Day 20 – Day 34

An explanation, a goodbye to friends, a walk through Yellowstone, a stop in Cody, and a walk with my dad!

Dear reader, my phone was lost. I’m so sorry for not posting sooner! Thankfully, my mom is so sweet and provided a new one, meanwhile we wrote each night about the day and are finally attaching pictures to go with the story. Hopefully future blog posts will not be so few and far in between.

Day 20 – July 28

We started our day camped by Jack Creek, a shortcut told to us by an old Montanan man named Kelley who we met a few nights before in the mountains at Sureshot Lake. As we were breaking down camp we were passed by a couple of other thru hikers that had heard of the same shortcut.

The day began with gorgeous views of mountains in the distance. The crumby part started when we had to walk down a dirt road and past a golf course. We eventually walked into the resort community of Big Sky Montana, and a man stopped and offered us a ride to the grocery store. He had previously hiked the Appalachian Trail, the Long Trail, and half of the Pacific Crest Trail, so he knew hiker trash when he saw it.

Groceries in town were over priced, similar to Ennis. We had to get a lot of food though because the next stretch to Cody, Wyoming is nothing but sweet sweet wilderness.

On our way out of town we decided to check out a restaurant that our ride recommended as not overly expensive and very tasty, the Riverhouse BBQ. We noticed large storm clouds sweeping the valley on our walk to the Riverhouse. Luckily another piece of hiker trash named Chris happened to be driving by and offered us a ride to the restaurant. Unluckily Morgan’s phone fell out while being loaded into his car and is MIA.

At the restaurant the owner gave us permission to camp out back. “Out back” here means a field of clover butted up against the Gallatin River. Pristine camping spots awaited us while we rode out the storm with brisket, burgers, and a mound of fries.

The evening was made even more exciting after realizing Morgan’s phone was missing when she decided to run back to where our savior from the storm picked us up. Running in a twilight drizzle was a nice change of pace. Sadly, no phone was found on the side of the road.

We set up camp in the dark in the rain and had a great night’s sleep on the banks of the Gallatin.

Day 21 – July 29

Crash Bandicock’s foot has some large open sores on it so he needed to call it for the day. However Morgan and I had to walk farther in order to stay on schedule to meet her dad in Cody. This meant parting ways with The Wandering Kiltsman and Crash for the first time in a week. We exchanged numbers and all hoped to meet up again somewhere down the trail.

After only a mile from our departure the skies opened up and a thunderstorm erupted. Weather changes on a dime in these mountains. Thankfully the large pine trees works amazingly well for blocking the rain. We ended up just setting up camp here with plans for early bedtime and a long day tomorrow.

Day 22 – July 30

Our morning was damp, damp, DAMP after last night’s thunderstorm. We walked through overgrown meadows that shimmered in the morning sun, and also completely soaked our pants and shoes. I’m talking like we stood in a shower from the waist down.

Thankfully after slipping and sliding our way through the morning, the hot July sun warmed the forest up enough to dry all that water and eventually, our socks and shoes. Woo!

Today we made it into Yellowstone. It’s great to see progress, this walking thing really works! It was sad to leave our hiking companions behind, Kilt and Crash, we miss you already and wondered at several points through the day if we would hear the Lord of the Rings soundtrack coming from the trees before seeing a man in a kilt round the corner. Also, Crash we hope your feet are healing well!

We climbed a lot this morning up to around 9,000ft before descending down into a valley in Yellowstone. The mountain top provided valuable phone service where we were able to order Ryan a new pair of shoes (his are starting to fall apart) and call my dad to tie up loose ends. We meet up in just over a week! It’s exciting to know another hiking buddy will be joining us through Yellowstone.

We pushed hard today and covered a lot of ground, around 20 miles! 3.5 of those were on a paved busy road and the rest on gorgeous mountain trails. We met a few other backpackers too, including a sweet family of four who’s backcountry campsite we crashed.

