I woke up a little before 4am, then again with my 4am alarm. I decided to sleep in a little just because I was cozy and in no hurry.
Just after 6, I was ready to walk through that frigid water. My feet were already cold from walking around in my sockwas all morning, but the pain in my toes was as strong as the previous morning by the time I reached the other bank. Even after I got my boots on, it was a mile of hiking before the feeling came back to normal in my toes and I could walk normally without having to think about every step.
The narrows of Hell Roaring Canyon were spectacular, but my awe was replaced by more pain when something stung or bit me on the top of my head out of nowhere. Shortly after that, I stopped for a break, thinking it might be nice to have my hat on instead. In the middle of the break, who should come up the trail but none other than Blitz himself, whom I left behind in Silver City and have been expecting to pass ever since. We chatted for an hour or so about the trail ahead for each of us before going on our respective ways. Just for reference, Blitz has been doing regular 30s and has hiked about 2000 miles in the time it took me to hike only about 1300 miles. Sure, I’ve had more than a week’s worth of zero days by now, but even if he took none, he’s still hiking nearly 50% faster than me on average. Guess he’s earned that trail name.
Anyway, not much to say about the next bit of trail. A few miles of walking on a dirt road over rolling hills. There was a guy on an ATV walking three hounds.
I stopped on a hilltop overlooking Henry’s Lake for lunch. Several trucks and ATVs pulled up near me while I ate. The wind started picking up and gusting pretty hard. It blew my bottle over just after I had finished filling it up, wasting a lot of water. I had to use almost all of what I had left to refill it.
I stretched the dregs for the next 5 miles until I reached water again, which involved crossing the highway and climbing a mile up Black Mountain before starting to work my way around it at that level, looking down over Raynolds Pass and the strangely similar looking houses of all those who lived there. Along this road, I opened a gate for a forest service truck and the guys inside offered me a Smokey the Bear Buff. I declined because I’m perfectly happy with the Buff I have.
I took my afternoon snack break an hour late so that I could collect some water to drink with it. Then I stopped for dinner and more water collection at the Mile Creek bridge a mile later. The wind was blasting really hard by now.
From there, the trail began to slowly scale the side of Black Mountain via the Mile Creek ravine, going straight up the hill at quite a gentle slope right next to the creek. There was still some very potent wind, but it died out as I climbed, protected as I was by the sides of the ravine. Eventually, I think the weather changed. The severe weather statement on the Weather Channel app said the wind advisory ended at 7:30, but it was already little more than the occasional light puff by the time I stopped just before 7.
If I were to go any further, I would have to climb several miles of switchbacks up to the mountain ridge with no chance of a campsite. If I wanted to get to sleep at a reasonable hour, I had to stop there. There were no cleared campsites, but I found a nearly level spot on a narrow ridge and cleared it myself. I don’t need much space. Temperatures were dropping and I was glad to crawl inside my sleeping bag. I hoped I wouldn’t wake to a jungle of condensation again.
Anyway, there was no need to hurry out of camp in the morning. I had a room booked in West Yellowstone for two nights hence and not much travel left to get there.
Trail miles: 20.2
Distance to West Yellowstone: 17.6 miles
