Getting up this morning was even more difficult than it was yesterday - I felt like I could have slept all day and was slow to get packed up.
On the way back to the trail, we passed Cheetah, Captain, Mouse, and Spice’s camp. They were just getting up for the day and we chatted with them for a while before continuing on. We have different plans for the next few sections but hopefully we’ll see them again in a few weeks - it was fun to hang out with them this section.
Rather than walk the official redline roads to South Pass City, we walked roads that provided a more direct line there, saving us about 3 miles. I’m sure we didn’t miss anything. In fact, we got to see some more pronghorn, so I think we made a wise choice.
In addition to seeing pronghorn, we were on the Oregon Trail again for a while and even passed a post saying Pony Express - we had some fun with both.
While the pronghorn and the fun we had with the trail posts helped keep me going for a short while, I was so tired that I felt as if I could have fallen asleep while walking. We only had to hike ~12 miles but it was a struggle for me just to stay awake. The scenery, while nice, was so much the same that it didn’t stimulate me, either. I really needed a latte or something with lots of caffeine. (Sadly, I ate all the caffeine bars Beth sent, otherwise one - or two, or even three - would have been perfect.)
We took a quick break around 9:30, during which I ate the rest of the food I was carrying (and I thought I had packed too much!). I was hoping the food would perk me up, but it didn’t. Even so, I somehow made it to South Pass City without falling over by simply putting one foot in front of the other.
The best part of the day was seeing Supply Guru, Trail Angel, and Mom, Mary. She walked up the road from South Pass City to meet us - it was great seeing her again!
We stopped at the general store to pick up some packages (bear spray, Ursack bear bags, new shoes for me, and our food). While there, we also got some ice cream because it was very hot (we really were extremely fortunate with the weather the past few days). And then we hopped into Mary’s truck and she drove us to Lander. We are so spoiled!!!
Once at our hotel in Lander, we showered and put on non-hiking clothes and flip-flops (Mary had a bag of ‘real’ clothes for us so we wouldn’t have to wait do laundry before eating). I ALSO HAVE MY SONICARE TOOTHBRUSH, which I have already used and cannot wait to use again. I really wish I could justify carrying it on the trail, but now that we have to carry heavy Ursacks and bear spray it doesn’t make sense to add even more weight. Still, I’m tempted.
Once clean, we went out for a late lunch with Mark and Mary at the Gannett Grill. It was delicious. (I ordered a burger and salad, of course; Nick ordered a sandwich and a pizza. You know, the standard fare).
Nick and I joked that our fellow hikers wouldn’t recognize us in our non-hiking attire, and we were right. We were enjoying ice cream when we spotted Fuego, Master Chef, and G-Mac. It took them all a second to realize who we were, but when they figured it out it was all hugs and excited chatter. Master Chef told me all about the 24 hr challenge they attempted. (Many hikers like to challenge themselves by seeing how many miles they can hike in 24 hours. While it sounds exactly like something I’d like to do, too, I’m pretty sure I’d pay for it with another crazy injury if I tried). Master Chef had to quit after 22 hrs and 55 miles hiked because she was getting a weird rash and then had an unfavorable reaction to the medication she took. She ended up skipping the rest of the basin and has been hanging out here in Lander for 5 days, waiting for Fuego to finish. We have plans to meet for brunch tomorrow and I can’t wait.
We also weren’t recognized at our next stop, the grocery store, where we saw Soccer Mom. Once I explained who we were, we had a nice chat with him, too. He’s one of the few hikers we know who is attempting a continuous footpath like we are.
Finally, back at the hotel, I was looking forward to relaxing a bit. However, we noticed it was pretty warm in our room. After messing with the AC for a while, we eventually called the front desk. The maintenance guy attempted to fix it, but it still wasn’t working properly so we had to switch rooms. We somehow accumulated a lot of stuff in the few hours we’ve been here, so it took a lot of trips across the hall before we had everything moved over. It was a pain but I’m glad we moved - this room is much more comfortable.
Ok. That’s all I have in me. This very comfortable bed with its 4 pillows is calling my name.
