Throughout the night I woke up multiple times due to bad dreams and being cold; I need to invest in a warm sleeping bag or some more blankets. When I did wake up for good it was around 06:00 and 47 degrees outside. Since I slept in my clothes I didn't have to make a mad dash to my vehicle to gather clothes and run back to my warm bed. Stepping out into the brisk mountain morning I hit my head on the door frame and my back hurt from how I slept on it; however, I was thankful I wasn't woken up in the middle of the night to a ranger knocking on my door.
My plan today was to hike the Hermitage Point trail near Jackson Lake that was roughly nine miles in length and was a loop that went out to Hermitage Point..imagine that. I will admit that I was really nervous for this hike due to all the bear warning signs and that one of the main points they said to avoid a bear attack was to never hike alone...which was exactly what I would be doing. Though I was somewhat scared about the possibility of running into a grizzly bear I had no choice but to hike alone and I knew if I didn't do this hike I would be upset with myself. Plus I knew if I ran away from everything that frightened me I would get nowhere in life and to me my only option was quite clear: I would just have to buck up and move forward!
With my day pack loaded down and a can of bear spray hanging from a strap I set out. The hike had great views of the Grand Tetons and was not strenuous in the least for it was almost all on flat ground. As I walked along, my eyes darted to my left, to my right, behind me and ahead of me looking for any sign of a bear in the distance. My ears were attuned to every little noise or break of a stick. In the beginning of my hike I walked into a foggy meadow where dew hung on every blade of grass and there I spotted a female mule deer with a beautifully spotted and hyper young one by her side. She stepped onto the trail and looked at me with those huge ears of hers up like antennas, I took a few steps back to give her some space and when she determined I was no threat she continued on with her young one jumping along behind her. I prefer mule deer over whitetail deer for I just love their huge ears and their young are a lot cuter.
Continuing on, I saw quite the array of wildlife which to me is what makes a hike and the reason I go on hikes. The wildlife that I came across included: Trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), American coots (Ulica americana), Canada geese (Branta canadensis), a Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), Common ravens (Corvus corax), multiple Northern flickers (Colaptes auratus), a weasel I was not able to identify and then I got within five feet of a ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) that didn't care about me one bit.
The hike in general was a decent hike and the scenery was quite impressive but near the end my back was hurting due to how I slept on it the previous night and I was tired of being on edge the whole hike. When I arrived back at my vehicle I used the restroom at the visitor center and took out my cold pasta from the previous evening and ate it cold out of the bowl while I sat in my vehicle. My next stop would be Travis's house in Cody, Wyoming which was around a four hour drive and would take me through Yellowstone National Park.
Yellowstone National Park was busy and I was not even near the section that contained Old Faithful. Along the way, there were quite a few places I wanted to stop at but I wanted to get to Cody before it became too late and parking near any of those sites with my camper seemed like it would be a challenge. I pulled into his driveway around 16:00 and was excited to be able to take a breather and most importantly take a hot shower! Stepping inside I had my own room with a bed that was the size of my camper! I threw my things down on the floor and jumped on the bed and just laid there soaking up the feeling of a comfortable bed beneath me. The only thing better then the bed was walking into the bathroom and being able to pluck my eyebrows, take a hot shower and take my time shaving and beautifying myself. For the first time in a long time I blow dried and straightened my hair and stepping out of the bathroom I felt like a brand new person! I literally cannot explain how great I felt and the tranquility that washed over me.
I even tempted fate and weighed myself and found that I had indeed lost some weight but not as much as I was hoping. Though when I think about it, with my height, I think it is a good weight and most importantly I feel great and for the first time I really like the way I look and feel. Everyone always has something they want to improve on and I am no different but I am not really concerned about those things anymore. I am content with how I look. Anyways I went on and did a load of laundry and sat on the coach updating my journal and blog.
When Travis came home from work we caught up and decided to drive into town to get dinner and a drink. We headed to a Mexican restaurant and split an order of fajitas and while we ate we talked constantly about many things and I was laughing to the point that my face hurt. Once we had all we could eat we walked down the street to the Silver Dollar where we had two more drinks. Again as we sat there it felt like I had known him for a lot longer than just a few days and my chest hurt from all the laughing I was doing. It is so nice to just be able to have a relaxing conversation and feel so at ease with another person; especially, one that shares a lot of the same interests and excitement for adventure!
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