It was a painless 8 mile hike to the highway - the terrain wasn’t steep at all, which was great news for my issue.  It was, however, very marshy.  We walked through meadow after meadow and each one had at least two extremely wet and muddy sections to navigate through.  I managed to stay mostly mud-free and kept my feet semi-dry, but it took a lot of effort - I’d walk a long way around the worst parts, I’d take my time searching for the driest tuft of grass to step on, and, when I had to, I’d jump as far as I could over a wet, muddy mess (something I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do when my issue was bad).  It was like an obstacle course.  

Once at the highway, I wasn’t too optimistic about getting a hitch to Encampment/Riverside because there wasn’t any traffic whatsoever.  After about 5 minutes a car drove by, but the woman didn’t slow down or even look our way.  At least the guys in the truck that drove by next waved back as they us passed by, and the little girl in the van that went by after that looked at us curiously.

Mouse, Captain (Aron) and Cheetah joined us at the highway about 15 minutes later.  I was worried about getting a hitch with so many hikers out there, but after two more vehicles passed us a guy in a truck stopped.  Even better, he (Jamie) had room for all 5 of us.  I sat in the cab with Cheetah and Mouse and we let the guys sit in the pack with the packs. 

I enjoyed the ride into town, talking with Jamie and getting to know Cheetah and Mouse a little better.  Jamie was bummed that his wife wasn’t with him because she’s really into hiking and “would provably have a ton of questions to ask you guys.”

Since there isn’t anything in Encampment except the post office, Jamie drove us the additional mile to Riverside, which is where the action is.  And by action I mean a small general store, two restaurants (one of which is closed today because they had a concert last night and all the workers need to recuperate), an RV park (where most hikers are staying), and some cabins.  Mouse et al and Nick and I decided rent some cabins for the night since they are reasonably priced.  Since I assumed we’d be camping at the RV park, staying at a cabin is a real treat, even though the cabin doesn’t have AC and it is pretty darn hot in here.  I figure we need to get used to the heat again since we will soon be waking the basin, or as the locals call it, the Red Desert.

After showering, we went across the street to the Mangy Moose, hoping to get some food.  Inside we saw Mouse, Captain, Cheetah, G-Mac, Spice, and Info.  We joined them at their table and were informed that food might be an issue as they were running low (apparently because of the concert last night).  Somehow, Nick managed to order us some burgers and then, after we polished those off, he had them heat up a Tombstone pizza for us, too.  We talked, we ate, and I was even able to upload blog post info to Theresa (although the WiFi was so slow it took a very long time). 

Master Chef and Fuego showed up after everyone had eaten, so we joined them and G-Mac for drinks outside on the patio.  It was wonderful. G-Mac started a mere one day after us and yet I just met him for the first time the other day.  The trail is so weird sometimes.  

I’m excited to sleep in this bed, although it does feel a little too soft for my taste. Anything is better than sleeping on an air mattress that slowly deflates (I really do need to find and fix the hole one of these days).

Along the trail: