Nevada in the mornings

 Fun Fact: 33 laps around a semi truck = 1 mile

5 year bone marrow transplant anniversary.  I love being able to run.

Medicine Bow National Forest, WY

I studied this map and some more detailed ones available online before we set out to hike on July the 4th. I checked the weather and it looked clear from about 2 -7pm, and planned our trip accordingly.

It was a beautiful day until we reached the Beehive Buttress summit. Then, on the top of the mountain, we watched a storm blow in and began running down the path. It started to hail, then the thunder lightning and rain began. I had been leaving little signs at junctions in the path but I  missed one and ended up on a series of interconnecting trails that were marked but not listed on the maps. I said some prayers in my heart to the people I love, I picked up Zensu, who was so courageous and athletic. He had already hiked 4 miles before we started our decent out of the forest. He was right there at my heels running and keeping pace until he got so wet and cold he couldn't walk anymore from shivering. By about six thirty I knew that we didn't have much daylight left and I was getting very afraid that if I panicked and did not make good choices at the many junctions I came to we could end up getting very lost, in which case we would die of hypothermia.  So I didn't panic and I tried to think through very carefully what would be the best choice when I had a chance to make a choice.  And I prayed. The storm broke for long enough for me to catch a glimpse of the sunset, so I knew which way was west. And finally, we made it to the very back of one of the most remote campgrounds where some locals from Laramie had gone for the weekend to escape the fireworks. They gave us a ride back to the rest area and back to our truck. 

I still am feeling incredibly grateful to be alive, and with a deeper understanding of how easy it can be to get lost out in the wilderness, and why it makes a national news. They don't call it the wild west for nothing. However I really can't recommend this section of our national forests enough. The day before, we went to Turtle Rock, which is a little further east and home to a beautiful campground.