After finishing NM we skipped up to SouthPass WY to hike south in an attempt to avoid the snows of southern CO. Reports showed extremely high snow in all the southern sections that we wanted to enjoy so we gave it time to melt while we continued hiking.<br>
<br>We started May 27th southbound. The trail & roads north of SouthPass were snowed in deep. The trail (SB) to Rawlins is all dirt road walk with very high winds in the afternoon (60-90mph constant) but dying out by 9pm. Lots of pronghorns & wild horses. Mormon springs is an excellent water source, but make sure to find the 2ft diameter rock circle with no growth in it for the best water. Bull(?) spring is a solar well but due to the broken, leaking external valves there is a swampy 6 foot moat around the pump. Fish Pond (~14 miles N of Rawlins) is a new solar well put in by the BLM & Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation <br>
<br>From Rawlins to Encampment is a road walk for the first 2 days, changing to heavy snow the last 35 miles which completely hides the trail in the trees, the trail getting lost and constant post-holing. Signage/posts/cairns are excellent in the open areas. The 17 miles over Bridger Peak (north of Battle Pass) is solid snow, 4-10 feet deep, but very little post-holing except near rocks. The trail follows the ridge & possibly a dirt road but is completely hidden. We saw zero signage & touched dirt once during the day. GPS & map skills are a must, but staying on the ridgeline is the key. Water was plentiful due to snow melt but no liquid water before/after Bridger Peak. The road up to Battle Pass is currently closed so you must road walk down to Encampment. This should hopefully change in about a week.<br>
<br>The ridge south of Battle Pass is under 4-7 feet of snow at the moment, so we are reevaluating our strategy. We are leaning towards heading back to Cumbres Pass.<br><br>30-30 & Fireball<br><div style="visibility: hidden; display: inline;" id="avg_ls_inline_popup">
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