Journal Aug 23 Sisyphus – Up and Down, Again and Again
The trail conntinues to follow a jeep track as it works it’s way up and down along the divide. These are wide open grasslands, dotted with sage and other dry climate vegetation. This is home to elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelope and prairie falcons among other animals, including cows. But this range land is not some flat western basin. This land is buckled and brash, with steep slopes and sudden drops offs. These are rolling rangelands, a vast western landscape all jumbled up – this is vertical rangeland really.
So up and down we went, laboring under the incessant sun. Sometimes on the CDT, it’s possible to imagine what Sisyphus must have felt like, condemed to push the same pack continually up another hill.
At lunch, to celebrate my birthday, the Carrot gives me her traditional hand-drawn card about trail life. A long hot climb to the hill we are on leaves us wanting a short siesta in the cool shade.
We continue the rangeland ridge walk in the afternoon. The guidebook fails to record a number of these knolls making the afternoon walk longer, and harder, than anticipated. The Italian Peaks are drawing closer and loom large in our imagination as we will walk through in a couple days. Prairie Falcons take flight over the fields along the crest hovering and hunting for food. The trail drops off the divide to Morrison lake on the north east side of heavily glaciated Baldy Mountain. We make camp nearby and enjoy the cool, clean respite that the waters of the lake provide.
Sandy has brought along some freeze dried chocolate dessert, but everyone is tired so we will save it for tomorrow.
Miles 11.6
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