CDT Day 51 (7/8/23)

Miles 1187.3 (Red line 1400.3)- 1223.3 (Red line 1436.3) (36 miles)

Verbatim

Man, what a day! I was able to tackle the morning’s heavy ups and downs quite well, although am noticing my tiredness. Those small but steep climbs are ruthless. I had fun calling Paige from the top of the last climb. I was really angry yesterday (I’m writing this from breakfast at The Egg in Steamboat Springs from the 9th) and calling Paige was a good remedy. I am lucky to have such thoughtful and educated friends.

After these morning climbs, about ten miles, the rest of the day was road walking. Sixteen miles of dirt, ten miles of road. The road walking was miserable. It dropped in elevation and so got hot. There were clouds all around but not much water, and there were mosquitoes, and there were annoying people! The fact that these people were “annoying” has more to do with my mood, but it was rough. There was a nice man named Jim who protects trail signage along the road walk and stashes water. He was super nice, although he wanted to talk for like five minutes from his jeep while I was getting mauled by flies. I eventually broke off the conversation a bit forcefully to get moving. Then I was surprised by two random people eating lunch in the forest. The husband yelled “HEY!” and scared both me and his wife. They were eating lunch on their “hike” (on a dirt road?) and were getting destroyed by mosquitoes and flies. They wanted to talk about nothing, but man did they want to talk. They would interrupt each other and not answer each other’s questions and talk over each other when talking to me. I cannot stand when people talk over each other. Like. Please take your time. If I enjoy your company I’ll be willing to stay for a long time and then there’s no rush for any of us. I also was getting eaten alive by flies and extricated myself from their presence. All the while the sun beat down. I got water at Jim’s trailer and he wanted to talk again! More death by flies. He was in the doorway of his camper hanging out in the shade telling me about how he saved someone from heatstroke out here on this road one time and I should be careful about that as I’m standing in the hot sun being destroyed by flies. what. None of this is helping please let me go.

The road walk took too long. I pooped a second time and moved much better. My taint(?), undercarriage(?), was sweaty and felt swollen before I pooped. After I pooped I felt great and stopped itching! Things you notice about your body when you’re walking all day… I also was starting to butt chafe.

Earlier in the morning I had met Towhee, an anticipatory triple crowner (at the end of this hike). We’d passed each other back and forth throughout the day, but ended the dirt roadwork about the same time. Then commenced the asphalt road walk (I had passed Towhee at a water source right after I’d accidentally walked .4 off trail).

We walked the road walk and saw a Beaver! There were lots of Beaver dams up Grizzly Creek. The Beaver was just hanging in the water until we got too close and then it did a tail smack and disappeared into the mirky depths. We also saw lots of dead animals including an Elk, Owl, and Coyote. The bugs were horrible along the road walk. Also, the cows are back.

We came to highway 40 just after some light rain. We threw the thumb close to 7:45 in hopes to get to town. It worked! Fourth car gave us a hitch and were were off to Steamboat. John(?) and Victoria are longtime Steamboat locals who helped us connect with Donna, a local trail host. Donna’s house was full, but she connected us with Glenn and Margie, an awesome couple who housed us on the cheap. I did LAUNDRY and took a shower and ate some real food. I loved chatting with Glenn and Margie and really enjoyed my stay there. Their house is a mess as they renovate. They’ve lived interesting lives. Maybe I could rent from them and be a ski bum this winter.

Trail seems to provide. Now it’s time to hitch back to trail and give the next 80 miles into WY a go!

Post Note

What follows is another lesson in “how to treat a thruhiker well” ediquette. Thruhikers have little in the way of defending ourselves from bugs. The technologies we do have at our disposal come along with other costs or negative “side effects” which make the continued use of these effective tools irresponsible. For instance; mom, you wouldn’t want me covering my entire body with DEET all day everyday for the month of mosquito season just to avoid the ETERNAL discomfort of swatting my legs and neck as I walk, itching my thighs while I try to fall asleep, and living under the anxious awareness that at any given moment I could be subjected to another stinging bite on a random part of my body. You wouldn’t, now would you. Because you want healthy grand kids. Alternatively, a hiker could stay in their tent all day to avoid the bugs. But, that doesn’t make any sense now does it. I only had a tarp anyways, so that option was out. But you could cover up while you walk, you might say! Yes. I could put on my rain jacket, wind pants, put the hood over my face, and wear my gloves in the 90+ degree heat of a summer Colorado valley or Wyoming’s Great Basin as I walk for sixteen miles down a shadeless dirt or asphalt road. I hope this rant makes things clear.

So, really the only defense a thruhiker has is speed and mental fortitude. This mosquito hell will end. And it will end faster and will end more tolerably if I crush a 4mph pace until town. Until Canada. If you stop me to chat from the downed window of your air-conditioned suburban (F*** big cars) because you think I’m amusing to you… Oh man. I can’t even English the way I feel about that. If you see me swatting at flies while standing still please let me go. I know I might be your only shot at meeting a thruhiker in the wild, but sweetie, it just wasn’t meant to be. Not today. Not like this.

If you really want to chat you should turn your car around and then idle at 4mph and chat to me while I walk. No, I don’t want a ride. I’m a thruhiker. But if I get to watch you try to focus on staying on the road while trying to chat with me while trying to go slow enough to chat with me I would be amused. Now you’re offering something! Entertainment! Does that seem like too much of an inconvenience? Am I going the wrong way? Well. I’m so sorry to inconvenience you as your travel in a throne of luxury at astronomical speeds aligned to the flick of your ankle. You’ll be home for dinner tonight. I’ll be eating couscous under a tarp and journaling while swatting bugs away from my hands.

Ok. Deep breath. Also, this would be a good time to make a quick comment about how different cars feel after you’d spent your last month traveling at a maximum of 4mph. They’re really fast! It’s scary, especially on some of these mountain roads. We take cars for granted. Everywhere is walking distance if you’ve got enough time.