This Nearly 2,000-mile Trail Crosses 8 States—and I Tackled It in 10 Days

This Nearly 2,000-mile Trail Crosses 8 States—and I Tackled It in 10 Days

This historic route is one of the best ways to see the American West, passing vast plains, rugged mountains, and arid deserts.A sign for the Historic Pony Express Trail in front of the Toquima Mountains outside Austin, Nevada. milehightraveler/Getty ImagesStanding beneath a tangled canopy of highway overpasses at the edge of a muddy bluff, I watched the Missouri River churn below me. Its murky water rolled relentlessly onward, folding into eddie…