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WHERE THE COW AM I?

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Sunday, July 15

Tomorrow we'll be in Steamboat Springs so every mile we hike today is one less mile we have to hike tomorrow. There is something about the thought of a shower, bed and town food that motivates a hiker like nothing else. The goal was at least 25 miles, and we ended up doing 26. I didn't sleep well last night and I was hiking a bit slower today, but I eventually caught the group at lunch time as it began to rain.


It drizzled for most of the afternoon, but only rained for about an hour. I carry an umbrella for just such occasions and 5 Star shot the photo below of me hiking in the rain. I've got my pack cover on and am enjoying a stroll along the cloudy ridge line. 


The sun broke through the clouds around 4:30 PM and we decided to take advantage of the break in the weather to eat dinner. After eating, we decided to hike a few more miles to the next water source and camp soon after. As we continued hiking down a forest road, we were met by the sights, sounds, and smells of familiar but unwelcome creatures...cows. I can't remember our last cow encounter, but I had flashbacks to the desert in New Mexico where cows were everywhere!

We passed a herd of cows near the water source and sure enough...the water tasted like cow patties. Our presence seemed to agitate the cows which only increased the mooing and when we finally did find a campsite, which we thought was on public land (I now think we were wrong...) there were cow patties everywhere. I'm convinced it is a cow conspiracy against hikers...they look for every spot flat and large enough for a tent and make sure to poop there! I know hiking is supposed to be hard, but this just seems cruel. Maybe CDT stand for Cow Dung Trail...

For additional content, check out Flickr for images, YouTube for video, SoundCloud for audio, and the Postholer Map with my most recent location.

Thanks for following along!

Comments

Unknown said…
lol.

fyi, your fellow thru hiker 7/11 crossed the WY/ID 7/21. soon he'll leave the trail for a week for family reunion and then return.

luv following your adventure. best wishes on your epic inspirational journey.

--pete wascher, 7/11's roommate
July 23, 2018 at 7:23 AM
Shroomer said…
North of Steamboat Springs you are entering the “National Barnyard”, most of the National Forests are overun with cattle or sheep till you get to the Winds. In 2012, as we were finishing the Great Divide Basin, not far from you now, we were pretty dry and took the detour into the Sweetwater Canyon. Big mistake! It’s got a great name, and is quite beautiful and had plenty of water, but was completely swamped with cattle which had strayed off their ranges. The Trail was overgrown and the cattle we were inadvertently herding down Trail in front of us, were freshly painting the overgrowth we had to push through. Yuck! The water tasted of them and the smell in the entire canyon was overwhelming. One night down there and we all bailed out, scrambling up the cliffs the next morning and going cross country to Atlantic City. Check with some Sobos regarding its condition if you can. Maybe it’s been fenced off by now, but it was the worst cow mess I’ve ever been through. They were totally destroying a beautiful riparian corridor and oh what a smell! Loving you posts!!!
July 24, 2018 at 8:20 AM
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