Miles: 19 Steps: 39,533 Vertical gain: Strava knows! Liquid consumed: 134 oz Wildlife: Rabbits, Kangaroo Mouse, lizards, prong horns, 2 adult and 1 baby wild horse, cows, birds Faith in Humanity:Gatorade and fresh water next to the trail! Thank you! Wow. Crazy storm at 4:30am! Gusts easily over 30mph, hard rain for over an hour! Certainly doesn't make sleep the easiest, especially when there's close to zero protection in terms of trees, bushes, rocks, etc. you're just fully exposed here! Hit the trail around 7:30 and it was again beautiful in the exposed terrain. Hills were bigger today for sure and views were far and wide. More rarely/never used two track roads all day. There was a CDT sign. Oh by the way, does everyone know what the Continental Divide is? It's the blind between the oceans! All water in terms of rain, snow, hail, on the east side of the imaginary line goes to the Atlantic, everything on the West goes to the Pacific. Who cares, right? But for water managers, property owners and sheer coolness factor, it matters a lot! The Continental Divide Trail attempts to stay as close to the Divide as reasonable, while keeping the route a hike, not a technical peak summiting route, unless you choose to make it so yourself. Inside the Great Divide Basin, where I am now, the water just Stats here, and doesn't go to either ocean, due to the topography and geography of the area. Pretty cool! About 8 miles into my day was a crate that said "CDT Hikers H2O"! Inside were several gallons of water, some Gatorade, and a register to sign your name. Very nice! Even though this year us hikers are lucky as water sources have been much better this past years due to a record setting winter in terms of snowfall and a wet spring and summer as well. Still, it's nice to drink clean water as opposed to the pond surrounded by 40 head of cattle that's the designated water source. Thanks Hawkeye, you're awesome! I met El Matador at another pond. He started his hike at the Canadian border and was very cool to talk to. There was a storm brewing all day, but definitely reached its peak as we sat and talked. Some thunder burst out as ElMatador chose to leave. Me? I decided to just stay there where it was low and wait out the storm. The route climbs 800 feet and headed right for the darkest clouds. I checked my phone and barely had service, but I had enough to check the weather. Severe weather statement had been issued! The storms never hit me directly, but I eventually decided to just stay here. I have plenty of food, and there's really no reason to push on. Plus, I'm pretty exhausted from lack of sleep last night. So, here I am, in my tent nice and early, ready to pass out before the sun goes down. Ahh the exhausting life of thru hiking! Looks like I'm about 65 miles out from Rawlins. 2.5 or 3 days away. Perfect!