Day 102 – 8/2/13 – 14.8 mi (1823.4)

Just 4 easy miles got us to Shoshone Geyser Basin, which we had to ourselves since no day hikers go 11 miles one way. We may or may not have gone in a creek with a scalding hot spring dumping into it, mixing unevenly and really not being very pleasant but still great fun. We definitely did sport pirate themed tattoos, courtesy of Daybreaker from way back in Twin Lakes, CO.

We walked another 7 miles to reach Lonestar Geyser, which erupts approximately every 3 hours and lasts for about 15 minutes. Of course just as we got there, a man walking out said it had just ended 5 minutes ago. Though we’d heard it was a really great geyser, and especially great because of the lack of crowds, we really didn’t have 3 hours to sit and wait. We ate a short lunch, during which I lost 2 of my 3 remaining dollars.

Four more miles got us to tourist hell, aka Old Faithful Village. LoveNote was declared the No Poop victor, with $6 (I had $1). We ran into a bunch of other CDT hikers, which was nice. We did our chores, like picking up packages from the Post Office (I got new shoes, socks, and pants!), showering, and of course stuffing our faces. Unfortunately, we also had to say goodbye to Rockin and Silly Chili. They are now on their way home to California. We are all sad they have to go and will miss them dearly!

It was almost dark when we finally left Old Faithful to hitch to Madison campground, the only place we could get a reservation to camp. We’ll hitch back to Old Faithful tomorrow morning and keep on walking.