Prairie

• Date 8-16-19
• Day:  11
• Start: 1880
• End: 1906
• Miles: 24
• Hours: 12
• High Temp: 68
• Low Temp: 38
• Thru Hikers Met: 12

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Wyoming prairie 

Last night there were the sounds of an owl, not a Barred Owl because granddaughter Audrey has taught me how to speak Barred Owl.  There were some other punctuations in the night, yips like coyotes makes as well. 

After a good sleep I awoke to a bit of a damp world. The lake and associatesd meadow drew a lot of moisture. My food bag was damp as well as my rain fly. I’ll dry them later when the day warms up.  The walk through the prairie grass is damp and gets my shoes soaked. 

This is the what the hike looks like today

I  spotted a deer as she lopped across the tundra. A couple of grouse exploded in a flurry of wing sounds as I hiked by. I also manage to have a herd of cattle stand right on the trail. I stood my ground and they finally moved. 

The trail is relatively easy today. Lots of little ups and downs. A little walk through a small forest then more prairie, and so it goes all day.  The huge Wyoming sky and beautiful open lands dotted with mountain ranges in the background make for enjoyable hiking. Plenty of good water in this section. I notice the barometer is falling as the air has been very chilly all morning.  

We meet a southbound CDT hiker who says he saw a grizzly bear about 4 miles in front of us. Well we have been ready for bear activity all along. We hang out food, eat away from our camp, we are clean about food smells, we use unscented products and we carry bear spray. We did notice some bear scat but did not see a bear all day.  

We hike a little later this evening to get closer to town. Our camp is in a forest hidden in some trees and protected from the wind.  Nice to finally rest after a long day.