It’s been a long while since I’ve had a start before 7am, but I managed this morning. With my late hiking days, I lack eagerness to exit the sleeping bag before 6am. Today offered a climb of a couple thousand feet in three miles. This is my last big climb of Wyoming. At mile nine of the day, at the base of the climb, I managed to pick the wrong trail at a junction. The out and back cost of this worthless side mission was an additional mile and a half. This was not a welcome mistake for an expected 33-mile day.
| 🗓️ Date | July 20th |
| ⇢ Mileage | 34.6 |
| 📍 Trip Mileage | 1897.7 |
| ⛅️ Weather | Sunny 65°F until mid afternoon; Yellowstone welcomed me with a a soaking hail and thunder storm |
| 🏞️ Trail Conditions | Quite clear trail with a couple tricky junctions; minus the big climb, rolling along river valleys |
Frustrated with myself, I slugged my way up the steep, plateau climb. It was a slow three miles, but I managed. Like everything else on the trail thus far, you find a way to ge tit done, regardless of the obstacle — blowdowns, river crossings, steep grades. After finishing one trial of the trail, you will face yet another. These successive trials and tribulations build awareness and focus for the present tense, but also a unbeknownst grit. Much like our everyday a lives, there will be daily hurdles that vary in size. Learning to competently and methodically approach challenges without overwhelming anxiety — no matter the size — is an asset that takes practice.
The top of the plateau provide hazy views of the Tetons. I took in the views over my lunch break. The other side of the plateau dropped from ten thousand feet to eight thousand feet to provide entrance into Yellowstone National Park some eight miles ahead. I navigated the mud, wide streams, and even a 5-foot deep pool of murky stagnant water towards the boundary. I called and sang my way through the river valleys of head-high bushes, alerting any nearby grizzly friends.
I entered Yellowstone National Park at Fox Park, next to a range cabin. The trail cut west and navigated north along the Snake River. Clouds rolled in and spit at me a bit. I thought not much of it. Until, a few hours later, an all out thunderstorm rained sleet and hail during the last seven miles of my walk to camp. Luckily, the skies cleared for the last hour into camp, and I dried out for the most part. Trail has been dotted with grizzly scat, both new an old. The biting flies and mosquitos are out, but these are not the worst I’ve seen.
I got to my reserved campsite at the confluence of the Heart and Snake River. Tomorrow, I move to the heart of the park, as I follow the Heart River towards Heart Lake.
Signing off,
Zeppelin / fReaK (ON a leash)
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