Maggie wasn’t happy she wasn’t in yesterday’s photo, so here’s a beauty of her in feral condition. It’s what thru-hikers look like after a month on the trail. Going to miss that pumpkin head while I’m walking.

Scrambling like crazy.  Gear is finally checked and checked again and checked again. 

Shed tears as I said, “Good-bye” this afternoon. Incredible people I worked with at Walkerville Public Schools. It was a fantastic 21-year run. 

My gear list is up at The Trek. Check it out. No dollar information going up from me. No way I’m telling what the prep for this thing cost. Still a bit heavy, but hopefully I’ll drop the spikes quickly and be able to let go of the fleece. Spice kit is probably a bit much. It will drop weight and I’ll see what I want to replace. I was surprised at how much my rain jacket weighed. Everyone of those little things adds up to a lot of weight.

I mailed my return permit for Yellowstone back with the required signature.

Threw some tortillas into the last two mail drop boxes to be sealed. Tortillas are amazingly compact and last a long time without spoiling. Boxes through south Colorado are sealed and addressed. Who knows what happens after that. 

Tomorrow we hit the Badger, a car ferry in Ludington, to head over to Manitowoc and the start of the drive west to Montana.

It’s money time. 

Kindness matters

Truckin’ on

Tree