Sec 3 South Pass City WY to Silverthorne CO - D14

06/23 Day 14, Wyoming  Pinedale, Atlantic City, Diagnus Well (109 miles)

We'd had no services all day when we rolled into South Pass City which had only a candy store – really.  Not even sugar free sodas.  But it was just 4 more miles to Atlantic City so a bag of chips, a real bathroom stop, and we were gone.

Atlantic City was totally not what I was expecting after 90 miles of riding.  This is where a bit more research would have been handy.  We crested a hill and got our first glimpse of well, some buildings. 

Atlantic City.  All of it.  And not all of that is occupied. 

 Per Wikipedia – “Atlantic City is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fremont County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 39 at the 2000 census. ...founded in 1867…”

The blogs had said re-supply in Atlantic City, so I just assumed……

There was indeed a restaurant that sold some dry goods and there was a teepee if you wanted to stay the night.  We did get a great meal and the owner made us food to get us through breakfast and lunch the next day.  Much to the amusement of the owner, the guys in the bar, and fellow racers, brother Joe the stalker once again honed in and called me here.  Freak. 

The next days ride to Rawlins would be entirely in the Great Basin, 134 miles from Atlantic City.  We decided to push on another 22 miles that night to Diagnus Well.  It would shorten the distance for the next day and start at a water source.

It was a stressful/exciting ride to Diagnus Well as we ran from huge thunderstorms with lightning super close and not a tree for 50 miles.  I was checking out the bar ditches in case we had to make a dive.  I worried what camping was going to be like; if it was going to pour on us all night?  Along the way we passed the marker noting the intersection of the Oregon Trail and the Pony Express Trail.  Wish we’d gotten a picture.

Great Basin - making for Diagnus Well before dark

I’d never seen a picture of Diagnus Well and in my mind imagined a Texas version with a windmill and stock tank.  The cues were not too helpful in the fading light; “visible from Co. Rd. 2317 to the south”.  Uh huh.  Not when you are looking for a windmill and a stock tank.  Thank goodness STB’s GPS had a waypoint for it and she found the barely discernible double track leading off to the right, seemingly into nowhere.  We followed and found a fenced in area with a pipe sticking out of the ground with flowing water.  Never would have found that in the dark with no GPS.

This is a well

We set our bivys up outside the fence.  The S Africans soon joined us but the 2 boys kept going for some more miles on the day. 

I have to say this was the best night I’ve ever spent outdoors.  I watched the final sun rays vanish while snug in my bivy and used my headlamp to write the days notes in the quiet.  As I did every night, I slept hard until rain woke me about 1am.  I pulled my rain jacket over the open mesh face of the bivy and was out. 

Diagnus Well - bivy site

Sunset in the Great Basin

Notes – 3 CD crossings, South Pass 7550ft