Mileage: 27.2 miles (1729.3-1756.5)
I woke up around 5am unable to sleep anymore but too cold to get out of my sleeping bag - a big change from the night before when it was so hot I didn't want to use my bag at all. I stared at the ghostly outlines of Fremont and Sacagawea Peaks, trying to make out Gannet, the tallest mountain in Wyoming, to the north. I was surrounded by the tallest peaks in the state, many with glaciers still hanging on them - though, they are rapidly melting and the map suggests they are just shadows of what they once were.
I waited for the sun to heat up the thin and chilly morning air, but I was sitting right below and to the west of a wall of nearly 14,000' peaks that would make that a slow process, so eventually I'd just have to get up. The clouds from the night before had finally passed and the winds subsided some, though I imagined up at the Col they'd still be roaring.
Gusts of wind had shaken my tent all night long, so I knew how powerful they could be, even where I was at 10,500' in the basin. Finally rousing myself, I started walking, wearing my gloves for the first time since Colorado.
I ran into a guy, who from a distance reminded me of my friend Restless, who I hadn't seen since New Mexico. I knew it was crazy, especially since the guy was walking the wrong way, but sometimes you intuitively know something that your brain just won't let you believe. Whether it's cues from the atmosphere, a scent drifting in the air, or electrical currents leftover from the storm, sometimes coincidences can't be explained. And this was one of those cases.
It turned out the guy was not Restless, but Restless's friend, and they had just been camping together. He told me I was only a few miles behind Restless himself! I didn't tell him about my feeling when I saw him, but filed it away as a reminder to trust my gut even if I didn't know why.
With new vigor I scrambled through the Cadillac and even house-sized boulders, past the last remnants of glaciers, shadows of their former selves and up towards Knapsack Col. Staring up at the Col I wondered how the hell I was gonna get there. From my vantage point, the path looked straight up a loose scree and boulder field, with patches of snow and ice in between. I decided to keep going, to get a closer look, vowing to turn around if it became unsafe. There was no one to save me if I slipped or fell deep into a crevasse.
So, I picked my way through, ending up a bit too high, so had to come down and finally came to the pass after a one last scramble. As I'd gotten closer, I found it was steep, but totally doable, even if there wasn't a clear path with cairns. And the view into the northwest amphitheater made all the effort worth it. The towering peaks were glowing a bright orange, surrounding the headwaters of the Green River, the main tributary to the Colorado. These same waters I walked on as snow later would flow through the Grand Canyon and out into the Gulf of Mexico.
Descending from the Col I met couple doing a high route through the Winds, something I'd love to do someday. They asked some questions about the CDT as that was on their to-do list. I kept yelling, "Restless, Restless!" knowing he wouldn't be able to hear me over th roar of the river.
I finally caught up to Restless after an insane waterfall, rushing from the highest lake in the watershed. I yelled his name and he looked back with a blank stare. I told him it was Lt. Dan and he still didn't get it until I walked right up to him and gave him a hug - we hadn't seen each other since New Mexico. We caught up as we walked through what we agreed was perhaps the most incredible section of trail so far, with towering monoliths on each side, and around each corner lay yet another sheer, rugged granite peak. We were in awe, pausing at every aquamarine alpine lake, each like a mirror reflecting their mountain in the morning light.
We passed through endless Alpine meadows and more hulking granite towers. It was alll downhill from Cube Pass, so it was wonderful hiking, a relief from the intensity of the last few days. Me and Restless plotted trying to catch up to Maniac and Karma by taking the Butte Super Cutoff, which is shorter than the official route, and some say more scenic. We were both worried about finishing before snow in Glacier, especially since I was taking another week off with my dad in the Tetons.
We managed to get down to the Green River Lakes campground, seeing canoers and kayakers, as well as quite a few more backpackers. One of the guys we met had a 90+ lb pack, including an inflatable boat. Literally, a BOAT. He could barely stand while he talked to us and we cut it short feeling bad for him. He had told us, "sometimes, I've found a boa is helpful to get all my gear across rivers." And I was thinking, "dude, you wouldn't need a 15 lb boat if you didn't have so much shit!" But to each his own. We met another guy who was on his way out and he offered me a ride out to Pinedale that night.
After waiting for the guy to catch up, I said goodbye to Restless in the parking lot. Me and the dude had beers and burgers at a brewery/burger joint in town. He got the last hotel room, which I had tipped him off too, yet somehow even with the extra bed he didn't think to offer it up. Instead, insanely tired from the long day, I begged a bed and breakfast to let me tent in their yard. They said that would be illegal, but pointed me to an old KOA just a few blocks away. Whe I got there, I laid down my tent as a groundsheet under a tree and promptly fell asleep.
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