by numerous lakes and finally began to make my way out of the mountain ranges. I went through Green River Pass. It’s super famous for the fur trade and mountain men. That’s where the most rendezvous out of the entire fur trade era happened. Hundreds of Indians and mountain men would meet for the occasion and trade furs once a year. The landscape looked exactly like the paintings I saw at the mountain man museum in Pinedale. (Dad and I visited it when we were in town.) The only thing missing was the hundreds of teepees and makeshift shelters that would of been there back in the day. I started making my way down the pass towards the valley. As I made my way down in elevation the terrain has turned to thick pine forest and low grassy fields. I feel like I am now in the perfect environment for bears. In fact I’m technically now in Grizzly country. I ate my dinner .4 miles from my campsite to ere on the side of caution with the smell. I then packed up my kitchen set and got to where I planned on pitching my tent. I’m camped right along side a raging river that is half covered in ice. The creaks and sounds of the forest surround me. It’s a sound I’m going to have to get used to again.

Day 6: I woke up around 6:30 and began packing up. Today I was going to resupply at the Kendall Valley Lodge where Dad and I stayed a week before. I made arrangements then to get picked up at the trailhead and left a resupply box at the lodge. It was a pretty uneventful 13 miles. The landscape is stunning with the mountains towering over. I followed the Green River most of the day. I’m sure you can guess why it’s called that, yep, the water has a greenish tint. About 2 miles out from the trailhead I ran into the first person I’ve seen in 6 days. A forest service employee was walking up the trail when I stopped to rest in the grass. He is a geologist and was taking temperature readings of the glaciers around Three Forks Park. He informed me that before Labor Day this area is packed with hikers. That’s hard for me to believe because it seems so desolate and wild! Around 3:30 I got to the trailhead, Christy, from the lodge came to pick me up. I’m going to allow my sleeping bag to dry out and get a shower before pushing onto Dubois. For now it’s nice to be out of the elements.

Day 7: I continued to let my stuff dry and enjoy good food and warmth at the lodge.

Day 8: I eased into the day and had a good breakfast before taking off again. Sandy, Justin, Christy, and Emory at the lodge have been incredible. The hospitality and overall friendliness of their place made it hard to leave. Around 11:15am Emory drove me back to the trailhead. It was snowing and is going to be snowing for the next few days. My goal was to get over Gunsight Pass. The last pass between here and Dubois. I trudged on through the snow that had just fallen. It made everything white all around and looked like soft cotton. Around 4:45 I came over the pass and figured I’d go a little further for the day. Around 5:15 I stopped right as the snow started really coming down. I set up my tent and the snow was blowing in. My shoes and pants legs had snow frozen to them. I sat in my tent out of the snow and set up the my sleeping pad and bag. I will admit, times like these make me question why I’m still out here. Tomorrow I should be able to knock out some solid miles though. It’s pretty flat from here on to Dubois.

Day 9: I woke up late not wanting to get out of my sleeping bag. The sound of the snow hitting the side of my tent made me wish I could just lay here. Eventually I started moving though. I got on the trail around 9:00am and the snow was really coming down. It was still powdery though so it didn’t impede my steps very much. My backpack feels heavy with the extra days food I brought out incase a storm held me up. The wind picked up and started pelting me with snow. I put on my ski googles and threw on my hood. Around noon I took a break next to some willows and heard a low moaning howl. I didn’t pay it much attention and figured it may of been the wind. When I got up and moved down the trail again I saw fresh tracks of wolf prints in the snow. I knew what I heard was true then. I continued on moving pretty descent through the snow. I stumbled upon the remnants of someone’s camp fire, but it looked like everyone took off. The ground still had the dry grass where the campers were parked and it hadn’t been covered by snow yet. The fire was still smoking, so I sat down next to it and enjoyed the heat for a bit. Before long I got a move on and I was listening to the Lord of the Rings audiobook and stopped dead in my tracks. A fox was sitting right in the middle of the trail 5 feet from me and was just staring at me. I got out of phone and started recording him. When I was standing still he became curious. I guess with my hood and ski goggles on I don’t look like a human. He came within 3 feet of me sniffing the air then slowly backed away. He eventually ran off and when I walked down the trail a bit there he was sitting again. I asked him if he was hungry, he just cocked his head sideways and stared at me. Before long he went back into the woods again. It was the coolest experience! I almost felt like I could tame him as a pet! The snow continued to fall and by this time it was around 4:30pm. I pushed on till about 5:30 then stopped behind some pine trees to make my camp. I figured the trees would block some of the wind and snow. I set up my tent and threw my stuff inside. Then I sat out in the snow to make my dinner. As the snow came down I was eating a hot meal, but I wish I could eat in my tent. I used to eat while I sat up in my sleeping bag, but grizzly country changes that. I cleaned up my mess and hung my food. Since I’m doing good on fuel, I boiled my water and put it back in my Nalgene bottle. I figured that would be nice to put in my sleeping bag and help keep me warm. Tomorrow is one step closer to Dubois.

Day 10: Today was definitely the most depressing day. I woke up late and the snow was really coming down. When I started moving it was the slowest I’ve ever moved. The snow shifts under your feet like sand and isn’t deep enough or packed down enough for snowshoes. Not much happened to write about today. The trail is covered by snow now, so a lot of the time I’m making my own trail. I was moving about 1 mph. For going so slow it felt so exhausting because each step seemed like it took so much energy. At the end of the day I only did 10 miles. It has me contemplating stopping for the season in Dubois. The cold is really starting to get to me.

Day.. what day is it? Day 11:

The snow continues to fall. It continued to snow last night and all through today. I thought today would be a little better as far as mileage, but it proved just as challenging. I’m moving at 1 mph with snowshoes. I can see why they invented skiis. I wish I had a pair about now, I’d learn how to use them as I go along. Around 11:30am I was only a little over 2 miles in. I finally made up my mind today to stop in Dubois for the season. The trail is supposed to be enjoyable and right now the cold and the snow are making each day miserable. Every morning my boots are frozen and so are the bottom of my pants legs. I crossed over 1,900 miles today and I’m currently camped at 1,901. Tomorrow I’ll be in Dubois. I definitely learned a lot about myself on this journey.

Day 12: I got up this morning and started moving. I made my way down to the highway as the snow continued coming down. It was the easiest day I’ve had so far. As I made my way down in elevation the snow got really shallow so I took off my snowshoes. By the time I got to the highway there wasn’t any snow on the ground! I stood along the highway for about 45 minutes trying to get a hitch. The rain and wind kept blowing, but cars just kept going by. It was about 40 degrees. Finally after awhile a van slowed down with two European guys. The guy in the passenger seat got out and said, “We can take you as far as Dubois.” To which I replied, “Great, that’s exactly where I’m trying to get to!” After talking a bit I learned that their names were Simon and Garreth. They were from Tasmania and Wales. I was extremely grateful for the ride since while I was waiting my fingers were starting to get numb. I was actually in the process of putting on thicker gloves when they pulled over. When we arrived in Dubois I thanked them again and checked into the place I was going to stay. I was glad to get out of the cold and have a hot shower and meal!