August 26 - September 2.
Day 64, 0-Day in Rawlins, WY.
Seabiscuit and Ricky Bobby hit the trail but, since I got to town a day early, I had an unexpected 0-day on my hands. I ran into Fidget at the post office and she had a comically high number of boxes to pickup before she went to the East side of town to get a hotel and rest all day. I stuffed my face at Anong’s Thai Buffet before going to the Frontier Prison Museum to go on a tour. It was an interesting place with some dark history, as is tradition with old prisons. They used to execute inmates on a contraption where they would walk onto the trap door which opened a valve to fill a bucket to weigh down and pull a hinged support out from under the doors. This eliminated the need for an executioner to pull the lever, but also seemed to make the condemned commit suicide in a roundabout way. Also, a cheesy 80’s horror movie was filmed there, creatively titled “Prison.” After the tour I walked down the street to a bar called “Hole in the Wall” where I proceeded to get drunk for $6. In addition to having the cheapest beer I have ever seen (a 32oz mug of Space Dust, a yummy IPA, costed $6 when that price would usually only get you a pint) the bartender knew a whole slew of dice games that won you free drinks. I eventually stumbled down to the fairgrounds where hikers are allowed to camp and I set up on another playground.
Fidget stacking boxes.
Wyoming State Penitentiary.
“Awww Granny…not my prison shank!”
The Gas Chamber.
The hanging contraption. The condemned would walk onto the trap door (above) which opened a valve (orange hose) to fill a bucket to weigh down and pull a hinged support out from under the doors. This eliminated the need for an executioner to pull the lever, but also seemed to make the condemned commit suicide in a roundabout way.
Day 65, 250 miles to Salt Lake City, UT (via hitching)
I woke up to some watery noise but there was 0% chance of rain tonight and I began to think what was going on. Then a rotating sprinkler shot me as it swept passed my hammock. WHAT THE $***! One comment mentioned the sprinklers ran on Tuesday night, but this was most definitely still Monday night. Or Tuesday morning if you want to be a smartass child about it “well technically its after midnight!” but I cursed Joe Dirt (who left the comment) for his lies. I threw on my shoes and hastily located the nozzle and put my foot over it so no future jets of water would rain down on my bed. I counted the timing to see how long I had between passes, 45 seconds. So I set up my tarp in a few 40-second increments with a dash back to the sprinkler in between to cover the jet. This was not fun. The next morning I had to dry out a few things at the picnic pavilion before I walked across town to the truckstop to get brekkie and begin my 250 mile hitch to Salt Lake City. There was a Greyhound route that stopped here so that was a good backup plan in case I couldn't score a ride. However, it was off to a good start when a fellow ski bum, Nelly, picked me up in his truck. He took me about 100 miles to Rock Springs where he was turning North to go climb in the Tetons. The next hitch took just over two hours to land and only got me another 20 miles but left me at a much more scenic on-ramp. The final hitch, an old timer named Skip, got me the remaining 130 miles and he wasn’t much of a talker. I met up with Caro, Jefe, and Lego, good friends I met on the PCT last year, and the timing was perfect! I made it in time for Pizza Night at Jefe’s house and then crashed on Caro’s couch for the night. They gave me a lift to the airport the following day.
Yardsale Drying-Out Party at the pavilion.
Who wouldn’t want to give this guy a lift?
Jefe, Lego, Space Jam, & Caro. Thanks for the hospitality!!!
Day 66 & 67, 2000 miles to Baltimore (via flying)
I was able to stash my trekking poles and a bunch of gear in Caro's shed before her and Jefe gave me a ride to the airport. My amazing fiancée, Sea Lion picked me up from BWI and drove us up to the cozy neighborhood of Hampden to a cute Airbnb for the night. We cooked some dinner and went to check out a brewery down the road but narrowly missed it's open hours. So we went to another bar, had one beer each, and then decided to retire to the digs because we were both pretty tired. The next day we made the rounds to visit Sea Lion's grandma (Hi Bobby!) and then I treated Sea Lion and her mom (Hi Gina!) for lunch as a thank you for coordinating a new heat pump getting installed at my house. We then went out to Ellicott City to stay at my stepmom's house (Hi Gabrielle!) for the night. Sea Lion returned to the city to meet some friends and I got to work trying to recover my footage from the broken SD card.
