Farewell to Spring: Zero day in West Yellowstone

Not a lot to say about zero days but I really needed to rest. I just don’t feel right. Shortness of breath, dull feeling in my chest, a lot of peeing—always clear—a lot of thirst but little desire to drink, no real appetite, occasional nausea. I rested as well as I could, which wasn’t very well with all the chores to do on foot.

I bought a COVID test from the pharmacy. I tested negative.

The hotel where I stayed was next to one of those cosmetics shops where middle eastern men stand out in front and offer samples. I found out a hiker had borrowed a bicycle from one of the men so I asked him if I could borrow the bike next. The mission for both of us was to get to the dispensary.

I had tried hitchhiking and had no luck. The dispensary was 7.5 miles away. Bike rentals were expensive. Borrowing the bike was going to save a lot of money. I needed gummies to help me sleep. This was my last day in a town in a state where such things are legal. Benadryl, according to Dr. Google, exacerbates heat exhaustion symptoms and it did not make me sleepy anyway. I could not bear the thought of any more sleepless nights either in the hotel before heading out or on the trail.

So I rode 15 miles round trip to get gummies. In the rain. On a busy highway with trucks, RVs, and rumble strips in the shoulder. While riding I could still feel my main symptom which is a sense of tiredness in my chest and difficulty breathing. I breathed in-out hard like the hills near Lima with the effort of pedaling. At least it was relatively flat to get there.

After that errand, I was pretty wet and cold (imagine that!) so I crawled under the covers of my bed and took a nap.

When I woke up I thought I could probably eat pizza. I went to Wild West Pizza and Saloon and got a personal pizza and a salad. The salad was so good. It had onions and cucumbers on it. I felt better just from that. I got a white sauce pizza and a beer.

I’ve been putting lite salt on things, drinking Gatorade, eating salty almonds and making lists in my head of foods to bring for this 8 day section. I have a stop in 3 days to buy restaurant food and snacks so I don’t have to carry a full 8 day resupply, just an extra 5 days of things that are not snacks.

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The next morning, after sleeping pretty well thanks to the gummies, and despite needing to pee several times, I woke early to check FarOut for water info and saw the last water for me would be at 16 miles from the trailhead. After that the next water would be 26.6 miles and inside the park. I would have to get a permit to camp in the park. I would have to commit to a 16 mile day this afternoon and a 26.6 mile day tomorrow.

Suddenly the weight of all this dehydration and exhaustion and loneliness overwhelmed me. The remoteness of the trail towns, the hot summer heat, the inability to feel 100% well, the dread to return to trail.

I bought a plane ticket for less money than the rest of this trip would be. I could be home around midnight. Poof it would be over.

I felt simultaneously sad and relieved. I went to tell Wanderer who was outside waiting for his ride back to the trail. He could tell anyone who asked if I was still on trail that I wasn’t. Not that anyone would miss me or anything. I saw some guys with backpacks hitchhiking and gave them my bear spray and fuel.

It makes me sad that I’m not strong and fast like everyone else. I had hoped to hike a trail like this with others and enjoy that kind of experience of camaraderie. This was the loneliest town on the trail. I barely spent time with anyone here. A brief conversation was the most time spent.

This has been the hardest trail I’ve ever hiked. I hiked about 800 miles. I hiked the Bob and the Anaconda-Pintlers and a lot of other wild places. All the things I’ve seen are all blurred together. It looked nothing like anywhere I’ve ever been. So beautiful. I’m glad I gave it a try.

The airport is 2 miles away. My flight leaves in 8 hours. I think I can I make it.