Turns out the spot we wanted a permit for only offers one, and the family had it. They were so nice to let us camp here too. It’s very difficult to reserve a spot in the National park because you must reserve within two days of getting there, you have to get lucky and catch someone on the phone when you call, and you must get even luckier and find service within those two days. So far, we have failed to do our duty… sorry America! We are illegal right now.

Day 23 – July 31

Today, we hiked a lot. We saw a mountain lion! We also saw town Elk in Mammoth who were completely unafraid of people. We are officially in Wyoming and so far it is beautiful!

Ryan and I climbed a very big mountain today and made great time getting into town (Mammoth in Yellowstone) where we wanted to resupply and camp. We started early in the morning, hiked all day, and crawled into town with very tired legs past boiling hot springs and hail on the ground the size of garbanzo beans from the afternoon’s storm. Turns out the store was closed and so was the campground so we got creative and hitched a ride out of town. Full of burgers, soda, combos, fries, and ice cream (the picture of health over here) we met Patrick from Cotton Alabama (right outside of Dothan!) who manages the restaurant in Mammoth. He gave us a ride to a trail head on the edge of the park where we are once again illegally camped… hmmm… I miss the National Forest! Tomorrow we hitch back into town and continue onward to Cody.

Note: we met two CDT hikers in Mammoth, Snake Eyes and Logic. Pretty cool people! They are finishing their triple crown right now (hiking all three trails) and are a month into a NOBO (north bound) hike before they flip flop down south to finish the rest of the trail.

Day 24 – August 1

Something about our campsite last night was special. It was beautiful, desert, Wild West and the temperature was extremely kind to us. I felt very at home waking up naturally around 6am, stepping out of the tent, and seeing a gorgeous sunrise beginning its work. We also heard owls last night and coyote doing their thing this morning. The wildlife in Yellowstone really is notable.

We hiked out and hit the road ready to hitch back into Mammoth. Before we could even leave the trailhead, a very friendly Yellowstone employee, William, pulled over and asked us where we were headed and if we needed a ride. Score!!! Thank you so much William. We got lucky meeting such a cool individual. He has worked for the National Parks, Teton and Yellowstone, for 8 years and is an ex-marine with a love for the beauty of this land. He showed us a shortcut to get out of town and dropped us off to wait for the store in town to open with good wishes.

The morning was nice and lazy and we bought breakfast and coffee (Yellowstone has Disneyland prices unfortunately) then resupplied at the equally expensive little market there full of touristy souvenirs.

We hiked down and out of town to a gorgeous river, Lave Creek, which we followed for a few miles. The mud was INSANE down there. We had fun checking out animal prints from little and big critters who took the same path earlier in the day. Lots of Coyote and mice.

Passing Undine Falls, we took some touristy photos and went on our way. Our goal was campsite 2H4 19 miles away. The day was VERY hot and we did some climbing before settling into a longer downhill stretch to the Yellowstone River.

It’s amazing seeing a well built metal bridge in the middle of the wilderness. The Yellowstone River certainly deserved it with very wide banks and an emerald glow to its swift flow.

The sunny day turned to overcast and we took a break on its banks where Ryan filtered water and I got to take a short nap! I needed it. The rest helped get me back in the groove and a little down the trail we had a fun surprise! Sitting down for a rest of their own were Grylls and Swig.

Kiltsman and Crash had told us many times about four other SOBO (south bound) hikers they met up in Augusta a couple weeks ago. We had finally run into half of the group! They said their hiking companions, Caleb and Aden (18 year old hikers!!! What beasts!!), were just behind them. We went on our way and hit another mosquitogeddon before they passed us up and we met them too.

Ryan and I forded a river just before our campsite and prepared food before setting up for the night. We are filtering out four bottles of water tonight (each takes 8 minutes, I timed it) before going to sleep before sunset. Tomorrow we have a goal of 32 miles! That means a very early rise. The first half of the day (15 miles) is a dry spell that we are preparing for.

We have a challenge ahead with around 6,000ft of climbing, 7,000 of down, 15 miles of no water sources, and 32 miles to hike to our reserved campsite. Let’s get walkin’!

