Friday, Aug 22, 2025
16.7 miles, 932′ gain
After spending the night at a friend’s house on the outskirts of Denver, she kindly dropped me off at the nearby city train stop. I took the train to the bus station, and picked up a Greyhound bus there. It was a ~5 hour trip to get to Rawlins, WY, including passing through Laramie.
I left the truck stop around 2:45pm after stocking up on 3L of water from the truck stop sink. I had an awkward but fine interaction with a man and his son about backpacking; they’d just come back from 6 days spent in the Wind River Range. I was happy to get out of town and moving. My pack was heavy with 6 days of food and all that water. It was 86 degrees when I started, with some clouds in the sky. I was road walking all day and had fair weather, even if it was a bit hot.
I hit 16.5 miles for the short half-day, blasting past the place I’d intended to sleep since it was at least 1/3 of a mile off the road. The road shoulder was decent, though I had to be mindful of tractor trailers passing by. For the most part, I was able to keep a quick, smooth walking pace all day.
I camped near Miller Creek, my trip’s first water source. It was a bit trampled by cows, but the water was flowing clear and quickly. I had some moments of panic when I tried my new water filter and CNOC bladder for the first time and it didn’t work. I was then reminded of my trips to Katahdin and how the bladder can’t be completely sealed or the pressure prevents water flow. I fixed that, and the filter worked well for the rest of my trip, thankfully.
Within a short walk of the water source, I found a small rise between the road and a larger field and set up my tent behind the rise for cover. I had some condensation overnight, since I was in a more moist area. Coyotes howling and yipping, but the road was fairly quiet. I had good sleep.
Transcending Mountains 