Section 9: Into Wyoming, Yellowstone, Nighttime Shots, Sandhill Cranes, and More Lakes (30 photos, 4 videos)

Section 9 is 100.7 miles long and runs from Old Faithful Village to Highway 26, the road to Dubois, WY. August 10th - 13th.

Day 48, 23.6 miles to camp at marker 1022.2

We were packed up early and had some lengthy walks to get out of the campground and to the lodge serving the breakfast buffet. The food wasn't bad but we were all grouchy about how they labeled their syrup as maple syrup but it was clearly Aunt Jemima or some other fake syrup. We then walked down to permit office and the crew was planning to slow down and enjoy the park but I had to keep trucking. I was going to skip on permits and hike a big day to the Lewis Lake campgrounds and then out of the park the next day. We hiked down to the main road and soon got a ride with May, an employee who grew up frequenting Yellowstone. Her parents had also worked there so she followed in their footsteps. We got dropped off back at Old Faithful Village and planned to stick around for the next eruption. Last time I witnessed it, the sky was hailing so I wanted to see one on a clear day before beginning my hiking. We just missed an eruption so we chilled at the Snow Lodge for an hour and mooched their slow WiFi. We caught Old Faithful spewing into the sky and then I was off to the races. The Geyser Basin was pretty cool, it was littered with spectacular thermal springs but lacked the boardwalks packed with hundreds of tourists. Soon after was a half mile walk through a bog which I just did barefoot. The trail frequently sank two to three feet below the water and I passed a NOBO Papa Otes on the way. On the other side I ran into Merlin and Fidget who were having a snack so I joined them. I was starting to realize that I wouldn't make it to the Lewis Lake road until dark and that a 4 mile hitch to the campground would be unlikely. I also didn't want to hike those miles at night on a road with no shoulder. Merlin and Fidget had the same plan to stealth camp near the trailhead instead and I'm glad I wasn't the only one. Merlin and I crushed 8 miles to the ? Creek outlet and then stopped for dinner. We caught the beginning of a nice sunset but wanted to squeeze a few more miles before needing a headlamp. Boat guy? I was the last to finish eating so we got separated and I camped alone, well off trail to avoid being caught.

Old Faithful is uitw the tourist destination.

Day 49, 27.7 miles to the Yellowstone border.

It was a freezing night and I saw distant lightning when I got up to pee so I set my tarp to be safe. I also nabbed some good star photos and as I sturggled to warm back up in bed, I decided it was time to retire this quilt. The down always fluffs up to the corners and unless I spend some time massaging it back to the middle, it doesn't provide much waemth. It was chilly morning following the cold night so I stubbornly stayed in bed reading and transferring photos from my camera. Being Sunday, a ton of weekend hikers were heading back to their cars at the trailhead and many of them were happy to spot a thru-hiker. I kept a good pace all the way to Heart Lake which has a gorgeous sandy beach that the trail runs on and Mount Sheridan serving as the back drop. I filtered water, went for two swims, and laid in the sand as I basked in the sunshine. For over an hour I had the beach all to myself and loved it. The trail then followed Heart River through a beautiful valley but it was outdone by Snake River and it's valley. There were a couple of fords and some tricky rock hops along the way and the afternoon sun really started to bring the heat. There were quite a few PUDs as the trail went way above the river and then back down instead of just following the gentle uphill grade. I listened to a lot of music to help me push on and then took my dinner break after the last river ford. The sun was setting as I took off for the final 3.6 mile push and I set up my hammock as soon as I saw a sign for the border. Well I was actually still about 100 yards inside the park but I was willing to risk it.

Day 50, 30.5 miles to camp at marker 1080.4

I felt another cold night was coming so I refluffed my quilt and wore my hiking clothes over my PJs for extra warmth. It still wasn't enough and I woke up shivering at one point. I leaned out of my hammock and heated some water in my stove, poured it in my water bottle, and put it down in my quilts footbox to thaw out my icecube-like feet. It helped but I still had Troye falling asleep and couldn't wait to feel the warmth of the morning sun. When it arrived around 630am I was so happy that my hammock was angled to absorb it instead of being in the shadow of a tree or nearby peak. I slept for another two hours and had a very late start to the day. I felt good cruising up the big climb of the day and at the top of the plateau you could see the Grand Tetons in the distance. I would've liked to take a long alternate route that runs along the Teton Crest Trail but that would have put me way behind schedule to make it to Rawlins by August 27th. I bombed down the hill on the other side and stopped for lunch at Two Ocean Creek. This water splits at a fork and is destined for opposite sides of the country. It was neat standing in the water and having one foot be connected to the Atlantic and the other to the Pacific. From there I planned to do three sections of 8, 6, then 4 miles to hit 30 on the day. I soon caught up to Papa Otes and we hiked together for the rest of the day. Turns out he camped right next to me last night but we had no idea. Cold air was settling in the valley and I was glad my projected campsite was higher up. I heard some alien squawks of Sandhill Cranes and saw them flying along the river. It was almost a full moon and it was a burn zone so most of the lumens were hitting the forest floor and I was able to hike without my headlamp. I out it on for the sketchy and bouncy log-bridge over the Soda Fork and then climbed up to that 30 mile mark. The trail went through a wide open field with a rocky peak dominating one side, I thought it'd be a good backdrop for some star photos if the moon wasn't so bright. I found two pairs of perfect hammock trees that avoided getting scorched. I hung my hammock from one and Papa Otes soon caught up to claim the other. One of his trees had big claw marks from a grizzly so we were extra careful about where we tied up our food bags that night.

Not a farm field. These are 10 separate treads or lanes along the same trail thanks to horse travel.

Sandhill Cranes make some weird noises! And so do flying grasshoppers that sound like tasers.

Day 51, 18.9 miles to Highway 26 and a ride to Dubois, WY.

I slept in all my clothes again and was glad that it stayed above freezing. Papa Otes has a little thermometer and confirmed that the night before the temperature did indeed dip into the 20s. As we packed up another one of his NOBO buddies passed us and they chatted and caught up as I ate an extra hearty breakfast. I love when you realize on that day or two before town that you have extra food to eat. We hit the trail and I soon pulled ahead but he caught up when I took my shoes off to ford South Buffalo Fork. I filtered some water as well and then leapfrogged Papa Otes on the next climb but he again caught up when I stopped for lunch at Cub Creek. I took the lead again for the final climb up the the valley of Brook's Lake which was absolutely stunning. There was a lush green meadow in the middle with a stream winding through it and huge rock walls on either side. I could totally understand why they built Brooks Lake Lodge where they did. I took a break at the edge of the lake before making the last few miles down to Highway 26. Papa Otes again offered a ride to town but when we got to the trailhead, Knife Hands was nowhere to be found. Some more of his NOBO friends were also waiting at the trailhead so we all hung out for a bit. Roof's friend arrived on a motorbike and brought pizza and beer to share with us before taking her away. Knife Hands arrived in the van and took us to town. They dropped off Mean Spaghetti (I wish I got the story behind his trail name) and I off at Noon Rock Pizza which was amazing. Quite possibly the best pizza I had ever had. An old friend from the AT, Newt, was also in town and met me at the pizza joint. He and his girlfriend, Flaming Hot, had been flip-flopping around the CDT and it was great to final catch up. I stayed with them at a motel and, since there was nowhere in town that allowed camping, my 26-night streak of hammocking come to an end.