I didn’t do many of my errands yesterday when I got to town, that was reserved for today, my first zero day in weeks. I’ve had a bunch of nero days lately (only walking a few miles) but there is something restorative, and sometimes physically and mentally imperative, in committing a whole day to not walking.

I woke up in my wonderful hotel bed, put on a pot of coffee and got to work figuring out what I needed for resupply and resupplies up ahead. Wyoming will be much more remote than Colorado, towns will have less amenities, and I knew I would have to make at least one box of food to send ahead to myself…maybe more.

Again as with many sections on this trail there are lots of options and route choices to make. I like to make them on the ground, but in the case of some upcoming resupplies, I needed to decide now how many days of food and where I would be sending it to. I polled the CDT Facebook page for some advice…and figured out my plan.

Next I rode the free bus up to the post office and picked up a few boxes from home, new shoes, maps, a bit of food, and most exciting, some cuben fiber over-mits that Kirk made for me. That man can make anything! My mittens have gotten soaked and I wanted a solution to keep them dry, we had some extra cuben left over from the other items we made before I left home, and now I have a great way to keep my hands dry in the pouring rain (and I might needed them sooner than I wanted, rain rain rain in the forecast).

Amazing!

New Oboz Luna shoes!

Then I stopped by the Point6 office, my sock sponsor for the trip. They are based in Steamboat Springs, so I have been looking forward to connecting with them mid-hike. I met the crew in the office (many were out), and Stacia (their marketing guru) and I went out to lunch around the corner.

Some of the Point6 team, Clinton (sales), Betsy (international sales), Dina (accounting), me & and Stacia (marketing)

I have to say, these socks have been impressive on the trail. I haven’t worn through a pair yet, they are durable and comfortable, and I really love working with a small company. They are hands on, nimble, and make a great product. And someone from the office will give me a ride back to the trail tomorrow! Most excellent.

My BIG task for the day was washing my Western Mountaineering down sleeping bag. Full disclosure here: I’ve never washed a down sleeping bag on the trail before…in fact, I’ve never washed one at all! I’ve been too scared of ruining my expensive bags, so I let them get rank and smelly…Kirk in particular can’t stand the stench, so I decided I would be nice and wash it before he comes out to visit (soon I hope!). I knew the process would take hours, but man, it took HOURS.

Drying the bag on low heat, I would have to take the bag out every 20-30 minutes and break up the down clumps so they would dry better…the process that started at about 2pm finally ended after 8pm, and I still think it needs to be dried a bit more. I’ll leave it out over night, and I might have to find another dryer in the morning before I hit the trail to finish it off. What a tedious task, that may be the first and last time I wash a bag on the trail. Granted I didn’t have much else to do other than sit on the bed in the hotel and watch bad movies, but that’s exactly what I was pineing to do.

By the time I got back to my room it was late. I ate a bagged salad and slowly drifted off to sleep. I guess I have to hike tomorrow.