Day 25 – August 2

Ryan and I woke up to an ambitious goal at 5:15am. We quickly took down camp, ate our overnight oats, and set off down the trail at around 6:15… our earliest start yet!

It was a gorgeous morning. We enjoyed the sunrise and cool morning air as we started off the day at a good clip. I had my sights set on 32 miles down the trail. Let’s go!

We saw a buffalo in our first few miles, mistaking it for a few minutes as a rock, then thinking again it was a buffalo. Finally it got up and moved proving our original theory to be true!

We made quick work of the first six miles of the day and stopped at the Yellowstone River to filter out a full three liters each for a 15 mile dry spell. It was fun meeting some curious tourists who asked us about our journey and told us we had some good buffalo sightings coming up ahead.

Our long trail for the day, Specimen Ridge, came up quickly and we began a big climb. Today we climbed around 6,000ft total! It was hot, dry, lots of sagebrush, buffalo, antelope, and fruit snacks!

We made great time for the hard work we were doing and took as short of breaks as we could manage. Our 32 mile goal still seemed attainable!

The no water stretch got the best of us and by the end of climbing in the heat we were absolutely parched. When we finally reached a stream it took a lot of self restraint not to just drink the water before filtering. Our filter unfortunately takes a ridiculously long time of carefully concentrating on squeezing a smart water bottle as hard as you can before you finally get enough water for a satisfactory gulp. We miss Crash and Kilt’s full size Sawyer Squeeze. Thankfully one will be arriving in Cody, Wyoming on the 8th with my dad and our filtering woes will be over!

It took a looooong time to filter enough water to satisfy the dehydration we had just acquired. By the time we were done our window of opportunity for reaching our campsite was getting dangerously narrow. On top of this, we had two difficult slippery time consuming river crossings and we had to go around several buffalo standing in the trail. Ryan made a plan that if we reached our fellow travelers campsite after 7:30pm, we would call it a day five miles short of our 32 mile goal.

Despite our fatigue, we pushed on with intention. We reached the campsite 3L4 at around 7:45pm and decided to descend to the river and spend our evening getting to know Caleb, Aden, Grylls, and Swig instead of hiking on very tired legs into the night.

It was fun to see what the other hikers ate after such a long day. We picked up some good ideas! Grylls made his own dehydrated veggies which he throws into his ramen, and Caleb and Aden made a big pot of beans, cheese, and rice to roll into burritos. Delicious!!

We are camped tonight in the Lamar River Valley on the Lamar River and have around 30 miles left to our destination in Cody. Sweet dreams!

Day 26 – August 3

Our bodies enjoyed a sleep-in after such a CRAZY day yesterday. It’s our new record! 27 miles and around 6,000ft of climbing. Whew. We left camp after all our fellow hikers had cleared the scene at around 10:30am.

It became very apparent very soon that our legs were not so happy with us, but walk on we did! Around the mid afternoon something clicked and walking became a little more manageable as we approached a decision point for the day.

Most of our trek was flat as we followed the Lamar River, but to get out of the park there is a 9,600ft summit. We were walking down in the 6,000s by the river and our muscles were feeling any small hill after so much climbing yesterday.

We got to the base of the mountain at around 6pm with cloudy weather and a few sprinkles of rain. Still feeling in the groove, we decided to summit.

This was our favorite climb in Yellowstone. We got some nice cooling rain, lots of thunder to listen to, some hail for excitement, and GORGEOUS views of the valley below. Finally we had a break from the hot summer sun and the climb went great with around 52 switchbacks.

At the top we anticipated a small stream and the mountain delivered! Springs are amazing. This water just flows right out of the mountain up here at 9,600ft. We probably don’t even need to filter it BUT just to be safe we are.

Ryan made us dinner and hung our bear bag while I set up the tent and our bedding. Tomorrow we have a nice descent and around 13 miles to hike to highway 20 where there is a gas station with cold drinks and a ride to hitch waiting for us! We will get into Cody with four days to spend however we would like before meeting up with my dad. Yellowstone, it’s been really great. We will see you again very soon!

