Our last day of hiking in Wyoming has arrived! We’re not the first awake in the campground, there are already shouts and car engines roaring to life at 5 am. We have a big breakfast in Bob and Carol’s camper and drive back to Old Faithful, where we traipse along the many pools and geysers…

The theme of the day is set by our fantasies of food at our destination: french fries at Old Faithful. There is plenty to distract us from our obsession during the day, though, with the bubbling and steaming attractions of the Shoshone Geyser Basin and refreshing conversation with Steven and Kristen, who are out on…

Traversing around Heart Lake we start to see some people. A southbound section hiker headed for Togwotee Pass tells that a bear warning has been issued for the area. Apparently the bear layed in the trail blocking the passage of a solo northbounder, then bluff charged her when she tried to go around. When we…

In the morning we cross the Snake River, but it’s so close to the headwaters that it’s little more than an ankle washer. Soon after we enter Yellowstone National Park, and immediately see two other hikers. We leap frog these guys all day, and assure them that they’re on their intended route. It’s kind of…

I’m grateful that the rain has stopped by morning, but it’s cold, and putting on my wet clothes is a torture. We hike briskly to our last Buffalo River crossing, the North Fork. This time we assess it carefully before wading in. It’s just a little easier than the South Fork, and I assist Ann…

We get up very early to make it through the Togwotee Pass construction with enough time left to hike 20 miles. It goes smoothly, and we’re hiking around Brooks Lake by 8 am. We haven’t hiked an hour when we see two bears retreating up the valley. The trail here is most heavily used by…

Resting in Jackson is great, but my stomach is not cooperating fully. I should be eating constantly and indiscriminately to put some weight back on, but everything I eat gives me heartburn, and I just can’t consume the volumes I need to. Still, I slowly make my way through a couple of good restaurant meals…

A little more cross country gets us onto an old trail that leads us to the road to Togwotee Pass. Lest we have a day of easy hiking, we attempt to find an alternate trail to Brooks Lake and spend half the route bushwhacking to a high, spectacular gap near Sublette Mountain. From there we…

The hiking feels uncharted today, despite our complete dependence on maps. We follow blazed snowmobile trails along the divide, then a long trail almost impossible to walk on due to thousands of elk footprints dried in the dirt. A little road provides some relief, then it’s back to elk trail. Finally we walk an old…

Pete and I set off on this segment on our own, curious what the country will be like north of the Wind Rivers. The trails definitely see much less use, and we get off course once when I don’t pay close enough attention. The best section is an alternate we take at the end of…