I only did 14 miles today.  The hives are sucking all my energy.  Going uphill is agony with muscles screaming “Nooo!”. Even though I was exhausted, the trail is beautiful here. It follows the Snake River as it exits the park. There are not a lot of people here and the few I did encounter were all thru hikers. It was during this stretch that I met Helen (the French girl) going north.  She looked great and was still alone.  The last time I saw her was on the Gila river where we spent a couple days together. We visited for a bit and went on our separate ways.

I reached the Yellowstone boundary and couldn’t help turning around and flipping off the national park sign. The area is beautiful, but I’ve had it with the tourists and the park service and all the rules. I know how to leave no trace and being forced to an itinerary and crowded campsites really grates on me.

I was feeling very tired and dizzy so I set up my tent in a forest outside the park and took a much needed nap. I talked to Barb on the In-Reach and she was very concerned and wanted to know if I needed help. She had been talking with a very nice lady at the Bear lodge in Dubois who offered to pick me up if I could make it to a trailhead. I decided to tough it out, but I’m definitely going to have to slow down.

I finally camped in a beautiful area just before Fox park.