3 Highlights:
- Hitchhiking adventures: Roger the school teacher with a love for UK hiking and the lovely couple with a cabin (plus wild horses on the prairie!).
- Atlantic City lunch with a retired FBI agent—fascinating stories from a globe-trotting badass.
- Reconnecting with friends and family, filling up on some much-needed love and support.
Daily Summary:
- Distance hiked: 30 km + 16 km hitched
- Starting point: Lander, then hitched to Highway 28
- Ending point: Upper Mormon Spring
- Weather conditions: Windy!
Daily Reflections (challenges, insights, musings):
After a night of tossing and turning, I decided to get ahead on social media updates instead of battling with my sleeping bag. A quick morning routine later, I felt somewhat human again.
Granite and I hit up Safeway for resupplies, and I snagged a peach from a kind lady outside. The morning was filled with calls to Bobi, Massa, Lanski, mum, and dad—recharged the soul. After a better cappuccino and a delicious energy ball at a different cafe, I treated myself to a new buff and socks.
Hitchhiking with Granite, Neo, and Triple T turned out to be a delight when Roger, a charming school teacher with an Oxford background, picked us up.
We made our way to South Pass City, a tiny ghost town where we indulged in ice cream. Feeling adventurous, we bushwhacked to Atlantic City, where we stumbled into an unforgettable lunch with a retired FBI agent who’s visited over 100 countries and every state in the U.S. The conversation was rich, and it was one of those serendipitous trail moments that makes all the dirt, sweat, and sore feet worth it.
Two hours of hiking later, a young family gave us a hitch for 10 miles. The kids were bouncing off the walls with sugar, and I got bonked by a Lion King toy multiple times, but the sight of antelope and wild horses made it all worth it.
Now, we’re camping in high winds, surrounded by water and cow manure—because why not? Good night.
