I wok up about as well rested as I have been on the trail. In fact I slept later than usual. My first goal was Old Faithful Village. I flew through the 16 Miles despite running out of water. Summit lake was beautiful, but the smell of sulfur (similar to a pungent fart) littered the air. Yellowstone is an interesting National Park. It is much more suited to driving and no one hikes the trails. Outside of a half mile from the roads I didn’t see a single person hiking the trails. At Old Faithful Village I got my backcountry camping permit for the night (I will only spend one night within the boundary) and then did the one thing I promised myself I would do this year: see old faithful erupt. It was cool, but didn’t feel very special with between 500 and 1,000 people also standing around the famous geyser. I grabbed a few extremely expensive snacks and hit the trail again. I have only hiked in this National Park, and it is not my favorite. I feel like 90% of things worth seeing can be seen from a car or a very short walk. Another factor in this way of thinking is that the Wind River Range is only a few days out and is one of my favorite places on earth. It was a decent day, but still limited by backcountry site locations. Tomorrow I can get back to a normal pace and my body feels good. The one major upside of walking distance though a National Park is the amenities. Today I was able to get my favorite food: Ice Cream. I have few town food cravings, but ice cream is something I have loved since I can remember!
Miles 33
Total miles 4174
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