Thursday, July 4th

Thursday, July 4th. Day 16

Today's miles = 12 Total CDT miles = 226.6

There were no animal issues during the night last night which was a change. I didn't get a good night sleep though. I got sunburn on my shoulders and arms yesterday and it was rather painful during the night. I couldn't lay on my back or sides because of it. I woke up this morning when I heard Panama and Beth rustling around. It was nice to be able to cook my oatmeal on the porch of the locked shelter. Usually there is nowhere good to sit while eating in the morning. The grass is usually really tall and tick infested and the logs have been muddy and wet. So, I've been standing while I eat most mornings. Usually I would eat breakfast in my tent but there is no doing that in the land of the Grizzly. Smells can linger in the tent.

I got hiking around 8 this morning. The hike was easy but my energy was low. The sun has been strong this week and has really been zapping my energy. Baboon and I got to the dirt road leading to Benchmark around 2pm. We got a ride from a couple in a pick up who stopped without us hitching. They took us right to the main cabin where we had sent our resupply boxes. Benchmark is not a town. It is far from a town. There is no electricity, no running water, no food storage boxes, no restaurants, and no camp store. There are a few cabins that people stay in over the summer. One of those families allow hikers to send boxes to an address in a neighboring town where they drive quite a distance to pick up and bring back to Benchmark. There is a 25 dollar fee for this for the gas to make the long trip. They then allow you to loiter on their front lawn where there are picnic tables to sort through your things. A mile and a half down the road is a camp ground with NO amenities except well water. You still have to hang your food as you are still in the back country. The husband of the couple that gets the boxes for hikers passed away sometime in the last two weeks since I spoke to him so his mother, sister, and niece were looking over his cabin for him. His wife was not around. The family who was looking over the cabin drove us to the campground where we sat around the picnic table talking and eating. It was the first real time I felt like I was camping out here at all. These past few weeks have just been wake up, hike, hike, hike, get to camp just before dark, set up, and sleep. We all have been so worn out these few weeks. Beth has really bad issues with her feet so she and Panama decided to spend the night here at the campground (if you can even call it that). Baboon and I realized that by hiking out tonight we would not have gained many more miles because it was already 6:30 by the time we were ready to leave. So, we set up our tents as well and called it a day. It was a nice half day. I think we all needed an easy day. Its 53 miles to the town of Lincoln. We are all dreaming of town food and showers.