July 16: Day 28 (1890.4 – 1899.7) +2.5 back to CDT. 12 miles

After we helped Liz water her plethora of flowers that accent the perimeter of the Black Bear Inn, she gave us a ride to Brooks Lake Lodge to pick up our resupply box.

Along the way she showed us the arnica flower and told us of its healing properties, and how she makes her own salve. This information would prove quite beneficial to us. On a hillside, she plucked a stalk, handed it to me, and said, “Stuff it in your sock. It will help your ankle”. Having grown up with a mother who used and experimented on us with natural healing products, I stuffed the plant into my sock. In my youth, when we got sick, my mom would hand us a concoction of something and tell us to “drink it”. When we’d ask what the often fowl tasting “beverage” was, she’d reply, “It’s good for you. Just drink it!” So, stuffing a plant in my sock, was not so bad.

Once at the opulent Brooks Lake Lodge, we collected our box from the CDT hiker-friendly staff, and crammed our food bags with what seemed to be an excess of food. But, we knew better.

We hoisted on our packs and began our ascent back onto the CDT, not without (of course) missing a turn and nearly circumnavigating the entirety of Brooks Lake.

Once back on trail, we entered the Teton Wilderness. We had been in the Teton Wilderness once before, in 1985. While on a horse pack fishing trip, Paul “asked” my father for “permission” to marry me.

The trail was well marked and traveled. It was a pleasure to walk upon, even if we were climbing. The terrain became “familiar” in the sense that it resembled much of the Sierra’s that we have walked through. It felt and smelled like “summer”. Warm air punctuated with the smell of pine and rich dirt. Water and colorful blooms of flowers were everywhere.

We caught a glimpse of a young buck, in velvet, feeding in the shade. Shredded and decaying tree trunks reminded us there was a bear population to be attentive to, especially on our descent to the South Fork of the Buffalo river we would cross the next morning.