August 15th
I was determined to top 30 miles today. It was actually a pretty good day for hiking in the basin: slight overcast, a little wind, but still nice views.
I may have created some confusion about the landscape. Let me clarify. For the most part, the soil is arid and nutrient-poor. Later on, past Rawlins, it is alkaline. In short, life is hard here. While there is some life in the form of insects, horned lizards, rabbits, and antelope, the land is sparse. However, there are hills and some areas of interest, so it is not entirely flat at this stage.
Human signs are rare. The wild horses who escaped are one example. Test diggings from miners are another sign. Also, there is the ubiquitous herd of cattle left to munch out an existence as best they can.
I leapfrogged with MLL and SBJ at watering holes. I skipped a cow pond which I regretted (why, after all, am I carrying Propel if not for these situations??). Got water from a slimy creek later, and finally ended with two excellent man made water sources. In the evening, after achieving 32 miles, I camped at the A&M Reservoir. This turned out to be a popular destination as there were two separate continental divide bikers and then MBL/SBJ also camped around the man made reservoir.
backpacking over the hill 