to Jackson Hole, WY
Again the rain continues through the night and into the morning. Someone nearby starts an engine and lets it idle. It’s kind of noisy and smelly. When I get up I wander over to complain, but when I see what it is I change my mind. A family in jeans and a cheap tent have gotten soaked by the rain. They huddle in their van to get warm, steaming up the windows. I’m not cold, but I get into our car to escape the rain. I turn on the radio. Ann soon pokes her head out of the tent to yell at me – my radio is twice as loud as the idling van. Oops.
We pack everything up wet and drive to Jackson Hole. The Tetons are hidden by clouds, not a hint of mountain to be seen.
In Jackson we have to locate both post offices, the one that does not do general delivery of course is the more obvious, convenient location. Hikers who get dropped off downtown would almost need another ride to reach the other post office. We drive there and pick up a house key. The key is to Ann’s uncle Jon’s house, where we plan to live indoors for a while in true honeymoon luxury.
With this resumption of indoor life the reality that life on the trail has ended begins to sink in. Things like the number of dishes and surfaces that require cleaning after preparing a meal seem out of proportion and somewhat absurd. Things like a fridge that makes ice instead of consuming it, a coffee maker, a stereo, hot baths, and movies on a soft couch seem like the height of decadence. Sleeping indoors, even in the best bed, seems hot and stuffy. It’s all confusing, but also pleasurable and restful.
2 responses to “Day 130”
The “Cowboy Bar” in the downtown Jackson Hole has REAL saddles for bar stools. you should “saddle up” and find out what decadence is all about!
We’re glad to hear that you’ve been able to connect with parents and friends from time to time. Each time we read about a post office drop to you, I feel bad about dropping out of that game. After 3 failled attempts to get packages to you, it seemed time to quit trying.
It took a while at first to come up with something that was both special and light enough for you to pack. Then wal-la! Strawberries came to mind. But the guy selling unbelievably good strawberries out of boxes at the corner of Downs and Upjohn was missing the next weekend. The following weekend I acquired 2 perfect pounds and put them into your old dehydrator. To ensure they would be ready to send A.S.A.P., I covered the dehydrator in cheese cloth and set it in the sun to give it a boost. In a few hours they were coming along nicely, a few hours later they were strawberry scented charcoal. I’m clearly out of practice.
Oh well, Dan Husk has recently entered a partnership business making the world’s best jerkey. I chose flavors that I thought even erstwhile vegetarians would enjoy on the trail, looked at your hiking schedule, and sent it further along the trail. From later postings we figured you arrived at the post office a day or two before the package. We were disappointed but not totally thwarted.
The next try included home-made date nut balls that taste good even when they’re aged. I chose a mail drop FAR ahead of your schedule and used priority mail. When reading your next postings, we discovered that Ann had stopped hiking and you had further cranked up the pace. We imagined Ann driving past that post office a few days before our goodies could even arrive via priority delivery, meeting you, then driving back down the mountain without even stopping for the goodies that were waiting in the General Delivery bin.
We’re sorry you missed the food goodies, the news, and foot massage instructions with color illustrations. We’re keeping up with your news here but feel that you have been out there too alone. We’re glad to hear the two of you are more together again. Our thoughts continue with you.