Follow Strider's Rambles

Day 50

Recall that I found a hole in my XLite air mattress? Well, the first night I slept on it after applying a patch it didn’t hold air. Luckily, I had my sister bring my XTherm air mattress so I switched to it. I reinforced the XLite’s patch and it mostly held air overnight. Still, I decided to carry the Xtherm onward. It’ll be handy for the cold Colorado nights.

Jenessa and I woke naturally and had coffee, Beyond Meat sausage, and french toast for breakfast. I topped my toast with leftover strawberries. As we ate, the car made a beeping noise and it turned out the battery was dead. Audrey, one of the camp hosts (they were exceptional, kept the site in great condition), loaned me a handheld jumping device. Soon the car was running and we broke down our campsite.

I was reluctant to say goodbye to my sister. However, I had 27.3 miles to cover before day’s end. Jenessa dropped me off at the Island Park Sinclair and we hugged in farewell. Then I was off, hiking along paved roads that quickly became dirt. Five miles along, I stopped at Moose Creek to gather three liters of water for a 22 mile carry. I also had a hearty snack. The road walking was uneventful other than a Forest Service officer who stopped his vehicle to check on me.

Shortly after I crossed the Yellowstone Park boundary, I ran into PCT friend PBS! We’d been texting, hoping to cross paths as she was traveling NoBo. We hugged and I met two of her tramily members. One, Pika, gave me face glitter for my Wyoming border crossing picture.  It was really good to see PBS, if only briefly. A couple miles later, I crossed into Wyoming. Wow, I’ve completed two of the five CDT states!

I hurried the last six miles to camp with a dark sky looming behind. At one point, to my right, I saw thermal feature smoke, exciting! I stopped under a tree to eat dinner and avoid a heavy rain. Despite my efforts, I got caught in a light rain for the last couple miles. As dusk fell, I reached Summit Lake and set up my tent. There was one other tent and it looked familiar.

Day 51

Upon rising, I went to fetch water from the lake and heard something big splashing away so I decided to wait until I finished packing. It was still dark as I’d risen early to hurry into Old Faithful Village. It turned out the thru-hiker camped next to me was Fifteen! We caught up as we ate breakfast and packed our gear.

It was a chilly morning and for a long ways the trail followed an old creek bed that kept it shady; these qualities and the flat terrain helped me move fast. Near Old Faithful, I detoured slightly to check out the Morning Glory Pool and Giant Geyser. Then I headed to the Old Faithful Inn. On the second story balcony, I found a handy desk with outlets. I plugged in devices and called my mom to wish her happy birthday.

Fifteen showed up with his box and watched my gear. I snagged a towel from a supply cart and took a hot shower (available in the 2nd floor restrooms) complete with shampoo and body wash. Then I fetched my resupply box and sorted through it; keeping an eye on Fifteen’s gear as he enjoyed a shower. Next we headed to the large gravel area near Old Faithful Geyser. We laid our wet tents plus other gear out to dry while we sat in the shade under a tree. Beehive Geyser erupted in the distance, a jet of water shooting from its blowhole for a couple minutes; it was impressive! Then Old Faithful erupted in fans of water that shot multiple stories high.

Fifteen and I killed enough time that Old Faithful erupted again as we departed the village. Away from roads, the trail travelled through pine forests and crossed creeks, eventually winding alongside Shoshone Creek, filled with green grasses that swayed in its flow. Yellowstone is beautiful! Then for 0.6 miles it crossed a geyser basin, colorful pools and small, bubbling geysers right next to the trail. The thermal features felt private after the crowds of Old Faithful.

Fifteen caught up as I prepared to cross a boggy meadow. I took off my socks and shoe insoles and he put on his crocks. It was more fun crossing together. We laughed and exclaimed, never knowing if a step would take us ankle or shin deep in the muck and grass. Occasionally there were clear, deeper channels topped with Lilly pads and we crossed on submerged logs that must have once been bridges. At least it was only 1/3 of a mile long.

Our designated campsite was Basin Beach, near the shore of Shoshone Lake. It was sloped with no view so we decided to camp on the lake’s beach. Since my shoes were soaked, I did all my camp chores, such as tent set-up, in bare feet. We faced our tents towards the water and sat in the sand to eat dinner. With no wind, the lake was a flat surface. I sat outside until darkness fell and a multitude of stars appeared in the sky. It was amazing that we took a four hour break at Old Faithful and still hiked 22 miles.

Day 52

I woke refreshed from a great night’s sleep. Fifteen moved about next door so I got up. I ate breakfast seated in my tent door and watched the sun rise over the lake. After I packed up, I went in search of the camp’s composting toilet. A small trail to the left of the bear hang led to a large box. One step up and I opened the lid to reveal a toilet seat. It was perfect for the backcountry.

