Road walks never seem so bad in the morning - there is a calmness to the world that makes me feel as if I could walk forever. Also, sunrises are beautiful and always bring a smile to my face. Everything feels easy in the morning.
Since we left so early, it was an easy, cool 5 mile walk to the last Muddy Creek crossing. Even though the water there wasn’t as clear as it was at the first crossing where we camped, it was still fine (100 times better than any cattle pond, anyway). We decided to stop there for water after all, which meant we didn’t have to carry 5 liters from the very start. Instead, we enjoyed a pleasant 5 mile warmup and then only carried 4 liters each for the rest of the day. The 4 liter water carry wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
A wonderful bonus of stopping for water at the last Muddy Creek crossing was getting to watch the swallows - there were quite a few of their nests under the bridge and the beautiful birds were soothing to watch.
Muddy Creek (again)
After loading up with water, we stopped for a break 7 miles later at Bridger Pass, where there was a large tree/bush providing some shade. At this point I was still feeling good about the road walk - the scenery was new and pleasant and I was feeling ok. Cheetah and Captain were just finishing their break when we got there, but Mouse walked up about 10 minutes later and joined us. Mouse is lovely - she has the same gentle quietness as my sister, Heather, and she has a comforting presence.
By the time we stopped for another break 6 miles later (we saw some shade and didn’t want to pass it up), the boring road walk with the same boring scenery was starting to become less than ideal (at least there weren’t many vehicles- only one truck went by). Worse, my shins were protesting a little. Also, I definitely wasn’t drinking enough of the heavy water I was carrying (a fact I remedied during the break). Once again, Cheetah and Captain were just leaving, which was perfect timing as we sat in the same shaded spot they had just vacated. And, once again, Mouse ended up joining us about 10 minutes later. (Shade was very limited along the road so I wasn’t surprised that we all chose to take a break there.)
After our second break, we left the gravel road we had been walking on for what felt like forever and took a little shortcut on a dirt road, saving us 2 miles. The dirt road was much more forgiving on my body than the gravel road, so it was a welcomed change. In fact, the last 7 miles of the day were all on dirt roads - even though it was still just as monotonous, at least it was softer terrain.
It is very dry out here, by the way. Welcome back to the desert, I guess. :) (I do love being warm when I wake up, so it’s not the worst thing ever.)
it’s so dry the mud is cracking
another water source we chose to skip - I’m sure you can see why
We got to the picnic area, which was our planned stopping point, at 4:15pm. Since it was so early, Nick and I both contemplated hiking another 9 miles into town. It was very tempting; however, I didn’t think making the push would be wise, especially considering I ingested a lot of ibuprofen to get through the day. Instead, Nick kindly walked to the spring 0.3 miles away to get us some water while I rested on a picnic table under the pavilion. It felt incredible to sit down and put my legs up.
While Nick was getting water, he talked with Cheetah, Captain, and Spice, who were waiting for Mouse at the spring. They are planning to camp up on the plateau, which in sure has nice views, but I’m very happy here. We have a pit toilet to use in the morning, picnic tables to sit on, plenty of shade, and entertainment in the form of swallows (there are a lot of nests here under the pavilion and I’m having a great time watching the birds fly in and out, feeding their chicks.). In fact, who needs a hotel room when you have an entire picnic area to yourselves? It’s been a very relaxing afternoon/evening.
a swallow peeking out of her nest
Along the trail:
cute little bunny
Camp:
