[Cdt-l] Lander

[Charlie Thorpe]

Hello All -

I have to second the good comments about both Lander and Pinedale.

I have been section hiking up that way and have ended up going through both Lander and Pinedale a number of times as I set out resupplies, etc..  

I have a few friends who work with NOLS and always enjoy visiting with them if I catch them in town (and not off in Patagonia or someplace like that...).  I have been able as a NOLS alumni (LNT Masters course years ago) to grab a bunk in their nicely restored Noble Hotel in the middle of downtown if space is available (at cheaper than hostel rates).  

NOLS uses the Noble to house their seasonal instructors and incoming/outgoing groups of students.  I have never asked what their policy is for renting a bunk to a non-alumnus, but it would be worth asking when you hit town.  I have noticed that looking pitiful and in serious need of a shower helps in these situations.

Their Rocky Mountain Branch is based out of Lander and they run program in the Winds throughout the summer.  I have found them to be extremely hiker-friendly and a great source of info on what is happening in the Winds.  

They sell an impressive range of outdoor gear (used and new) and food in their retail store - definitely worth visiting if you are grazing local stores during your hike.  It is way too easy to spend days in their library (every book on outdoor adventure...both doing and providing...that you can think of).

NOLS has definitely brought a different culture to a traditional western town - one of the cowboys who picked me up on one of my hitches commented that "those NOLS kids are always jogging around in shorts and riding bicycles...the place just ain't the same...".   Coffee houses have moved in, too <g>.

I hitched to Lander through Atlantic City at the end of my Divide Basin section.  It took a while, but I finally got a ride all the way in from some friendly ATV folks.  Getting out of Lander and back to my car was a piece of cake with almost no wait time - one ride to the turnoff to Rawlins outside of Lander and another from there to the door of my car.  

Unlike in Dubois, nobody in that part of the state ever brought up the subject that hitchhiking was illegal in Wyoming.

I liked Pinedale for different reasons.  I was doing a southbound for that section (Macks Inn to the Upper Sweetwater BLM campground) and had to take off the trail when a crown came off of one of my teeth.  It took me much of a day to hike from the CDT to the trailhead at Boulder Lake.

The hoss outfitter there (Boulder Lake Lodge?) were nice folks, but they were definitely set up to handle a different crowd from distance hikers (nicer digs than Motel 6 <g>).  There happened to be nobody camping at that end of Boulder Lake, so the local wisdom indicated that hitching to Pinedale could take days.  

The lodge owner called their dentist to arrange my showing up at his door.  Their cook loaned their handyman her car so that he could drive me to Pinedale.  He wouldn't take any $...he said the lodge was paying for the gas (picking up supplies) and the day off in town was well worth his trouble <g>.

The dentist squeezed me in with no problem and spent more time asking about long hiking than he took to glue the crown back on.  

I enjoyed walking around Pinedale (coffee houses there, too) and then hitched back to my car at Macks Inn since I thought I wouldn't have time to get back on the trail to finish the last few days I had planned for that section.  

Ended up getting one ride from the table on the sidewalk in front of the coffee house in Pinedale to the door of my car in Macks Inn - very different from the two- or even three-day complicated hitch I was planning on (long story).  Even got to visit the "world's largest military surplus store" in Idaho Falls along the way...

I never visited the post office in Pinedale, but my impression of both towns was that hiker services were within walking distance of reasonable places to stay.  I did notice that the motel rooms in Pinedale were all soaked up by oilfield workers during one visit and by firefighters during another.  

IMHO, no matter which side you resupply on, the Winds are a great hike!

- Charlie

> Lander is a great trail town! Check out NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership
> School). They have a fantastic assortment of dehydrated food for sale to
> the general public. Great place to stock up for the next segment. Some
> killer restaurants in town too.
> 
> The Hog
> 
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