Day 68 & 69, Southern Maryland
We dropped Comet off at doggy day care, or summer camp as Sea Lion named it, since it is the same thing from a doggo’s perspective. We then drove to the city to have a quick visit with friends (Hi Alex and Aspen!) before heading to my storage locker to fish out some dress shoes and clothes for the wedding. We then made the drive down to Southern Maryland to check in to our hotel and relax for a little bit. We've been traveling all over for a few days straight. Sea Lion and I grabbed some Thai food for dinner and went to sleep early because tomorrow would be a busy day.
I was up at 5am and was super lucky that the staff had already begun setting out the continental breakfast so I could fill my belly to start the day. I then drove back up the bay as a beautiful sunrise unfolded to the East. I got some decent shots from the car as I crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and arrived at the docks right on time. One of my best friends and long time roommates (Hi Ellen!) was getting married and her bachelorette party conveniently was planned to be on this weekend when I was in town. She wanted to charter a fishing boat and call the whole shindig a BASSlorette Party, get it? We drank a lot of brews and hung out for hours with a little bit of fishing on the side. I was the first to catch a striped bass large enough to keep and then I had my fill and doubled down on hanging out with friends. After a long day on the water, I then had to drive back to SoMD, shower, and get ready for my cousin's wedding (Hi Hannah!) It was a nice quick ceremony followed by some delicious food from Running Hare Vineyard. We danced and partied and Sea Lion and I walked down to the beach for a bit to listen to the waves crash. It was an awesome day!
Sunrise around Annapolis, MD.
Sunrise over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
My best fren Ellen.
The basslorette crew.
Ellen caught a fishy.
Jake and Hannah heading out for the first dance.
Sea Lion and Space Jam sitting in a tree.
Day 68 - 71, a drive to Baltimore and a flight to SLC
Sunday was a much needed recovery day. We met the family and newlyweds for brunch and then made the long drive back to Baltimore. I finally figured out how to recover my SD cards so I could have all of my glorious footage of the Dozen Dip Challenge. The next day Sea Lion and I were both flying out of BWI so we had a beer together before parting ways again but this time it would only be for a short five weeks instead of nine. Once I landed back in Salt Lake City I picked up my rental car so I could begin my Colorado NOBO flip flop. Numerous locals and CO hiking experts concluded that you should really try to get through the San Juan Mountains before October hits or else you’ll be hiking in snow. With my long trail-vacation I wasn’t sure I would be able to hit that window and I was not to keen on hiking around those parts when the avalanche risk goes up. I was pretty ticked off that the rental car place “upgraded” me to a pickup truck…I literally have a single back pack as luggage. Why do I need a truck? But it was either take that or wait until a car gets returned. I met up with Caro and Jefe again and we cooked up some dinner before I hit the road. I blasted a few miles that night and drove to a BLM campground on top of a mountain in the Price Canyon Recreation Area. I could only find one good hammock tree but since I had a pickup truck I made use of it and attached my hammock to a tie-down hook.
Day 72, a Drive to Pagosa Springs, CO. A Hitch to Chama, NM. A Hitch up to Cumbres Pass. 2 miles to camp.
I was up before sunrise so I could watch it from atop my mountain. It was pretty nice. I then resumed my road trip which went right through Moab and stirred up some great memories of my short trip there a few months prior. It is such a beautiful and other-worldly area. Most of this 450 mile drive was desolate desert and I was glad to just be cruising through instead of suffering through such a lengthy hitchhike. I arrived at Pagosa Springs where I returned my truck, grabbed a new gas canister in town, then walked to the outskirts to hitch down Highway 84 to Chama, NM. The first ride, Noah, got me halfway there then Roger got me to town but he didn’t feel like heading up the pass, so I had to score a third hitch to finish off my day of travel. Amelie was an old French lady who told me about Chama’s history as a train town and added that I was about two weeks to early to see the trees turn. That brings in tons of tourists on the train. I felt OK with avoiding those crowds and hoped I would be catching plenty of yellow Aspens as I walked North. I arrived at the top with a little bit of daylight left and made it about two miles before setting camp.
Sunrise from camp in the Price Canyon Recreation Area.
Moab!
Cumbres Pass, essentially at the border of Colorado and New Mexico.