Day 50: Day 50!

Miles Hiked: 27

Total Milage: 777

Location: Rawlins, Wyoming

Today 12 pack and I woke up to clouds of fog rolling over our camping spots. I was really hoping it wouldn’t rain last night because I couldn’t set up my tent. I slept in until 7:30ish and we started hiking around 8 which is pretty late for me. The morning was spent hiking a flat road through the chilly fog until the sun started to burn it off. We eventually could see the hills in the distance again although it did look like it was going to storm for the rest of the day. Around 10am we got to call our friend Jenga. He told us he got a hotel with Hummingbird in Rawlins and that we could get there and crash tonight if we wanted to. Of course 12 pack and I both really wanted food and a bed, but more importantly we would get to see Jenga again! This motivated us to get to town tonight. We didn’t even need to change our daily milage plan to do it, we just needed to walk to the highway and get a hitch.

The rest of the day 12 pack and I talked to the cows every time we passed them. I really wanted a cute calf to follow me to town. The cows are so skiddish they start to run the second you get close to them. I got water at Bull Spring and took a break before the long push I planned to do without stopping. At one point we crested a ridge and I could see so far in the distance, the highway we would finish the day on was in my sight and I knew I had to walk about 9 miles to get there. I could literally see the turn I was going to make in 9 miles. When I got service, I called my boyfriend and talked to him for a bit which was really nice. Eventually I caught back up to 12 pack and we did the walk on pavement together or at least close by. Walking on pavement really sucks.

We walked along a paved road with almost no traffic for about 4-5 miles before we took a right turn on to highway 287. Almost a mile into our highway walk we both walked close to a rattlesnake at the same time. It was shaking it’s tail, hissing and lunging at us. I ran around it was fast as I could and as safe as I could without getting into incoming traffic. My adrenaline was pumping for the next mile or so. Eventually we reached the place on the highway Jenga told us to hitch from. Around that spot I happened to find a piece of cardboard so we made a sign to hitch with. A very nice man named Diego picked us up in his truck. He had never heard of thru hiking or any of the long distance trails before and thought that we were absolutely nuts. When he asked us where we needed to go, we told him Rawlins. He said he would drop us off anywhere so we told him our hotel, the Econolodge with Jenga. It just so happened that Diego was staying there too and driving straight there to begin with, what a coincidence! He was in town for work.

We got dropped off at the hotel and crashed in Jenga and Hummingbird’s room. It was so nice to see them! This is where I met Hummingbird for the first time, I’m excited to hopefully get to hike with her! As soon as we could, 12 pack and I ordered wings and pizza for dinner. I was thinking about buffalo wings for two days now. They were so hot I was sweating but I was so happy! I got a shower and we all hung out for the rest of the night. Tomorrow 12 pack and I will hike out of the hotel right back to where we got picked up off the highway. We will then hitch back into Rawlins and stay with Hummingbird and Jenga while they take another zero day.

Happy Trails!

-Early Bird