Day 27 – August 4

This morning we had an encounter with the wild. A female deer, possibly pregnant, spent her morning in tandem with ours enjoying the mountain top. She kept her distance but walked around the perimeter of our campground munching on plants and tapping her hooves on the ground for us to hear as she walked around.

It was a great start to the day and we left camp later than normal headed down to Cody where relaxation awaited.

The hike felt longer than normal and after heading downhill for around 6 hours, fording a couple streams, and eating ramen dry and crunchy with sips of water, we arrived at Pahaska Tee-Pee on the Highway just a couple miles west of the Yellowstone park border.

We had a bite to eat from their convenience store and set off to hitch into town, 50 miles away. It took a good 45 minutes or so before Cy pulled over with a 2,600 mile PCT sticker on the back of his SUV. We knew we had found a like-minded hiker friend who had been in our shoes on the sister trail!

Cy talked to us the whole drive into Cody about his experience hiking and working now at the Pahaska Resort to save up for hiking the CDT like us next year. It was refreshing to meet someone off the trail who cared about the little through hiking details that would be boring to most people who haven’t hiked a long trail. It’s funny how much time hikers spend talking about the nuances of shoes, water carries, and lack of showers to name a few topics. We also discussed our new record day of 27 miles only to be blown away that he did a 42 mile day towards the end of the PCT. The competitive part of our brain is already anticipating a 43 mile day before the trail is over.

Cy pulled into Walmart where we planned to restock on food for the next few days in town so that we could try to put on some weight! Our job is to eat, try to learn some interesting facts, restore our bodies, and have some fun. Not a bad agenda. Cy was coming to town to do some shopping and grab a bite to eat, so we decided to all go out to dinner after.

He brought us to The Silver Dollar and was so generous to pay for our meal despite our protests that a meal for a ride was a great trade! We were tired, but stocked on food both in our pack and bellies, so we were feeling good. Our new friend dropped us off in the National Forest on his way back to Pahaska and we camped for the night about 30 miles outside of town.

Cody, Wyoming

Ryan and I spent three full days resting in Cody. We experienced lots of trail magic, ate some amazing meals, and enjoyed learning about Buffalo Bill and the town’s history.

Our first day of rest we hitched back in the morning in search of coffee with Darcy and Darlene, two sisters traveling around in their cool conversion van. We had fun getting to know them and sneak a peak into the lives of some fellow wanderers. Their van was very inspiring as well! We would love a set up someday that is so comfortable and portable.

Ryan and I spent our morning at the visitor’s center looking at art, then at a local coffee shop, Rawhide Coffee, where we crashed for a couple of hours. We met some really cool people there and enjoyed some downtime doing nothing. While I was working on a little sketch, a handsome weathered man wearing a red bandana with long black hair came over to ask to see what i was drawing. He was kind to admire some of my sketchbook and when I asked him if he was an artist, he gave me his website to look at later. Turns out he is an amazing painter making work that I am aspiring to. Check out Johnpotterstudio.com to see his paintings and read about his interesting life.

We also met a man (the subject of my sketch) named Andrew Murray (not the tennis player) who came to ask us where we were hiking. He had done a large portion of the AT a few years ago with… get this… his two daughters. 8 and 10 at the time. We were so impressed. What a cool dad! We talked about the area and people like us three who were from out of state coming in to live there. He had moved from LA and it sounds like he never wants to go back.

On our way to find something else to do after coffee, I have some local hotels a call to ask about prices and see if a work for stay was possible. Lots of people on the AT get opportunities to do some work in exchange for a free room. The Hotel 8 told me they didn’t think it was possible, but would check and get back. A few minutes later they called me saying unfortunately no, they don’t do work for stays, but fortunately, their owner wanted to give us a room on them that night! We loved meeting their staff and had such a wonderful time relaxing, showering, getting clean laundry, and of course eating as much as we wanted. I found time to paint our view across the street as well which was awesome. I’ve been feeling a big drive to continue making art.

