July 30, 2013

July 30, 2013
2 miles south of Targhee Pass to 1 mile outside Yellowstone Park Boundary
30 miles

Slept in a little later than I expected and didn't get on trail until after 7am, oh well. The hiking today was pretty easy overall with no big climbs or descents to speak of. Today's hiking was made interesting by the fact that there is a 26 miles waterless stretch between Reas Creek and Summit Lake, which is in Yellowstone NP. Since I am camping outside the boundary because I do not get have a backcountry permit, I hiked a little more than half the miles between the two water sources, with the remaining 12 miles to go in the morning. Not ideal, but also not as bad as New Mexico is going to be!

I cooked up my big meal for the day at Reas Creek so I didn't have to worry about cooking later tonight. Something didn't sit right with me though as I had a hard time getting it all down and then had to deal with an upset stomach (something between bloated and feeling like I was going to throw up) during the following 5 hours of hiking. Not fun, let me tell you. Not sure what the deal was, but things seem to be back to normal now.

About 6 miles before I got to where I am camped tonight I ran into two hikers who also hiked the PCT in 2011, Balls and Sunshine. Sunshine is aiming to be the youngest triple crowner (those who thru-hike the PCT, AT, and CDT). They are well on their way and seem to be in good spirits still.

About an hour later I also ran into High Life. He was running short on water and I felt I had some extra and so ended up giving him some. Maybe I should have kept it for the remaining miles I still have to Summit Lake, but it always feels good to help out someone else.

Onward to Yellowstone!



Alex