Today’s plan was simple. Hike up to Sweetwater Creek (yes, the same one I camped near last night) and set up camp. It wasn’t a long trek, but involved a TON of uphill, often steep, so I knew I wouldn’t be moving quickly, between my bad knee and heavy bear vault.
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Avoiding the Blowdowns
I was on the trail before 8 a.m. It was sunny and warm out. The first miles weren’t too bad, and the scenery was similar to yesterday. I was able to “chat” with Ed via Garmin texts. I’d forgotten to reserve a motel room in Pinedale (coming up), so he made my reservation. He also made one at a place called Big Sandy Lodge.
Big Sandy Lodge is a short hike off the trail from the Big Sandy Trailhead. It’s rather expensive for a modest room, shower and food. So I’d thought I’d skip it. But I think I could use the bed (my air pad has a leak), shower and a place to dump my trash and some food from my bear vault. So that’s the new plan.
Morning Passes
Because I was stopping to text with Ed so often, I hadn’t covered many miles by lunchtime. And the hills started right after that. So what could I do but soldier on?
After passing a campground, the terrain slowly changed as the trail pitched uphill. There were still the gazillion blowdowns, but also larger rocks and more greenery. I passed two hikers; neither one wanted to chat, which was fine.
Mid-afternoon I reached the Bridger-Teton National Forest. The trail got quite steep here for several miles, and I was shuffling uphill slowly. Then it rained/hailed for a short time. I scrambled to put on my pack cover and raincoat, but still got wet. Just as quickly as it started, the rain/hail stopped and I dried out.
Day Winds Down
I thought I was climbing all afternoon, but the last two hours shoved me downhill. Fine with me! I caught beautiful glimpses of WHAT Lake, then made it to my campsite. The only 
problem was I had to cross the swiftly moving Sweetwater Creek. I didn’t want to get my feet wet, so I opted to try walking across this mass of downed trees.
Now, I usually don’t like walking on trees over a river. I’m too scared and my balance isn’t the best, especially with trekking poles, a backpack and bear vault! But I made it.
The day ended badly. I put up my tent, got water, cleaned up and was preparing to make dinner when another storm struck, this one with rain, thunder and lightning. It’s still going on.
I’ve got my bear vault in my tent vestibule; I need to move it, but don’t want to get soaked. Not sure what to do.
Snowshoe
Today’s Miles: 14.2 (22.9 km)
CDT Miles to Date: 1321.3 (2,126.4 km)
CDT Miles to Go: 1,778.7 (2,862.5 km)
