Miles: 22 Steps: 45,561 Vertical gain: Strava knows! Liquid consumed: 204 oz Wildlife: Kangaroo Mouse, lizards, prong horns, Wild Horse that seemed pretty upset by my presence that kept running back and forth, cows Faith in Humanity: Met some cool CDT hikers and camped with 6 Great Divide cyclists Another amazing day! Got such a great night of sleep then woke up to a completely blue bird, not a cloud in the sky day. Very nice! Today was more desert style than before: loose sandy roads were prevalent most of the day, sunshine, a bit warm, not too much water, etc. Water really wasn't so bad though, a few very nice springs along the way. Really fortunate to be in this area during such a wet summer as all of the water sources are nice and flowing. This area is known for its disgusting water and unbearable heat. I've got plenty of water and am more worried about the rain and lightning storms! Met a cool couple hiking the CDT southbound: Bobo and Chickery from San Diego. Talked for a while with them at a water source, but they were in a bit of a hurry on the trail so I knew I wouldn't hike with them much, but who knows what could happen down the trail... About 23 miles in and it was only 4pm, I got to a reservoir. I chatted briefly with a guy who lived with his cat in a Range Rover and hiked trails by parking his car, hiking one mile away from the car, walking back to the car, then moving the car forward 1 mile and doing it again. Why not, I suppose? There were some Great Divide route cyclists camped out and I went over to socialize. Met a pair of fathers and sons out riding the route who were friendly. I went swimming in the reservoir for a minute to clean off and that felt quite refreshing and nice, thank you very much. I decided that even though it was early I'd just stay here. A couple of other bikers rolled in for the night. It's nice to meet some new people and why push it, you know? I'm so excited for Rawlins! I'll get there on Friday. I think I'm going to splurge and spend 2 nights in a hotel. I haven't had a day off in a long time and feel like I kind of need it. There are some cheap hotels there too, so that's another reason.