Dubois, WY to West Yellowstone, MT (8/21-8/27): 150 Miles
After eating at the Cowboy Cafe in Dubois 3 different times, we were ready to hit the road and make our way to Yellowstone. Our hitch, Fred, told us that the grizzlies were up at high elevation feasting on moths, and to not worry too much. A bit relieved by this news, it didn’t stop us from being alert, and a little spooked by our first sign of wolves. We had run into some hikers that had just seen a lone, black wolf near the park ranger cabin that we took a break at. Always gotta stay on our toes out here in the Wild West.
We entered into Yellowstone NP the backcountry way, and were in awe of the geysers, geothermal pools and hot springs - something Ross and I have never experienced on this level. Witch Creek came at the perfect time, allowing us to soak our bodies in the 90 degree flowing water.
As we hiked through meadows and bogs, we constantly switched from trudging through mud, then crossing through and rinsing off the mud in water. A constant back and forth between having dirty, heavy feet to clean, soaking ones. It didn’t matter though - we had arrived at Old Faithful Village!
It was a sweet way to break up our mileage, and we got to spend the afternoon amongst many tourists, which felt overwhelming at times. We enjoyed afternoon beers and snacks, gazed over Old Faithful’s 120 ft. eruption and even saw a bison hanging out next to the highway. We had to get back to trail that same day though, with 10 miles still left at 5pm. We hiked till 9pm. Something about hiking in the dark would expect to give me fear, but this time it offered a peaceful feeling, as the moon guided us right to our site by a beautiful lake - our last water source for 26 miles.
We continued on under overcasted skies, on mostly gravel road (making that 26 mile water carry a breeze, surprisingly!) and we are officially in IDAHO/MONTANA! We will be hugging the state border line for the next 400 (or so) miles.
A little over 800 miles left to go till the Canadian border!!!!!!!!
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