August 4th, 2024
Mile Marker: 1089.3
Miles Hiked: 32
Holy smokes, today was long and stunning. I can’t wait for the Winds!
This morning was a bit difficult to wake up. Journey and I both kept waking up last night for some reason. Maybe something was around and our bodies sensed it. We knew we needed to get up though because we planned another big day today; 30 miles.
We got up around 6:15 and started walking by 7:15. The first ten miles of today were downhill and flat. We moved easily as the trail was wide and/or multiple lanes where Journey and I could walk side by side. We noticed that there were multiple camps with horses and that most of what we were walking through showed a ton of horse tracks. We both weren’t sure why but this was definitely a horse area.
The landscape has started to drastically change. We are starting to see steep rock walls and vast views. I was in awe this morning. So incredible.
Today was another day of crossing large streams and getting our shoes and socks wet instead of taking the time to take them off.
We crossed a NOBO that seemed appalled we decided to get our feet wet than walk down further to a log. Little did he know all the streams he was about to cross!
While filling up water here we noticed about 9 horses coming down the trail and across the water. It appeared to be a tour guide type of deal since there was a guide and then a family, all on their own horse, followed by 2 more support members.
The guide was very aware of us CDT hikers and told us we had tiny packs. (I’m sure he was referring to Journeys as mine is bigger than his!)
We watched them ride off and I watched the horses in amazement. I thought back to my childhood and how horses used to be my favorite animals. I just loved to watch them and how they move; big and powerful but can also be sweet and playful. (I later changed to having an obsession with pandas and now I think I just enjoy both a whole lot.)
We headed back out on the trail and caught back up to the horses. Eventually the last member told us we could pass but to make sure to be far out to the left to not scare the horses. Well, the trail didn’t really fit for us to bushwhack next to it so we slowed our pace and watched the horses support the people.
After 10 or so minutes the horses went off to the right for a break and we continued on. Kind of crazy to think we could keep up with them but out on this terrain it would probably be very hard to go fast.
Around noon we crossed this little cabin in the middle of nowhere. We aren’t sure why it’s here or what it is used for but clearly people camp around the back. We decided we would push on a few more miles until we stopped for lunch since it was overcast.
After a bit we found a nice creek to eat at and spent about 30 minutes doing so. We both knew we couldn’t stay long though since a 30 miler with elevation required a steady pace.
After lunch it started to sprinkle on us a bit but thankfully it came and went and we didn’t have to pull out rain gear again for the rest of the day. Thank goodness. We were both worried it might thunderstorm on us today but made it out dry!
The trail towards the second half had a ton of blown down trees. Usually they don’t bother me much but today it was starting to get a bit annoying. It appeared that instead of clearing the current trail, they make a new one around the trees that have fallen. Sometimes these reroutes also include blown down trees though. Good gravy! It was also very tiring when going up a climb and also having to hike up and over a log.
We also ran across “Log Man” who is quite famous on trail this year as he is carrying a 25 pound log on his shoulder and has been doing so the entire trail. He does this on top of carrying a pack! Here is an article about him: https://thetrek.co/meet-shawn-mahoney/
My favorite part of today came toward the last quarter around 5:30 PM. After we made it up a big climb and started descending into the valley, we rounded a corner and BAM we were hit with this incredible view. No friggin way.
The view kept getting better and bigger as we continued on. I felt myself getting excited, this next week is going to be amazing.
We came to the wilderness boundary and entered into Teton Bridgestone National Forest.
We once again were hit with stunning sunset views of these giant mountains just glowing.
I’m not sure my camera does it justice but man is it pretty out here. This is why we do these things, to see views like this!
We finished the day with hiking up to a lake and struggled to find a campsite with Captain. Initially we found some spots but realized they were surrounded by dead trees and we were not fans, especially as Captain had a dead tree fall right along trail today without any wind. 🫣 Journey and I were not far behind but heard the tree come crashing down. This made all of us not want to camp anywhere near these dead trees.
We continued on a bit and were so thankful when we found a spot that was mentioned in the comments about a bear box and couple camp spots. It’s only surrounded by live trees as the dead ones are a bit further away. Thank goodness.
We have arrived at camp way later than normal around 9 PM but happy we found a spot before it was completely dark! There was no real reason for us to do 30 mile days other than wanting to get into town tomorrow early. However, doing these big days does make me feel so accomplished.
Oh yeah, we saw about 20 NOBOs today, probably more. We are definitely crossing paths with the northbound bubble!
Iz and Oz
Izzy + Ozzy 