Today is Memorial day. I spent the first 16 miles road walking highway 71 and dodging RVs.  All day long it was pickups pulling camper trailers, pickups pulling trailers loaded with ATVs, and just plain pickups.  All of them quite loud.  That appears to be a thing in Wyoming – they need to remove most of their mufflers or they are perceived as girly-men or something?

On a positive note, a pickup with a very nice family slowed down and gave me a delicious apple and told me I could grab a cold drink out of the ice chest in the back, which I did.  These people are so nice they just make my day.  There is nothing I crave so much as anything cold and wet.  I just took a bottled water, but it was ice cold and I guzzled the entire thing on the spot. They had stopped on the highway and while I was rummaging through the ice chest in the back another truck pulled up behind them waiting for them to get going. When I took out the drink and left the truck I grinned and gave the waiting truck a big thumbs up and got huge smiles in return. 🙂

Later in the day the road crossed Pine Tree Creek.  I was looking for the spring to get fresher water when I noticed a huge beaver swimming in a pond in front of the culvert that goes under the road.  It eventually disappeared in the culvert which I think is it’s home.  And why not?  They are cool and protected.

I finally left the road and rejoined the official CDT.  No sign of Gaucho, but in theory we should be close.  He did the official route which is 80 miles and was one day ahead of me.  He used to do about 20 miles per day.  I took the road walk shortcut which is 20 miles shorter.  I don’t know if he’s in front or behind me at this point.

Camp tonight is at the edge of a large meadow just below the trail about a half mile east of Divide Peak. There is a small flat grassy area in between some large branches where my tent will just barely fit.