GREAT DIVIDE BASIN, WY
At 7:00 Ben drove me out to where the trail meets the Sweetwater River, saving me about 14 miles. I set out into the Great Divide Basin.
It is desolate and vast, but also kinda magical. I saw wild mustangs and antelopes and the sky and horizon seem really big and distant.
It didn’t get that hot. At lunch I saw 95 degF on my thermometer, but there was a nice breeze and it didn’t feel at all like oppressive heat.
Wind really picked up in the afternoon. I wanted to hike into the night since I was hiking on road and had my headlamp, but by 9:30 I gave up because the wind was so strong and the road was a pair of tire tracks over uneven ground and rocks. I cowboy camped up on a ridge with the wind howling and the temperature dropping to a surprisingly frigid setting. Good thing I have my 20 deg sleeping bag and down jacket