We climbed steeply up into the rolling golden hills. Two young antelope trotted along the ridge.
As we approached Rawlins, trash littered the trail, which also serves as a 4WD road. Cups, beer cans, bottles, an ice chest lid, an old tire, a postal service mail tub, part of a broken boomerang, the remains of a large bonfire. Many of the trail markers were riddled with bullet holes.
We followed the CDT route right through town, stopping to watch a pair of fawns grazing in someone's garden and to investigate a colorful slide in the city park. We stopped for lunch, then continued to follow the trail out of town.
"Private Property. Beyond this point is closed to Public Recreation." Despite this sign, a CDT marker was clearly visible on the other side of the fence. Portions of the CDT consist of easements over private property. This particular section apparently is still under negotiation.
We ended our day where the CDT rejoins the highway. Jeff picked us up and took us back into town, where we enjoyed delicious Thai food at Anong's Thai Cuisine.
For those who don't have a ride, what do they normally do when they come upon such a situation? Was there a road walk around option?
ReplyDeleteWe didn't ride around that section, we hiked. We only took a ride back to town when we were done hiking for the day so that we could resupply in Rawlins. There are basically two choices in dealing with this section: (1) hike on, trusting that despite the sign there is a valid easement in place (there is actually a CDT marker visible on the other side of the fence); or (2) hike cross country to the highway and hike on the highway until you reconnect with the CDT (the official CDT route follows the highway for a mile or two anyway).
DeleteWe were sorry to see the litter, but it really was limited to that one area. Otherwise, every Wyoming resident we met was welcoming and encouraging and we really enjoyed our time there.
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