MM 1519.7: In the early
afternoon, I got back on at Rabbit Ears Trailhead. I trekked in silence along the open ridges and plains. At one point, I took a detour to a campground and got offered trail magic by a lady named Barbara. She was making flies for fishing and invited me to sit with her at the picnic table. She offered me meat, cheese, crackers, fresh fruit and had me load up on water for the upcoming dry stretch.
I continued on and saw a cute guy camped on the side of the road where I planned to spend the night. We got to talking and he offered to make me a fire, however I knew I would be out cold by 7pm, so I decided to hike on a couple more miles. I saw a moose right beside the trail and it watched as I walked by until I got out of its sight.
The next day, I crossed the Colorado border into Wyoming. Accidentally followed an animal path through the meadow marshes and got lost for about half a mile. Decided to get off at Battle Trailhead and hitch into Encampment. I got picked up by an older couple and they expressed that they were believers of God. They said, “God made us turn around and pick you up.” They expressed how they would hand out bagels to those in need and would preach God’s word. It was wholesome to hear that they have been married for 41 years and got married on Valentine’s Day. They immediately knew they were the one for each other and were still madly in love to this day.
I got dropped off at the post office to pick up my trail magic box. They did a prayer for me before we parted ways. I love to hear people’s prayers for me; it seemed the common theme was asking my angels to continue guiding and protecting me. I always felt that to the very core, as though there was a light of protection surrounding me and watching over me as I was on an adventure of a lifetime. They let me know how much God loved me. I smiled gratefully and said, “I know.”
I started to hitch towards Denver and got picked up by a local woman named Carol. She invited me to her home and offered me a shower. I couldn’t say no to that. Her house was decorated with pinecone art. While I was getting ready to hop in the shower, she yelled, “Do you want a ham sandwich?!” I laughed and shouted back yes! She made me two, gave me some orange juice for the road and dropped me off at Big Creek Ranch. I got picked up by the first car while in the middle of eating my sandwich.
They dropped me off at a road junction and I hitched to the nearest Subway because I was craving their cookies. I made it about twenty minutes before they closed and watched as a lady in front of me ordered the last of the cookies. I nearly had a meltdown. After she left, I told the cashier that I hitched a few hours from the CDT just to get their subway cookies and that I would pay full price for their cookie dough. I felt like a crack addict and told her I wouldn’t tell anyone about the exchange. She hesitated, but proceeded to call her boss and started speaking fluent Spanish. Upon hanging up, she went in the back and put the cookie dough in a bag. Like a drug deal, she slipped me the bag and told me to go.