I was having the best dream - we had just finished hiking the CDT and I was getting ready to call Special K to tell him he was right, the time really did go by fast. I never got to call him, though, because I was suddenly pulled out of dreamland into real life by Nick, who thought he heard a bear. Or something big. I sat up and listened, even peeking out of the tent, but didn’t hear or see anything. I wasn’t mad, just very disappointed that I didn’t get to wake up naturally - sleeping in is such a rare thing these days and I was really looking forward to it. Oh well.
We took our time and didn’t hike out until after 9. The trail was back to being a normal trail, so we were making pretty decent time. I was viciously attacked by mosquitos for the first few hours, which made me hike even faster. Usually the mosquitoes don’t bother me when I’m moving, but that wasn’t the case today. Today I felt as if I was doing some weird dance moves as I tried to scratch my legs while I hiked (because stopping was out of the question).
Just as the mosquitoes were their most ferocious, I danced my way out of the green tunnel and into a field, which is where I met Tamara, a guide for one of the horse trips. I had lost the trail when I got to the field (the mosquitoes were pretty distracting) and so asked her if she could point me in the right direction. She did, and then continued to chat with me a bit about hiking as a female, telling me horror stories from the Appalachian Trail. While we talked, she noticed me itching my legs and kindly sprayed me down with bug spray. It was amazing.
We lost the trail in the field (because of course we did) and ended up bushwhacking our way through it, which wasn’t easy in the tall grass. Then I had to stop and work hard at being a woman again. I could barely walk and at one point gave up trying - I pulled out my sitting mat and curled up in a little ball to ride out the worst of it. Nick waited with me for a bit, but I told him to go ahead to the next water source (he was out) and that I’d meet up with him eventually. Nick and I both agreed that if such issues had happened yesterday it would have been very bad.
we lost the trail for a bit in the field
After about 10 minutes on the mat, I got up and started moving slowly. I got through the pain by breathing deeply and counting each exhale as I hiked - after 500 exhales the worst was over and I was able to pick up the pace.
Sadly, I had to stop yet again because my stupid pinky toe, the one I broke last year, had developed a blister. She hasn’t been the same since I broke her and no longer gets along with her neighbor. While the Squirrels Nut Butter salve I use every morning usually helps keep blisters away, all the walking through rivers and constantly having wet feet made the salve ineffective. So I stopped to tape it up because I cooks no longer stand the pain. The tape job didn’t help much, though.
When I finally met Nick at the water, I took a quick break and then we hiked the last 2 miles out together. Even with my two little hiccups, we got to the road just after 2.
Next up: hitchhiking. We never seem to have much luck in National Parks and, since we aren’t even on the CDT, I was prepared for a long wait. Lots of people drove by, some totally ignoring us and some waving back. Then two guys on motorcycles stopped. I was excited - would I get to ride on a motorcycle? Unfortunately, only one of them had room for an extra person plus a bag - the other guy had too much luggage of his own (the first guy forgot this fact, which is why he pulled over). They were really cool to chat with, though, and I appreciated that they stopped.
Finally, after about 30 minutes, a lovely woman, Amy, pulled over for us. She had just dropped off her daughter at a roller ski camp (sounds cool) and was on her way back home to Cody. Amy was great, even sharing her fresh strawberries and cut up watermelon with us.
Amy chose the apple to remind her of us (since my name is Apples and all)
Our room at the lodge wasn’t quite ready when we got here so we ate a late lunch (burgers and salads per usual). We even ordered the cookie skillet for dessert.
deliciousness
In our room, we took everything out of our packs and laid it outside on the patio to dry, we showered, and Nick went to find snacks and laundry detergent (for tub laundry) while I sorted through the resupply. Mary sent us a great note that made me smile - she’s awesome.
Nick came back from shopping with great news - while he was getting snacks and a map of Yellowstone and asking about detergent, one of the guys who works here, Cy, overheard and offered to do our laundry. Cy recently hiked the PCT so he knows what it’s like. It was an unbelievable gift because, with that chore out of our hands, we could focus on other things. For example, I finally had the time to reattach the water bottle holder to my shoulder strap (I used some cordage and tied it on, we’ll see how that goes). Nick reviewed the Yellowstone map he purchased and told me that the trail we followed yesterday through the swamp and the blowdowns was still on there as a viable trail, which is crazy! Those blowdowns were OLD and I doubt that section of trail has been used for years- you’d think that someone would have updated the map by now.
Meet Trail Angel Cy, who works at the lodge and who did our laundry for us
After Cy dropped off our freshly laundered clothes, Nick and I went back to the lodge for dinner. We split the trout and the meatloaf dishes and then had another skillet cookie for dessert. :)
The Wi-Fi isn’t fast enough for me to upload anything, so I was unable to send in blog updates (there’s going to be a lot of work for me to do later!). I did take the time to label the pictures, though, so that’s something at least. Now I just want to sleep.
Along the Trail:
