Day 119- A Moth Murder / by Beth Whittington

There was a moth in the bathroom sink at the campground.  I saw it just as I turned on the faucet to wash my hands, but it was too late - the poor thing got swept down the drain, even though I immediately turned off the water.  I let out a gasp and a little “noooooo!”, which probably made the woman in the next stall wonder what was wrong with me.  It’s over 12 hours later and I’m still upset about the it (the poor moth, not what the woman in the next stall thought).  ((When I told Nick about it during breakfast I started crying.))

I suppose the day got better after the accidental moth murder.  The trails were in better condition, which was nice. I just wish there were more bridges - I keep thinking that, as this is a national park, there will be bridges everywhere to keep all the day hikers happy.  Then again, I don’t think there are many hikers out here so there probably isn’t much of a demand for bridges.  

My wish for bridges is mostly because the blister on my pinky toe had been healing nicely and, for most of the morning, didn’t bother me at all.  When we came upon a stream that I couldn’t jump over, I was dismayed because I really didn’t want to get my socks wet or wash off the Nut Butter salve I put on.  Nick came to the rescue - he found a log and strategically placed it so I wouldn’t have to get wet. It was awesome.

the log bridge Nick created

Sadly, less than a mile later, we ended up having to ford a very wide stream and I got my feet wet anyway; this of course caused the skin on my blister to soften and then I had to deal with blister pain for the rest of the day.  I’m used to it by now but it still isn’t pleasant.  Dammit, Yellowstone!  Lol :)

In addition to no bridges, the trail got lost in tall grass again, which wasn’t fun to walk through, and then one of the trails we were going to take had a trail closed sign on it, forcing us to walk on the road for about 6 miles - also not fun.  But there were still some nice things to see (even though most of the day was spent looking at trees)

We had to cross a creek near Grizzly Lake to get to camp, but I’m very happy to be here before dark, and even happier knowing I’ll soon be cuddled up under my quilt, sleeping.  The late days, the bushwhacking, the river crossings, and the road walks are taking it out of me, not to mention the accidental moth murder that has been on my mind all day.

Along the trail:

Camp: