Day #42 (99)-Walking alone this time. Miles hiked: 22.3

We got back on trail today, but not without the most important meal for stalling leaving town: breakfast! 

And like hikers tend to do, of course we multiplied…good to see French Toast again who I first met in Pinedale several hundred miles ago. The trail just teleports people you think you’ll never see again. 

Once we finally bothered to leave the coffee and stick our thumbs out, we got a quick ride back to Battle Pass and got to work on the last 20 miles of Wyoming.

Gone are the open spaces and cruisy terrain of the Basin, in exchange for lots of steep 500 ft climbs and descents. I personally prefer the long uphills to constantly having to switch gears, but it’s all trail miles.

After walking through several clear cut sections from logging operations, I reached to WY/CO border.

The last time I walked into the state of Colorado on the CDT, it was with three people who I care deeply about but who would ultimately betray me in some of the most deeply painful ways I’ve known. This time I crossed the border alone. I’d be lying to say unscathed, but I know with all my heart I refuse to betray myself. 

Here’s for a do-over, and for being my full Blueberry self…because I do believe she has something to offer the world. I’ll leave no trace, but I’ll also leave it better than I found it.