Though I had 25 miles to cover, the total gain was only 2,200 feet. I followed the lake’s edge a short distance before the trail climbed upward. Once again it passed through pine forest and crossed creeks. I encountered several NoBo hikers. After five miles, I took off my shoes to ford Moose Creek. While my feet dried, I ate a snack.

Another climb and descent brought me to the wide, shallow outlet of Shoshone Lake. Fifteen waved at me from shade on the opposite bank. Again I took off my shoes and forded the creek, the initial sand giving way to rough, small rocks. When I reached the shore, Fifteen gallantly brought me his crocs so I could walk to the shade without further foot abrasion. We watched two guys walk their kayak up the outlet stream. They had paddled from Lewis Lake to the south.

I gathered two liters of water for the 13 miles to Heart Lake’s shore. There was one creek in the coming stretch, but it was fed by thermal waters and hence contained a high level of arsenic. The miles ahead were dry and dusty with a crossing of Highway 89, which led to Grant’s Village. In the afternoon, it got really smoky. The descent to Heart’s Lake brought a return of thermal features. I stopped to admire a couple brilliant turquoise pools that were orange at the edge. Witch Creek was hot tub temperature.

At Heart Lake’s shore, I stopped to filter water. Fifteen soon joined me (I passed him 2.5 miles ago as he took a break from the heat). He stopped to swim. I was tired and eager to cover the final 4.6 miles to camp, which consisted of a short beach walk followed by a path that rounded the lake to its eastern edge. Our designated campsite was Surprise Creek. As dusk fell, Fifteen and I set up our tents on flat spots beneath towering pine trees.

Day 53

It was a long, 27 mile day, though my energy remained steady throughout. The day started with three crossings of the Heart River. I rock hopped the first two and forded the third. Fifteen caught up on the third crossing and also forded it. While we waited for our feet to dry, we chatted and I made coffee. Shortly after Fifteen departed, I met a SoBo flip-flopper named Friendly.

Late morning, I caught up to Fifteen at a creek where we both filtered water. Then we ate lunch at the Crooked Creek campsite; it had a shady sitting area. Next we forded the Snake River, where a portion of the crossing reached my knees, yet it was a pleasant temperature. The river’s second branch had a beaver dam, which I braved successfully, not wanting to remove my shoes. Fifteen followed my example. A half mile later, we crossed the southern boundary of Yellowstone. Kind of crazy that I saw no bears or buffalo in the park!

In the late afternoon, at Mink Creek, we filtered water and ate snacks in preparation for the day’s biggest climb. It had an initial steep grade and an intermediate plateau with a large lake. A second, more gradual climb took us up a ridge and I saw jagged mountains in the far distance. The top was a huge semi-flat area with a couple dried up lakes and golden grass. A rainbow fell on an adjacent hilltop. We did the climb faster than I expected.

From the top, it was 3.3 miles, mainly descent, to the junction where we intended to camp. At first there were spurts of steep, loose trail sometimes accompanied by a drop-off. Later switchbacks dominated and I cruised along. It was dusk when we reached North Two Ocean Creek, a name I had wondered at until I saw a sign with the distances to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In growing darkness, I hiked the last 0.2 miles, located the campsite, and waved Fifteen over with my headlamp.

Day 54

I slept soundly, if not long enough, and reluctantly got up when I heard Fifteen making coffee. Physically my body felt great after yesterday’s effort. We hiked about an hour before a wave of mental tiredness struck and I stopped to make coffee. Afterwards I moved with renewed vigor and put on music to which I occasionally sang out loud. Several miles later, I found Fifteen seated in the shade and joined him for a snack break.

Lately I’ve seen a lot of grouse and today one posed for me on a rock. The trail was easy hiking as it paralleled the North Buffalo Fork River. Eventually it turned to cross the river and I clambered over some of the worst downfall I’ve seen, huge pine trees with limbs & needles, sometimes fallen in a cluster. Luckily it lasted only 0.2 miles before giving way to a meadow. The river ford was only shin deep and felt refreshing in the day’s warmth.

Another 4.5 miles hiking, mostly through a burn area, brought us to a tiny log cabin where we ate lunch in the shade out back. When we hoisted our packs, I said goodbye to Fifteen, as he planned to hike further than me. He needed to hitch into Dubois for resupply whereas I had a box at Brooks Lake Lodge. That meant an easy 22 mile day for me would leave only 12 miles tomorrow and I was ready for an early evening. Also, it was a temporary goodbye, as we planned to meet after our respective resupplies.

My last six miles were up and over a hilly area. Then I forded the shin deep and 50 ft. wide South Buffalo Fork River. In the south bank campsite, much to my surprise, I came upon Fifteen. I thought he’d be making miles before dark, but he said he wanted a snack before the next hill. So I ate dinner and we chatted until he departed. It was nice to have daylight for all my camp chores, including sewing on the button that popped off my hiking pants waistband.