CDT Day 70 (7/27/23)

Miles 1709.9 (Red line 1933.8)- 1740 (Red line 1963.9) (30.1 miles)

Verbatim

I woke up early (6am) to get an aggressive 30 done by 4pm so I could take a chance at a dinner buffet in Grants Village, Yellowstone. The dinner buffet turned out to be a myth (SOBOs and their lies) so I ended up spending $27 on two egg sandwiches and some ice cream at the general store. A far cry from a buffet. Though the ice cream was stellar.

It was stormy this morning, which made for a fun and cool fifteen miles. I really liked that. There were Hawks and Eagles overhead. I came across a twelve point Elk and another six point Elk who had just gotten water. That rack was massive. We just stared at each other from forty paces for a good minute or so while I slapped mosquitoes.

Then later I came across these strange Birds I’ve never seen before. They felt pre-historic. They were large and brown with red eye lines. They were separated when I walked between them. One went across the field. The other stuck to the tree line. They were running birds, not flying birds. And they called out to each other with a sort of croaking/cackling sound. The one in the field would call and the other would immediately response. From its call I could track the one as it moved through the woods. I have no idea what they were. But they were really awesome. Total boost to the day. They were present in the flood plain I was walking through, and seemed like water fowl. They reminded me of a stork, but much taller, bigger, and thicker.

Later I hung out with a Frog while I filtered water. He came right up to the log and stuck his head out of the water. He “stood” erect with his webbed feet stuck out on the creek bed. He watched me filter and I talked with him. We were friends.

I also saw a ton of Snakes. None poisonous. Various Garter Snakes. And one I saw in the water! I scared it and it swam under the water and hid under a rock! I moved the rock and there it went back towards the shore. Those Snakes can move fast under the water.

I put my feet in the Hot Witch Creek and then viewed the thermal pools above it. The ponds have such vivid colors and clear water. They are quite tempting to get in! I was surprised at that desire.

I’m continuing to meet southbounders and other hikers. Two flippers, Golden and Oatmar, were really intrigued by my idea to carry my plastic along the trail. That felt really nice. During that conversation some Canadians asked how we got our packs so small. Their packs were pretty huge. I found that amusing inside, because my pack is full of trash. haha. I am feeling the weight. And, my second pair of shoes is corroding so badly that it’s destroying socks and hurting my feet.

Post Note

This was the best day, really just the morning and midday, in the park. As soon as I passed Golden and Oatmar it all went downhill. The morning weather was so characteristic. As in, the morning had character! It was moody, misty, wild. There were flowers everywhere, Grizzly prints in the mud, wet feet with water crossings. And the colors. Those reds and browns and greens of places like Theodore Rosevelt National Park, or Yellowstone National Park, or any sort of earthy space in relationship to water out west is just so stunning. It’s wild. By the time I’d made it to the flood plain and seen those two brown birdies (Just looked it up. They were Sandhill Cranes. Apparently those aren’t such an exotic bird. But they were to me!) the sun had come out and burnt away any fear of spending the rest of the day in the wet and cold.

That’s the perfect recipe for weather on a thruhike. I love being out in the weather. In Maine we’d have a grand ol time tromping through the woods in the rain, or battling a storm to reach the peak, or navigating a ski run in white out. Those were the best times to be outside because suddenly every little moment was packed with the promise of challenge, excitement, and possibility. It’s the same thing on trail except for one problem. If the weather stays wild then you stay in it. There’s no car, no shower, no dry clothes or warm bed. It’s you and your wet sleeping bag under a tarp on a groundsheet that’s starting to fill up with water. Maybe a friend is nearby to share the misery and double check your circumstance. Maybe not.

So, for a day to start moody, threatening with character, and then to relax into a warm sun and gentle breeze is the ultimate gift. The morning was different than the afternoon! It was not a monotone day.

Grants Village was six miles down the highway from trail. Several hundred cars passed in the hour it took for me to find a hitch those six miles. Hitching in rural areas familiar with the trail is easy. They know who you are, a hiker, and know you’re about to drop $$$ on food and beer and lodging in town. So they’re happy to pick you up. There’s also fewer people; so the responsibility of getting you to town isn’t so easily passed off to the person behind them as it is in a place like Yellowstone. As I stood there hitching I experienced the unique pleasure of staring into the faces of America’s tourist crowd. You see all types of people in all sorts of moods drive by. I look intently and with a sort of crazed smile that only comes to those who know they sit right outside the comfort zone of those around them. People with that smile are dangerous. Of course, I’m not dangerous. I’m just trying to get to town.

Eventually a park employee picked me up. It was a bad hitch. His opener was “you look ugly enough to pick up”. Total red flag. But I wanted that buffet so I jumped in. Another old beat up car with bench seats. No dog. Another old white man. But this guy was just sort of weird. His conversation was sort of disinteresting. It’s not that the content of what he was saying was bad. It’s just that in listening to him I quickly realized he wasn’t someone I had any interest in listening to. Something just about who he was gave me that vibe. I don’t know. Maybe other hikers had better experiences with him.

Apparently there was no dinner buffet so he took me to the general store and I stepped out of the car and thanked him. He said he would wait for me. I said, “for what”? He said, “so I can take you to the campsite”. I said, “no thanks. I’ll walk”. I think he sort of got perturbed about this and then started talking about how I owed him a postcard when my trip was all over because of the hitch he’d given me. I was all like, “Sure sure man let me take your address whatever you say”. And then I walked away. Then I spend $27 right before the store closed. Then I sat outside at the picnic table near where he’d dropped me off and thought that he was weird. Then I looked at all the people who walked to the general store to find it was closed.

Then I didn’t go to the campsite and camped in the woods instead.