The next day we set out for the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. This museum is five in one. They have an INSANE firearms exhibit with over 7,000 guns on display and all the firearm trivia you could ever hope for. They also have a Western art, Buffalo Bill, Native American, and Natural History exhibit. They ticket was $20 and good for two days, so we took our time exploring.

Midway through the day we visited the Chinese buffet just down the road and ate not as much as we wanted, not as much as we should… but as much as we could. We left full. So full. We cracked joke after joke to each other which caused painful laughter. Then the fact that we were so stuffed it hurt to laugh made us laugh even more. The cycle took some serious deep breathing to finally stop.

After the museum closed we went to the park for a free summer concert where Cy came and met us. Afterwards we went to the Irma hotel for drinks and good conversation. We stayed out late enjoying good company, including the bartender, Christina, who moved here from Russia at 18 knowing no English. She is an avid rock climber and we had a blast talking about outdoor adventures, cheap travel, and altitude sickness. What a cool night! We stayed at the King’s Hotel and had breakfast with Cy in the morning downtown at Pete’s Café before splitting ways. Kings hotel is notable for the enormous collection of taxidermied endangered African animals, all personally hunted by the owner of the establishment.

Hopefully when we get to The Wind River Range just south of Yellowstone, Cy will join us again. This time, for some hiking! Woot!

We spent our last full day in Cody back at the museum and then the park for an afternoon nap. The staff at the museum invited us back for another bonus day since we had been there so many times. What a cool place! Good thing we’ve been graced with extra time because we still have more to see if our morning tomorrow allows.

Tonight Ryan and I are camped just outside of town on a quite ridge. We are going no tent tonight and are enjoying a gorgeous Wyoming sunset, the sound of the rushing river below, the smell of sulfur from geothermal activity (is this enjoyable?) and a little family of noisy deer who just stumbled upon our impromptu camping spot. Cody Wyoming, you’ve been awesome! Tomorrow, we meet up with my dad for another go at Yellowstone and the 28th day of our journey south to Mexico.

Day 28 – August 8

Our last day in Cody. We woke up from a night of stargazing where we were able to the Milky Way, create our own constellations, and see Elon Musk’s satellites looking eerily like alien activity in the sky. Cowboy camping next to the Shoshone river was awesome.

Ryan and I got his morning coffee then went to Walmart to resupply. We’re getting pretty good at picking out our food! This time we will be enjoying plenty of flavored drinks, burritos, peanut butter wraps, and Nutella when we want something extra special. After a few days of eating heavy, calorie rich foods, my stomach is perpetually full and my mind is worried about my diet. I went a little lighter on the sugary foods this shopping trip and instead of beef sticks in the burrito, I’m going for lean protein rich tuna.

After our resupply, we met a cool local who was interested in hiking and bike touring. We chatted for a bit then set off to meet my dad! Woohoo!

Walking was hard work with the pack on. Something about being on the road makes it much more difficult than being on the trail.

We met my dad at the UPS store in Cody where we all shipped a few unneeded items back to my mom, then we went to lunch at a local brewery. The food was delicious and the company was even better! Full on fuel, we left town looking for a ride back into the forest.

About a half an hour into trying to hitch with no luck, Marsha, our lovely trail angel drove by and quickly pulled to the side. We met her a few days before at the Motel 8 where it turns out she visits regularly since living there with her english mastiff and boxer for a couple of months after the Paradise, California wildfire a few years back completely destroyed her material possessions. She did the California stretch of the PCT about 30 years ago so we instantly felt a connection. Thank you so much Marsha for making us feel welcome when we came into Cody, and giving us safe comfortable passage to the trail head which was way out of your way. You are awesome!!!!

By the time we got to water, we were all parched from the salty lunch we enjoyed. Thankfully, my dad brought us a CNOC bag and a full size Sawyer Squeeze. WOO!! We are completely set now. Our 8 minute grueling filtering squeeze for one liter is now practically passive and takes less than half the time. What an amazing difference. Hydration will no longer be a painful chore.

