2025 CDT - Day 3

2025 CDT, Day 3 - Along the Snake River to Crooked Creek

Moving Day for Me; Lewis Lake, Yosemite to Hatchet Campground, Dridger-Teton NF.

Teton Range and Jackson Lake, WY.

Beau and I enjoyed an early but slow morning (after another car alarm wake up). I had  coffee, a walk, oatmeal breakfast and then the 10-mile drive back to Grant Village. I topped off with fuel, took advantage of the better cell service to check on Runningbird’s track and then back to Lewis Lake Campground. We did our morning house keeping and got underway towards the Tetons. It was a beautiful drive with the morning light and all the wildflowers and then the spectacular views of the Tetons. Instead of continuing south towards Jackson we went east and found the economy FS Hatchet Campground. The pros - partial shade from the heat yet enough sun for solar, only $7 a night with the senior discount, conveniently located near a gas station dump site, one bar of cell service, and the camp host’s 10-year old grandson ever eager to take Beau immediately out for a campground romp. The cons - only one bar of cell service, right along the highway, tons of mosquitos.

After dropping the TAB we went exploring further east to investigate a couple of options where we might be able to intercept Runningbird to see how she’s doing. The first option was a campground about 5 miles up a dirt road. It wasn’t a good option on the first rutted and washed out road but the second road, while also dirt was in better condition but it appeared the area is a popular fly fishing spot and was loaded with campers and trailers and quite congested. After getting back down to the main highway I noticed a van parked on the other side on a small dirt road. Hmmm.

After proceeding further on the highway I stopped for a few groceries in the relatively larger town of Dubois. Lots of fishing lodges on the way, swarms of quads on and along the sides of the highway. Scary. On the way back I pulled off where I saw the van parked and noticed on the hiking app that this road is on the path of the CDT after it crosses the highway. A good spot to meet up with my hiker girl and no congestion. There was dispersed camping further up the road, but sketchy and not in my plan. There were 2-3 bars of AT&T right where the van had been parked. And, I just had to get the timing right. Stay tuned.

After returning to the rig and the mosquito swarm I took Beau for a walk before retreating to the security of the TAB. Unfortunately even opening the door lets in a good dozen at least. Did my best to eradicate as many as I could. Not sure if they actually sting Beau or not but I do see a lot of them land on him but he doesn’t seem to do a lot of scratching. There is an awful lot of “snap, snap, snapping”. I do believe I’m still at a decent elevation here and that I haven’t been doing near enough hydrating. I grabbed one of the two cold root beers I had in the refrigerator leftover from some previous adventure and guzzled it down before realizing it was alcoholic. Oops. Doesn’t take me much.

I continuously study the DeLorme maps, and when I have service Google, FarOut Hiker App, and Spot. In the past I’ve felt relative good about my plan for hiker support but this time I seem to be stressing more than usual. Old age? Some of the places we set to meet up won’t be easy to get to (and I’m not really complaining considering Runningbird has to get to them as well - on foot) and I’m realizing I will just have to take them as they come. The worst part is that once I get to them, I probably won’t be able to track her progress once I’m there and will just have to hope for the best. Then there is all the other stuff like will I be able to find fuel, water, dump stations. I never realized how sparse, barren souther Wyoming really is. Okay, I’m done with this. Moving on.

In the afternoon I was able to get enough of a signal from my campsite to see that Peggy had stopped for the day earlier than usual. She had hiked just over 15 miles. A bit concerning to me but I could see she stopped just before a water crossing. She had mentioned to me days earlier that she preferred to do crossings where she was apt to get fairly wet in the mornings so she had all day to dry out. She’s also carrying a rather full backpack, including the weight of a large can of bear spray she really didn’t want to take, and she’s at well over 9,000 feet! Amazing lady. And I’m complaining about mosquitos. I’ve learned to sleep with my electric mosquito swatter at night.