I left my hot and uncomfortable room at Vachers Bighorn Lodge around 7:00, walked up the road a bit, and got a ride in about 10 minutes from a couple of very friendly older gentlemen on a road trip. They had done a lot of hunting in the area and knew exactly where I needed to go. It was fun talking with them about their various adventures camping in the area.  I was on the trail at around 7:30.  What luck!  This was supposed to be a tough hitch.

The trail was awesome, ascending through a series of meadows and forests known as Huston park.  A park is a flattish meadow with short green grass and sporadic clumps of trees.  I love them. They are my favorite type of terrain.

The only problem was my ankle/foot.  It was agony. I took approximately 12 Ibuprofen and after several miles it finally loosened up.  Damn it hurts getting started though.

I met Bourbon – a nice 51 year old section hiker.  We walked a road section together and searched for an elusive water source. We encountered several hunters on the road since bow and musket hunting season is open now. The hunters are friendly and I enjoy visiting with them whenever I can. They always ask the same question: “Seen any deer/elk/moose?” It’s always fun to say “Yeah, I saw an entire herd of elk yesterday about 25 miles back”. Then we get into the whole “How many miles to you hike a day” thing. 🙂

I finally crossed the Wyoming/Colorado border around 6:00. WooHoo!  I was desperate for water at this point. The comments in Guthooks indicated water could be found a quarter mile off trail from here but the directions were a confusing mess. I left my pack near the trail and headed down the hill to the east since the map showed an intermittent stream down there. It took longer than I expected and more elevation loss than I was happy with, but I finally found the spring and retrieved a couple of liters. On the hike back up to the trail with my water bottles in each hand I managed to trip and land flat on my face. I was ok, but damn this is exhausting. I just rolled over on my back and laid there for a while. I have to slow down a little and be more patient.

After rejoining the trail I continued south for a couple more miles and found Bourbon camping near the side of the trail. I was going to keep going for a ways, but the weather was starting to turn and it’s always nice to camp with fellow hikers.  I got my tent setup just before it started to rain.  I sat in my tent eating pizza and listening to the rain.  I am happy.  Did 23 miles today.

I think the trail today was one of the most pleasurable sections of the entire trip.  It was beautiful, interesting, and challenging – but not too much.   A+