Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Day 43: Three Forks Road to Highway 28 (Lander)

Sandwiched between two angry bulls, one charging forward, the other pawing the ground behind us, I wondered at the wisdom of routing the trail through areas where bulls freely grazed. We passed through quickly, relieved to get by them safely. 

A pack of five southbound Continental Divide mountain bike packers passed by. One stopped and circled back to talk to us. Mike remembered meeting us on the PCT in 2012 when he was hiking near Glacier Peak with his wife. He is now riding the Continental Divide bike route with his son. We enjoyed talking with him and learning more about his ride. 

We reached Willow Creek in the afternoon. Grass carpeted the trail and willows on either side formed a shady arch for us to walk through. 

We soon reached South Pass City, an old gold mining town that is now a historic site. We read about Esther Morris, the first woman justice of the peace, and saw many antiques from the 1800s as we wandered through the replica cabins. Brother Bear, another CDT hiker sat on the front porch of the mercantile eating a chocolate covered ice cream bar. We stepped into the air conditioned building, bought two ice creams, and joined him on the front porch.  We met Smiles on the far side of town. We had not seen her since Winter Park. 

Jeff met us at Highway 28 and took us into the town of Lander. We all enjoyed a Mexican dinner at El Sol de Mexico and topped it off with delicious ice cream at Ken and Betty's Ice Cream. 




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