I did the 8 miles on various dirt roads to the highway.  On the way a friendly rancher and his grandson in an old pickup pulled up and we talked briefly. They gave me a banana and I asked them if they always had extra bananas with them. He said that they frequently see hikers this time of year and bring extras to share. What a nice guy!

The trail intersects the highway at a nondescript dirt road. There is almost no traffic here and after 20 minutes only three cars had gone by.  While standing there I noticed someone had made a sign on the lid of a storage tupperware that said “Lander” so I picked it up and used it.  The next truck stopped.

The driver was a thin, older man with a cowboy hat and very proper attire – all crisp and clean and tucked into his jeans. He was polite, but a bit gruff – someone used to giving orders.  Apparently he owns a huge ranch and leases thousands of acres as well.  He dropped me off about 10 miles from Lander because he had business down a side road there.

I continued to use my sign and a pickup drove by.  I could tell they weren’t going to stop so I did a little dance thing and smiled and waved at the lady in the passenger seat.  The truck stopped down the road and came back and gave me a ride.  I said “It was the dance, right?”  She said “Oh, yeah!”  🙂 And so I got another trip in the back of a pickup to the McDonalds in Lander where I downed a huge lunch and picked up a new Sawyer Squeeze at the Outdoor shop nearby. 

Unfortunately my hotel (Holiday Inn) was a mile away on the other side of town, so I started walking.  I stopped at the Scream Shack and was eating an ice cream in the shade of a tree when I noticed a thru hiker walking by.  I said “Hi” and he came over.  This is where I first met Cowboy – one of my best trail friends although I didn’t realize it at the time.  He had to get somewhere so he said goodbye after a few minutes.  I wouldn’t see him again until Colorado.