CDT Day 71 (7/28/23)
Miles 1740 (Red line 1963.9)- 1760.6 (Red line 1984.2) (20.6)
Verbatim
Yellowstone is overwhelming. And, I can feel the increasing burden of my pack and its weight. My shoes are falling apart, and they’re not the most comfortable to wear anymore. Gravel is constantly under my socks and toes. My socks are shredded. I only have one pair now as well.
I ended the day in a horde of mosquitoes. Mind numbing buzzing. It was hot at 9:30 under my bag, so I would vent it every five minutes to stay cool. But the draw of cool air into my bag inevitably would bring in mosquitoes. I’d be chasing them around with my hands and rubbing my calves to kill them. I also slept right on the hard ground without my insulating pad to keep things cooler. But this meant shifting positions every ten minutes to keep myself comfortable. This shifting would open up spaces by my head and shoulders where mosquitoes would buzz and bite. I am very hopeful and expectant for Drydaho.
The walking was good. Twenty easy miles out towards Old Faithful. I jumped into a water crossing at one point and fell backwards because the gravel bottom just enveloped my feet. My shorts got soaked. That was a bit of a bummer. I passed through some geothermal areas which was fun. The mosquitoes seemed calmer in these area. I crossed a lake outlet. That was fun.
I camped by Lone Star Geyser. It erupted twice while I slept. The grey of the shooting water against the starlight was a really cool experience. It must have run for a half hour each time, but I could hardly keep my eyes open to watch it. I do remember that by the time it started gushing the mosquitoes were gone.
Also, when I was hitching back out from Grants Village a ranger caught me peeing by the side of the road and threatened to give me a ticket… “If I wasn’t so busy”. Then he drove off. He had a shotgun and an assault rifle between his seats. Incredible.
It’s also become quite annoying to have these shoes and broken ski pole on my pack. They get in the way whoever I move around in civilized places. Doorframes, gift shops, crowds. My goodness.
Post Note
Yeah that ranger was a moment of my CDT hike… I swear I only started peeing when I could see that there were no cars coming from any of the three directions at the road crossing. And then the one car that showed up was the most heavily armed soldier in all of Yellowstone. I was, admittedly, peeing pretty close to the road. Just one tree removed. But, I’d been hitching unsuccessfully for so long I didn’t want to walk far back into the woods. I wanted to be ready! If the one car that passed me while I was peeing was the one car that would have given me a hitch I would have been seriously bummed. I mean, the police officer could have given me a hitch. Just sayin. I’m not out here to hurt anyone. Just trying to leave this godforsaken zoo. If you come from Grants Village to the main road through Yellowstone you’ll see a milage sign across the highway from you. To the left of that signage was where I was hitching. There’s a pine tree behind the sign and to the right. That’s where I was peeing.
I spent two nights in the park. Neither of them was at my permitted site. Why would I stay at a permitted site?! That’s where the Grizzly’s know to go to find a human! Instead I just camped in a thick set stand of lodgepole pine the first night near Grants Village. That was fine. I was right off the road but far enough away not to be seen. No one was going to come looking for me there. The second night I didn’t really “camp” at all. My milage took me to the Lone Star Geyser, which is a CDT hiker favorite. It’s big and epic like Old Faithful, but takes a two mile hike from its parking lot to get to. It’s secluded, because what American car tourist is going to walk two miles to see a geyser when they can just drive to a geyser and gift shot and restaurant instead. So yes, I “slept”, at Lone Star Geyser right under the tree beside the makeshift bench. But really I was just “night time viewing” the geyser. I didn’t set up my tent. I was only in my sleeping bag to keep warm and bug free. Yes I may have dozed once or twice but only on accident. My logic was an impeccable defense against rangers and their hyper vigilance and dangerous tickets and guns.
In my opinion, this is a perfectly acceptable way to travel through heavily regulated areas. I’ve spent a year (like at least 365 days total) doing this stuff now. So I’d like to think I know what I’m doing. You, however, probably don’t. So please follow the rules. If some ranger had come along at 1am and pushed me from Lone Star Geyser I would have just walked into Old Faithful and camped like a HOBO on the viewing benches for the geyser. Again. “Night time viewing”.