We hiked a couple of miles into the park and enjoyed lots of berries on the way. We ate wild raspberries and strawberries and admired many other varieties that may or may not give us diarrhea. Let’s not risk it.

Tonight we are camped in the Washakie Wilderness next to a creek on a gorgeous sand bar. Plenty of hands made light work of building a big fire to enjoy with our dinner. The stars tonight are top of the line! We are way out there without almost any light pollution so we can see almost any star our ancestors would have been gazing at. I don’t know if I’m willing to give up this view for very long stretches at a time again.

Day 29 – August 9

First thing’s first we left no trace. Our campfire from the night before got a good decomposing where we had fun tossing huge rocks back towards the river and big unburned logs into the water to watch them float away.

We set off after a leisurely morning around 10am for a quick day. We were approaching Yellowstone so we had to camp before entering the park which was about 12 miles way.

After a couple turns arounds, we found or trail which immediately crossed a creek. There were two other groups out with us this morning, both on horseback. We spent a while talking about how nice it would be to have a bigger carrying capacity, and also how nice it is not to have to care for those big animals. Someday though it would be fun to take a mountain trip with them and have the leisure of looking all around while moving instead of staring at the trail so as not to trip every five feet on a rock.

Today was the day of stream crossings and we took our time with them. Every creek too big to hop across ,or without a log ,or big enough rocks to jump to means you must remove your shoes unless you don’t mind very wet feet. We also went through a very wet, swampy section where Ryan and Daddy’s non-waterproof shoes got saturated. They took advantage of the already wet shoes to enjoy easy crossing at the next few streams where I still removed my boots.

We had some GORGEOUS views of Pinnacle Mountain on our way through the valley. The top was still snowy and the jagged silhouette felt very adventurous in the distance.

Our campsite luckily had a view I was able to paint. We got in for the night around 5:30 and enjoyed a very leisurely evening and early dinner. Ryan and Daddy even took a shower and did some laundry while I was engrossed in painting. We finished off the day laying our under the stars for another night of cowboy camping despite the chilly temperatures.

Day 30 – August 10

We woke up to very damp gear. The dew was intense in the lush forest environment and we had a chilly morning with lower temperatures than normal.

It was a get up and go day and we left around 9am. Our first task of the day, walking up a mountain! We were headed to the pass between Eagle Mountain and Pinnacle Mountain at 9,600ft. The climb took a while but we worked our way up over the course of the morning with breaks as needed. We were also treated by tons of huckleberries and strawberries on our way. The top was rewarding with a fantastic view and a grand entrance to Yellowstone! We had another 9 miles or so to go to our campsite for the night and the rest of the day was downhill or flat. Piece of cake.

The park definitely has wildlife about as we saw a lot of different tracks throughout the day. The easiest to identify were the wolf prints left from a muddier time. Now they were completely dry and very solidified. Ryan and I learned while we were in Cody that wolf prints overlap each other as the animal walks. These definitely fit the bill.

Later in the day we saw a bunch of big bear prints. They look almost like a human foot with an arch and five toes. Sometimes you can even see the creases in the skin on the bottom of their foot! It was pretty clear this bear wasn’t too far from us since the prints were on top of powdery dirt. There was plenty of fresh purple poop full of berries as well to give us a hint.

Today was our longest day of my dad joining us since in Yellowstone you have to camp in a designated spot. Our campsite, 6C2 was about 14-15 miles from our site last night. With a tiny little fire lit under us, we reached our campsite around 7:30pm. It took a little searching, but when we found our spot there was a nice fire pit, benches, and a bear hang waiting for us along with a gorgeous river and mountain view.

Ryan and I had a delicious hot bean, rice, and cheese burrito as we warded of the mosquitos and enjoyed a roaring fire. Tonight, I’m writing the blog post as Ryan sets up our bedding and Daddy gets his bivy sack set up. Tomorrow we leave the park and get to enjoy a slightly shorter hike with plenty of picnic time.

