Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And go do that. Because what the world needs are people that have come alive.
– Harold Whitman
Campsite 8M2 to Old Faithful
16 miles
It was very fitting that our last day on trail included not only the poop challenge, but a morning soak in natural hot springs complete with the application of temporary tattoos (compliments of Daybreaker). To add to the fun, the water in the hot spring would shift from scalding hot to ice cold at unpredictable times.
We continue to meet CDT hikers traveling southbound. I had a huge surprise and saw Smiles. I hiked with her for a few days in 2010 on the Pacific Crest Trail around the Lake Tahoe area. It was so good to see her and so encouraging. She just turned 60 while on the trail. How great is that?
It was fitting that we finished the trail at Old Faithful among thousands of tourist. The geyser erupted and it felt like a party.
Thank you everyone for following along.
Special thanks to our hiking companions and now friends:
Burly Whites aka Stryder for your unresearched opinions on any and all subject matter.
Love Note for being our map junkie and keeping us on track
Drop n’ Roll for making sure our extended breaks were not too extended.
Ninja for always amazing us with your fast hiking speed
Sweetfish for the daily supply of quality jokes.
And Wired, wherever you are (probably somewhere in Montana, hanging with the griz), thanks for your encouragement and trail reports from the north.
We will miss you all.
The Poop Challenge Update:
As we began our approach to Old Faithful, Love Note and Drop N’ Roll were the only ones with dollars and the competition was intense. It was at Lone Star Geyser where DNR finally faltered and Love Note attained victory with all but one of the group’s original seven dollars. She is the no poop master.
Ultimately this game was a blast, but our original intention backfired on us. The majority of the group lost their dollars fairly quick, so the two days actually consisted of more poop talk than ever before. Regardless, it provided plenty of entertainment through the backcountry of Jellystone.
Oh yeah, we decided to refer to Yellowstone as “Jellystone” simply to confuse the tourists we encountered. We also discovered from our English sobo friend Simon, that “geyser” is pronounced “geezer” by the Englanders. Taking on this new pronunciation was also very entertaining. All in all, the geezers of Jellystone were totally awesome.
We have left the wandering herd of now 5, but they continue to hike north to Canada, hoping to end in the middle of September. Don’t miss out on a single day of fun by visiting Drop n’ Roll’s online trail journal at http://www.drop-n-roll.com
What a wonderful memory to always share with Silly Chili; New friends,awesome landscapes and Silly Chili is closer to Graduation! Great Times! Thanks for sharing your journey.
You are so right! I think the memories from this trip deserve a photo album complete with the journal entries. A future project for sure.
The CDT was certainly diverse, open, and wild. Thank you for your comments.
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful adventure! I will miss reading it! The best of luck to Silly Chili. I’ve been an RN for 33 yrs. It’s a good career.
That is good to hear. I am hoping with his training and experience that he will someday volunteer for Search and Rescue. He is calm, thorough, funny, and super strong.
Can’t tell you how much I have enjoyed following this walk with you two. Many issues have kept me off the trail this year and sharing the joy has kept me sane(relatively!)
Kermit,
Well it was a pleasure to serve as a virtual hike for you. It was a fun ride. Hopefully things will align next summer and you will be able to spend the time you want outside.
With a tear in my eye I feel an overwhelming sense of happiness at this completion for Rockin’ and SillyChilly. Thanks Christy and Grant and the supporting cast of Strider-now-Burly Whites, Love Note, D-N-R, Ninja, and Sweetfish for the greatest adventure. You are the ones that are truly alive and that’s what this world really does need. Amen.
Love, love that you referred to the quote. Picking the quote each day is one of my favorite things about posting a trail journal. Some folks thought I had an automatic quote generator. Nope. Each quote was selected especially for the drama of the day.
Both Grant and I had tears when saying good-bye to our fun friends and to the trail. It was really hard. Most would predict that it would be joyful because I could now sleep in a warm bed, take daily showers, and not have to get up and walk and walk and walk all day long. If given the chance we would hop right back on again.
Thank you for your devoted comments.
Congratulations to you and Silly Chili! It’s been great following your adventures. I’ll miss the updates from the trail and the incredible photos. Have a relaxed rest of your summer and hope to see more posts soon. You guys are awesome!
Janet,
Believe it or not there were quite a few moments during this thru-hike that I wanted to quit. I was sometimes tired, slow, and hungry all the time. It is people like yourself that kept me going taking another step, one at a time. Thank you for YOUR comments, support, and inspiration.
🙂
Congrats! Been following this since you started and have really enjoyed the ride. Great pics, great writing, great blog. Also loved your quotes.
Thank you for the generous compliments. Thank you Bud for following, commenting, and sharing.
Congratulations! It has been fun following along with you! Safe travels home and good luck to your son with school!
Thank you so much. I hope this finds you outdoors or in the middle of dreaming of your upcoming adventure. Thanks also for Grant’s well wishes. 🙂