Day 113, U.S. Highway 26/287 to Cub Creek Canyon

We finally wrapped up our plans and were ready to leave Lava Mountain Lodge at 1 p.m. We figured we could hitchhike, but just in case there was another option, I found the restaurant's cook and asked him if he knew anyone who could drive us. He pointed his finger in the direction behind me.

Turning around, I saw Blue Collar and his wife had just returned. They offered to drive Top O' and me to the trailhead. After so much hassle, it was nice to have something go easy for us.

Hobo Toe was at the trailhead when we were dropped off. He had completed his resupply trip to DuBois and was about to start hiking north.

We had to cross the highway to resume walking, but it wasn't busy. If we had been here less than two months ago, we might have seen a traffic jam. Just four miles up the road was Togwotee Pass. That's where a mother grizzly bear and her cubs decided to take up residence.

They caused a local sensation, with drivers slowing down to gawk at the bears. The grizzly family became so popular, locals named the mother Felicia. Wildlife officials were alarmed by the bears' popularity. They feared they would become too accustomed to being around humans.

It took two weeks of scare tactics by officers from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Grizzly Bear Recovery Program, like firing bean bags and flash bangs, before the bears were finally convinced to leave.

After we crossed the highway, we had 2.9 miles to go before reaching Brooks Lake Mountain Lodge. The trail started with a climb through a long, grassy meadow. We had a steady climb of nearly 700 feet in 1.5 miles.

Before coming to the end of the climb, I turned around to look south toward the highway. I could see the sky was becoming smoky again despite all the rain we received last night and this morning. There also appeared to be an isolated rain shower in the distance.

The climb topped out at a 4WD road that had been carved into the slope of Sublette Peak. The road was covered in a thick layer of mud. The rain that fell last night turned it into a quagmire.

I did my best to stay out of the mud by walking along the side of the road. I also didn't want to get too close to the edge because the mountain dropped steeply down from there.

Not far down the road, I came upon a sight that was at first a little alarming. A couple driving a Jeep was stuck in the mud and they acted like they had no idea what they were doing. They didn't seem concerned about their predicament when I approached and talked to them. They laughed about it, so I wished them well and kept walking.

I didn't have to go far before leaving the mud. The road became solid gravel after it rounded a corner.

A panoramic view opened to reveal all of the Pinnacle Buttes. The mountains looked like the crumbling walls of a castle built centuries ago.

I could see Brooks Lake Lodge about 15 minutes later. Although I'm sure it was a nice place to stay, this first view was a little underwhelming. It looked more rustic than I expected, like a working ranch instead of the luxurious, all-inclusive resort that it was.

The rates for staying at Brooks Lake Lodge aren't based on the room, as they are at most hotels and lodges. The cost here is set per person, with rates being as high as $1000 per adult per night.

Now you know why we chose to stay at Lava Mountain Lodge last night and not walk an extra 2.9 miles to get here.

We had no trouble retrieving our resupply boxes when we arrived. The staff was friendly and we tried to be respectful. We didn't hang out in the lobby or anywhere else where guests congregate. We found a porch at the side of the lodge and organized our food there.

My wife had sent me a new pair of shoes and five days of food. I also asked her to include my Ursack, which is a bear-resistant food bag. Bear canisters aren't required where we're going, but it seemed like a little extra protection was a good idea in grizzly country because I wasn't going to be sleeping with my food.

Although an Ursack is not bear-proof like a canister, it weighs 30.5 ounces less. I'm willing to add a little extra risk to save that much weight.

While we were unboxing and repackaging our food, we became something of a tourist attraction ourselves. A family saw us repacking our food and came over to talk to us. They asked several questions about the trail and our experiences.

We didn't start walking again until nearly 4 p.m. The trail went around Brooks Lake, and we reconnected there with the official CDT route.

Our first reserved campsite in Yellowstone was less than 50 miles ahead, and we were scheduled to be there in four days. As I thought about that, it didn't feel right. Did we make a mistake somehow with our reservation?

That didn't seem possible. We agonized over the schedule and talked it over with two different rangers. It had to be right.

The trail meandered through a flat valley. Above us to our left were the weathered rocks of Sublette Peak, and north of it was a vertical ridge of granite. The Continental Divide followed the top of the ridge.

Sublette Peak was named to honor William “Bill” Lewis Sublette, an enterprising mountain man and fur trader who helped to establish the Oregon Trail.

As we rounded the lake, two people sprinted past us on horses. It seemed they were either racing or were in a hurry to get somewhere. Whatever they were doing, it was like a scene from a cowboy movie.

The trail was a little muddy and rough as it began a slight climb away from the lake. This was a route used on trail rides from Brooks Lake Lodge, which was why it wasn't solid like most trails have been in Wyoming.

We were now walking in a region known as Greater Yellowstone, and the landscape had notable differences from where we had just left. The mountains are part of the Absaroka Range, which stretches about 165 miles long and 75 miles wide, extending north from here into Montana. The divide cuts across the lower southwest corner of the range.

The mountains in this part of the range are mostly broken and weathered remnants of ancient volcanoes. The name "Absaroka" is taken from the Crow Indians, who used that word to name themselves. It's translated to mean "sparrowhawk people."

For the first 3.5 miles past Brooks Lake, the trail followed a gradual up-and-down route through a valley that was bounded by rugged mountains of exposed rock. The footpath was often split into two or more lanes. The multiple paths were caused by trail riders.

Most of the trail through the valley remained muddy. I noticed some large pawprints in one of the wettest stretches. They were too large to be from a dog or coyote, so they had to have been left by a wolf.

When we arrived at Upper Brooks Lake, we ran into Hollywood. I remembered when we first met him four days ago that I didn't figure I would see him again, but here he was. We walked together for the next 30 minutes or so.

Hollywood chose to continue walking when Top O' and I stopped for dinner at 6:15 p.m. We were keeping up our practice of stopping a mile or two before we planned to set up camp.

The trail entered Teton Wilderness at Bear Cub Pass, which was just north of Upper Brooks Lake. This wilderness area is the second-largest in Wyoming, and we will stay within its boundaries until we reach Yellowstone.

We left the meadow at Bear Cub Pass and began a descent through a forest. Evidence of a forest fire could be seen here. There were a lot of fireweed flowers. Although many of the trees were green, some had blackened trunks.

The next 1.7 miles descended to Cub Creek, with a drop of 740 feet.

No camping spots could be found on the slope of the drop into the canyon. The time was past 7:30 p.m. when we approached the bottom and we still hadn't found suitably flat ground.

Cub Creek was wide and shallow. There weren't enough rocks to hop across, so we took off our shoes. It was too late in the day to get them wet because they wouldn't sufficiently dry overnight.

Our daylight was fading as we started the climb up the other side of the canyon. This is where we discovered why the couple on horses raced past us when we left Brooks Lake. They had been heading to a viewpoint to watch the sunset. Now they passed us again on their way back to the lodge.

Just when it was beginning to look like we needed to pull out our headlamps to help us see in the dark, we found a spot big enough for two tents. It was on a small ledge part of the way up the canyon wall.

We had just enough daylight left to see while hanging our food, and we did that first before setting up our tents.

This had been a successful day, despite the frustrations of the morning. Hiking barely more than nine miles made it a nero day. We were able to pick up our resupply boxes and secure our camping reservations for Yellowstone.

I just wished I could figure out what was bothering me about that plan.