Day 31 – August 11

The sun shown over our whole camp early in the morning because we were lucky to have a gap in the mountains to the east. This meant dry gear first thing which pleased us all. Daddy got up first and we soon followed. We ate breakfast, Ryan and I bagels with peanut butter and Nutella and Daddy with instant oatmeal, then set off for some gorgeous high valley hiking in Yellowstone. Our elevation barely changed all day as we walked beside huge rocky mountain tops and got to look out over vast grasslands that would have been marshy in the spring.

Early into our hike we had the pleasure of seeing a big adult male moose run across our path! What funny lumpy and insanely cool animals. This guy was enormous and ran from us like we were a force to be reckoned with. I was thankful he thought so! It’s been said that moose are dangerous and can be very aggressive. Not this one!

Shortly after the moose we came across a big elk carcass on the side of a big river. What a sight to see. We couldn’t help but fantasize about the scene that must have recently played out. What took this big animal down? How long had it been there? Is the killer still lurking around the corner?

The next animal sighting of the day was much tamer as we came across two very noisy Sand Hill Cranes calling out when they saw us approaching.

It has been a blast to have my dad along with us. He knows SO many plant and animal names. We’ve been getting a great education on this hike and I am continually feeling proud to be the daughter of Trace McCune. He is also giving me a hope for the future seeing his ability to hike and carry his entire life on his back at twice my age. Not only is he physically fit but also able to contribute so much knowledge, wisdom, and a sense of lightness with his signature humor. We all agreed it is the opportunity of a lifetime to be able to hike this week together.

Our trio came across the first other humans we have seen in a day and a half when we exited the park. A contractor and his crew were set up to be working on a bridge crossing the Yellowstone River until sometime in October. What a cool way to get to spend time out in the wilderness! We had fun chatting with them, especially the volunteer cook, Bob, and his sturdy and cute English Labrador, Charlie, before continuing on. We soon encountered another group with horses and dogs headed the opposite direction from us. It’s strange to suddenly run into people after not seeing anyone for so long!

Our hiking ended for the day by a pretty creek where we took an improv bath in the water, did laundry, and ate dinner. A little mouse who lives in a stump right by our tents provided good entertainment. We also enjoyed some dessert tonight! My dad made us pudding and we shared our chocolate before heading to bed. Goodnight!

Day 32 – August 12

Damp, damp, damp! These woods are damp. Last night must have been cold and wet because in the morning we had plenty of dew and even some frost on our tent.

A chilly morning made the day seem a little daunting, but once we got moving the cool air made for an efficient morning. We hiked around 5 miles to our first stop at The Parting of the Waters. This true Continental Divide spot is where Two Ocean Creek splits into two. One side flows to the Atlantic, the other to the Pacific! We joked about peeing in the water and having a little bit of us end up in each ocean. As far a I know, none of us followed through… as far as I know.

We lunched at the split for a nice hour and a half where Daddy dried out some of his gear that was still damp from the morning and we ate delicious burritos. It’s nice to have a good long break to sit and enjoy the nature along the way.

Post lunch I was VERY groggy, but what’s a groggy girl to do except push on and just keep walking. Thankfully my dad and I got into a lively conversation that made the miles fly by and woke me up. Some of my favorite and most impactful memories from growing up were long walks in the woods talking with my dad about everything from the meaning of life to Jar Jar Binks. It’s great to be adding to those memories still today!

The only other hikers we ran into today were two by the parting of the waters and three others set up a few miles from our campsite enjoying some very nice camp chairs near their site. It was a funny thing to see since their tents and packs were hidden behind some trees… just three guys in the middle of the wilderness sitting in chairs.

The afternoon brought some intense but very short but powerful showers and cool weather which made the walking easier. The three of us continued on with good conversations. So good in fact, that we took a wrong path and ended up adding about two miles to our day. Whoops! Our estimation for the day was about 17.5 miles! Our legs are feeling it, but it wasn’t too bad.

