Day 130- Riddle Me This

Wednesday August 22, 2018

Dana Spring(2677.5) to Flesher Pass(2709) 

31.5 Miles 

Total Miles: 2423.5 

Elevation: 6,150 feet 

It was freezing this morning when I finally woke up. I didn’t sleep very well because of my back. However, my back did feel slightly better. There was frost on the ground this morning. I stayed nice and toasty in my tent, but it was a struggle to get going. After packing up I had to get water on my way out of camp. Koolaid and The Jesus were there as well filling up their bottles. Straws, Piñata and I spoke with them briefly. Z was still sleeping. He is such a fast hiker he is able to sleep in every morning and I am very jealous of that. It was too cold to just stand around talking after a few minutes we all started walking north. We had a nice climb to start the day off. About halfway up I had to stop and take off a few of my layers. I kept on my new long sleeve hiking shirt and my gloves. I just can’t get over how cold it has been the last few days. I didn’t expect to have to deal with this for a few more weeks. 

Misty, hazy morning 

I stopped a few more times over the next hour. Every time I got overheated I would take off my LS shirt and gloves. Within a few minutes I would regret that decision and put them back on. Finally around nine o’clock it began to warm up. The sun even came out for the rest of the day. The section of trail we were hiking today was closed just a few days ago because of a fire close by. I never saw much fire damage, but I could see where they had sprayed fire retardant on the trail and nearby trees. 

Haze from the fires

For most of the morning I felt like I was back in Colorado. The trail followed the actual divide for a while. That meant steep and short up and downs over the tops of peaks and lots of ridge walking. It didn’t take long before my back started hurting again. By eleven thirty I had to stop and take a break. I was really hurting. Straws and Piñata caught up to me and decided to take a break as well. Just as we were getting ready to begin hiking again Z turned up. My short break had turned into a long break. 

Montana or Colorado? 

After our break we had to walk on a forest service road for awhile. We thought it would be fun to start the riddle game again. Straws and Pinata really seemed to like playing and it wasn’t long before Z was hooked as well. The riddle game provided the perfect distraction 
from how much my back hurt. Most of the morning was pain free, but after we took a long lunch break it really tightened up. At least during lunch I was able to get my tent and sleeping back dry. They had gotten pretty wet from all of the condensation last night. 

Good terrain for riddles

More riddle time

The day had really warmed up. It was back to feeling like summer. I think I will be seeing a combination of hot days with cold nights and mornings for the rest of this hike. I’ll just be happy if I can avoid getting snowed on. Our goal was to make it to a trailhead parking area before dark. There were picnic tables and a privy there. We made it before dark, but there was no water there. We decided to forgo the luxurious picnic tables to cook dinner at. Water was definitely a priority. We hiked another half a mile to an off trail water source. We found a nice sheltered spot close by to set up camp. Even though I was in pain for most of the day it was an enjoyable stretch of trail. 

The picnic table we skipped

Our campsite 

2,400 Miles!

“I'm in favor of destruction, aggression, hating things. Not bearing things anymore. We think the breakdown comes because our life is in bad shape. But maybe the ideas cause the disorder. Something tries to break through and causes the disorder.”

 - James Hillman