Day 5
Miles today: 24miles (12 out, 12 back)
Campsite: Off Trail
Water availability: A few muddy ponds available. Best was Bargaman Park Tank.

The sound of the cows ‘mooing’ woke me up early. I poked Bryan a few times and we got up around 6am. We made breakfast and started hiking by 7am. The plan was to hike about 17 miles for the day…

Sunset from the night before.

We followed a dirt road for a few miles but eventually it got rocky and started to hurt my ankles. Even with trekking poles, it made for difficult hiking. We saw many elk hunters camped out with their tents and trailers but didn’t see one actually hunting. They all wore camouflage clothing and I, a bright orange t-shirt. I probably stuck out like a sore thumb. Hopefully none saw me using the ‘bathroom’ out there. yikes!

Our plan was to get in 12 miles, turn around and hike 5 miles back. At lunch time we took a break, and napped in the shade for over 1.5hrs! Bryan woke with an idea, hike all the way back to the car tonight so we can go watch the game at a Packer bar the next day. Now we were on a mission. Despite our sore feet because of the rocks, we knock the miles and rested a few times.

The area was like the previous 50miles, tall pines, wide open grassy areas, some sunnier spot than others. Water was plenty if you weren’t picky about your source. Many of them were man made ponds that cattle and elks would use. Heavily muddy and interesting to say the least. Bargaman Park Tank was the best pond we saw on this stretch that seemed promising.

Just like that, at 6pm that night, Bryan and I made it back to the vehicle at Gooseberry Trailhead and were on our way home to triple digits heat. Happy trails!