The wooly bear decided to spend the night on my backpack, so when I woke up this morning she was there to greet me.  She hung out with me in the tent while I got packed up for the day and then I tenderly carried her to a plant I thought she might enjoy.  It was almost like having a pet.  :)

As I mentioned yesterday, Indian Creek was the last good water source for the rest of the day.  Therefore, we grabbed another 2 liters each before starting today’s road walk.  Walking on the forest service road wasn’t bad at all.  About a mile from where we camped, we saw and briefly chatted with  Master Chef and Fuego while they were still packing up.  I was surprised to see them until I discovered they took an extra day off in Grand Lake because Master Chef is having some knee issues.  While I hate knowing anyone is struggling, it’s nice knowing I’m not alone.

About a mile after seeing Master Chef and Fuego, Info passed me.  At first, I couldn’t remember when I met him, but he reminded me - it was at the water cache on Day 32 where I gave him some Ibuprofen.  Spice passed me soon after.  Spice had a message for me from Maverick, a hiker we met on the PCT.  Maverick is section hiking SOBO and he thought he saw Nick and me cutting down to Highway 14 (which we hadn’t gotten to yet).  He yelled out to us but, probably because it wasn’t us, he didn’t get a response.  My guess is that we were already camping at Indian Creek when he walked by.  I’m extremely bummed and disappointed that we didn’t get to see him again because he has a great personally, has an infectious love for hiking, and inspires me to be a better human.  

I was surprised by all the hikers I saw this morning, actually.  Aron, Cheetah, and Mouse were about a mile ahead (I caught up to them when I got to Highway 14) and James and Kera were also at Highway 14, waiting for a hitch.  Everyone was hitching into Steamboat Springs from there, but of course Nick and I had to walk 9 more miles down Highway 14 to Highway 40 before we could hitch.  Stupid continuous footpath objective.  Lol

Jim from The Dark Side passed us twice in his truck - once (as he was going into town) to offer us coffee when we were getting water, the second time (as he was coming back from town) to jokingly ask me why none of the other hikers wanted to hike with me. I laughed, pointed to my leg covered in KT tape and a compression wrap, and said nobody wants to walk this slowly.  

The road walk on the paved Highway 14 wasn’t the greatest thing for either leg, but it wasn’t terrible and I made it through ok, only having to stop once because I could feel myself getting crabby .  As per usual, the loud traffic whizzing by got on my nerves more than anything else.  Happily, I had service and was able to catch up with friends and family, which is always a nice perk of road walks because it helps the miles go by.

Hitching into Steamboat wasn’t too bad, either.  The best part (other than getting picked up) was when I realized I no longer feel rejected when people pass us by, which definitely makes the process easier for me.  We only had to wait about 15 minutes before Grey stopped to give us a ride.  Grey was awesome - he was full of knowledge about the area, had been in the Navy for 5 years, and just got a job with the Forest Service.  It was a fun ride in his truck and I’m so grateful he was the one who picked us up!

Grey took us to the Rabbit Ears Motel, where we’re staying tonight.  He told us the entire motel used to be just as pink as the sign but they recently redid the outside.  I personally would have loved to see it when  it was all pink, that must have been a sight! The room is wonderful and has everything we need - bed, pillows, hot shower, conditioner, microwave, and refrigerator.  

After showering and doing laundry, we walked about a half mile to Back Door Grill, where we ordered burgers and salad.  I just got a standard double cheeseburger but Nick decided he had to try the Dirty Hairy, which sounded insane but was actually really good (I managed to steal a bite).  

After eating our delicious meals (why do I always crave hamburgers and salad?) we stopped in at the Big Agnes headquarters for some fuel and extra meals because I don’t think I’ll be able to do the 25 miles a day we had scheduled.  While my issue was mostly fine on the way to Back Door Grill, the paved road walk caught up to me on the way back, when I started to periodically feel a throbbing pain in my shins.  It wasn’t pleasant at all and I had to walk even slower than usual to get back to the hotel.  Don’t worry, I’m back in the room now with my legs propped up on pillows.  I used some of the Deep Blue rub from my Body in Balance ohana (I almost forgot I had it!!) and it seems to be helping.  

Nick went to the grocery store next door for some food for later and he came back with perhaps the best snack food ever invented for me - plantain chips (which I love) with GARLIC (which I really love).  They did not disappoint.  

I’m a little concerned that the paved road walk set my healing back a bit, but I suppose we’ll see how I feel tomorrow.  For now, I’m going to enjoy this comfy bed.