Waking up in another hotel bed seems like a common way I’ve been starting a lot of posts lately, but what can I say…the time off the trail is as good as the time on the trail….and as far as hanging out with other hikers goes, town seems to be one of the only times I get to see other hikertrash.

This morning I woke and started packing up, no lingering in the room for me, I had to get to the health clinic to get myself checked out, resupply, and get back on the trail. I walked to the south side of town and fortunately they were able to see me rather quickly. The staff were definitely familiar with travelers (Dubois is very close to Yellowstone) and before I knew it I had some antibiotics and was on my way back to town.

I found Buck 30 still at the hotel room, and we both headed over to the grocery store to resupply and then to the near-by cafe to have lunch before sticking out our thumbs. Before we even got two blocks down the street (hitching in the town of Dubois is illegal so we were walking to the outskirts of the city) a guy called to us and asked if we wanted a ride…ummmm, yes! Very, very nice since we were expecting it to be a hard hitch.

As Ron drove us back to the trail I found out he had recently returned from the Peace Corps in Kenya…you really never know what kind of connections you will find out here! We had only driven a few miles when the sky opened up and started raining and hailing so hard that we had to pull over, the highway practically impossible to see. Buck 30 and I looked at eachother, were we really going to hike in this????? Yikes. The forcast is COLD and heavy rain…oh joy.

We got back on the road when the storm cleared up a bit, but there was lightening all around. Not going to be a fun afternoon.

I got dropped off on the highway where I hitched from yesterday, put on my rain gear and started walking the 5 or so miles up to where I would pick up the trail. The wind was pushing me around and it sprinkled off and on, although there were a few sucker holes I was able to walk under for a while.

When I saw a cluster of buildings and a sign for a restaurant it didn’t take me but a minute to head over in search of a hot drink. It had started to rain again and I thought I could at least wait out this bout with some shelter over my head.

I got a hot cup of cider and sat on the front porch…a few minutes passed and I thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask how much the rooms were at Lava Mountain Lodge. $25!!!!! done. I rack up another 2 mile day, but it was so worth it, the rain (and SNOW in the higher elevations), high wind, and lightening would have made the rest of the day pretty crummy.

Scott at the front desk told me there was another hiker in the cabins, so I stopped by on my way to my spot to find Scatman, the hiker I had met back in Colorado going south (flipping), and who was now headed north! I sat down and before I knew it hours had passed and we had talked the afternoon away. It really has been wonderful to be around other hikers the past 2 days.

We had dinner in the restaurant and by the time we were done it was bitter outside, and I was seeing photos on instagram of snow on the trail ahead. SNOW in July! Fortunately the forcast is due to clear up after tomorrow, but as I type this the rain is pouring down and I am warm and dry inside. This is the best $25 I’ve spent on the trail so far. No brutality for me tonight!