Ryan made us a nice fire tonight while we settled into the campsite. One thing about hiking in the year 2020 is that you can watch TV on your phone. We are taking full advantage tonight, enjoying a few downloaded episodes of Community before hitting the sleeping bag. Daddy earned a trail name today and is now officially Mr. Clean. It fits since he has had a rinse or shower nearly every day and somehow manages to take care of laundry for clean clothes almost every day. We are now Retro Blaze, Speed Racer, and Mr. Clean! Go team go!

Day 33 – August 13

Our morning was nice and lazy. We woke up to the alarm…. and then slept another two hours. Very nice! The extra rest was wonderful, and the late start gave some time for our wet gear to dry before packing up. After a PB and Nutella bagel, we hit the trail only to cross a big creek a few feet later. Brrr! The water is so cold. Ryan and I are thinking of getting some type of sandal for stream crossings to help mitigate the owie rocks and for late night having to pee moments when putting on socks and hiking shoes means barely making it out of the tent in time.

Today was my favorite day so far with my dad, and probably on the whole trip! The three of us talked all day long. All day. The conversation made for progress that felt effortless and the topics were very stimulating. I felt peaceful and thankful to be with Ryan and my dad in this moment.

The day brought lots of up and down, another stream crossing, and fantastic views of jagged mountain peaks and green meadows. Thank you Wyoming!!

We hiked 17.5 miles again today and the consensus is that we are sore. Dinner was well earned and we are cozying up tonight to watch Community and eat chocolate before bed. Tomorrow my sweet mom picks us up and we get to enjoy a covered wagon for housing, sandwiches for eating, and showers! Woohoo! What a good time. I am so thankful for my parents and Ryan and the good memories we are making.

Day 34 – August 14

This morning brought us a nice August gift… frost on the ground! What a strange find in the hottest part of the summer. Thankfully the sun still did its job and quickly after rising, we had nice warm dry gear again.

There was a pep in our step knowing that ahead of us was only 9.7 miles until my mom! She was bringing us sandwiches and many other goodies, but best of all we would get to see her. She had booked us a covered wagon for the night on a ranch which meant showers and other amenities that people who don’t live in the woods get to enjoy.

The walk ahead was mostly uphill and took us past some gorgeous crystal clear mountain lakes. We also crossed our highest point yet on the trail at just over 10,000ft! Ryan and I were glad my dad was with us to set the new record. It was bittersweet knowing we had succeeded in hiking the 80 miles to meet my mom. There was a definite sense of accomplishment and a lot of good vibes after such a fun time hiking with the three of us, but it also meant that the time with my dad was ending. Ryan and I agree that he would be welcome with us any time on the trial. We all wished we could keep going on together.

The climb out was a lot of fun since our scenery was sublime with a GIANT rock wall towering over our heads. It literally made you dizzy to look up to the top! We also got to enjoy a nice newly blazed trail. This was a new section of the CDT that has only been open this year. It was a surprise to get to the top of a nicely graded, gently meandering path to see the small backhoe that was creating it and no more trail past where it had stopped. Thankfully the old trail over the pass was still in tact. It was clear why they were redoing this section once we got back on the old trail and had to climb nearly straight up in some sections.

We lunched at the saddle of the mountains when we reached our maximum height and then hiked down to highway 26, 300ft below us.

My mom showed up just a few minutes after we did and we quickly went to a nice picnic spot on Wind River Lake where we ate and talked to a bike tour guide named Cindy who was passing by. It’s always fun to meet other people with unconventional lifestyles. We asked her if she would recommend her job and she said there were parts of it that she loved… but there was a reason she was 61 and still single. It doesn’t lend itself to holding healthy relationships.

We got on the road and headed to Heart 6 Ranch for our covered wagon. It was a really fun set up! Two bunk beds and one king sized bed in a fully functional covered wagon. There were outlets and a heater as well.

After showers, and laundry in the shower (grape stomping clothes with soap works surprisingly well!), we drove to Jackson for dinner at a mexican restaurant and after DQ for dessert. It was such a treat to spend the day with my mom and dad!