The Wind River Range WY

We got a hitch from the front desk guy from the Togwotee Lodge to the trail head.  His trunk was full so we squeezed the packs, the dogs, and myself in the backseat of a ford focus.  I am so happy the Belgian Malinois are such a convenient size they make hitching easy. The first day of this section was very frustrating we hiked all day and seemed like we were jamming and at the end of the day after looking at the map we calculated that we only did 11 miles.  We should have done at least 20!  The next day was a morning full of bush wacking trying to find a John Leys route.  Bush wacking is not my cup of tea, I prefer a trail even if its only a game trail.   My legs got a little scratched up from climbing over fallen trees and hiking through sage brush.  We also had to deal with the Green River fire which was on trail so we had to take an alternative that took us around it.  The fire was contained but you could still see several spots where the trees were smoking.  I was happy once we got back on the official CDT and saw the beginning of the Wind River Range.  This section started off tough and continued difficult but ended up being one of my favorite sections so far with beautiful views the entire time. 

The beginning of "The Winds"...

We had rain almost every afternoon / night in the Winds.

We literally ran away from the storm at Elbow Lake. I think this was the fastest we have ever hiked. 

Grizby patrols the bridge.

The lookout for the Wind River Range.  We woke up around 4am so we could get to town (Pinedale) before the post office closed at 11am.

We hiked 10ish miles by 9:30am to get into Pinedale.

We got a hitch to Pinedale from a local family.  The golden was confused why it had to hangout with two malinois and two stinky hikers.

At the Rockin Rabbit for breakfast.

I lost my spoon the first week or so on trails so  I took a plastic to-go spoon from Many Glacier in Montana.  It lasted almost two months on trail before starting to change colors and get bendy when warm so I finally broke down and bought a titanium spork and retired the spoon.

We got a hitch back to the trail from a couple guys we met at the hotel.  Josh and his father were really friendly and gave us a couple dehydrated dinners.  Thanks for the trail magic!

Weather in the winds...

Before Texas Pass...

Texas pass. The picture does NOT do it justice.

Made it to the top of Texas Pass

Cirque of Towers

Took an early dinner near a lake after the Cirque

Huffing and puffing but the views make it worth it

More Cirque of towers

Young bull moose a little off trail.  He didn't care we were there he was just eating. 

After Jack Ass Pass we scrambled on some sketchy boulders.  The dogs turned into maligoats and scaled the rocks without problems.

There were a ton of weekend warriors out near Big Sandy Lake we waited for them to pass while taking a break then went to start back up and I watched a moose come out of the woods walk over to the water and swim across the lake.  It's amazing what you miss that happens right behind you on trail if you aren't paying attention.  I'm very happy we didn't miss this!

The sky in WY  is beautiful but full of weather.

Cow pie cairn...

We weren't planning on going into Lander but after a note from Spins and Baboon about hot tub and beer we got a hitch into Lander and ended up taking a zero.  We are so easily persuaded...

Happy 2nd birthday Grizby!

We will be getting back on trail tomorrow morning to start The Basin.  It's supposed to be flat, hot, and without shade.  We may be night hiking or at least using our new umbrellas we ordered to try to get some relief from the sun.  We also stocked up on drink mixes to try to help mask the taste of the questionable water we will be drinking.  P.S. if anyone is having issues with sore paws or torn pads I highly recommend Tuf foot.  We have been using it on the dogs paws and I have definitely noticed a huge difference!