It rained on and off throughout the night. I woke to sprinkles, followed by the warm glow of sunshine. At the top of the Morrison Divide Trail is an assortment of forest roads, one of which was shown on the map but didn’t exist in person. After packing up and exploring the road-map situation, I found myself on Forest Road 285.
Post-Trail Note: After having been there in person and looking back at the map, I should have walked past an area known as the Slide, which I believe offers some camping opportunities as well as great views from the top of a landslide. I had rerouted the trail here to take this optimal route.
Shortly after, the sun and breeze picked up enough for me to dry my tent the rest of the way. Walking through this area on a Sunday meant I was passing a steady stream of vehicles, relatively speaking. With the forest roads steeply descending off the Morrison Divide, I quickly found myself along Highway 131 and, soon after, wandering into the town of Yampa.
With a beer and burger on my mind, the first stop was Antlers Cafe and Bar, which was closed due to it being the owner’s birthday—they were setting up for a private party later in the day. With several of us a little sad to miss the chance to grab some food and a beer, the owner was kind enough to let us hang at the bar and gave us each a beer. There were two other gentlemen sitting at the bar and we had good conversations about the outdoors and the various adventures we’d all been on.
From there, I made my way to Penny’s Diner (open 24 hours), where I was able to grab a burger before checking into the Travelodge. I’d have several means at Penny’s Diner which had great portions at a great price. With a list of town chores on my mind—and pizza—I exploded my pack all over the room before making several trips up and down the main road in town, before finally settling in for the night.
The following morning, I made the decision to take a zero, which was much needed as it was my first day off since starting the trail. After a few more trips to the grocery store and gas station for resupply and pizza, I was able to take note of the various resources thru-hikers might be interested in: a public park (no outlets), a public library, and a post office being the highlights. For those who decide to stay at the Travelodge, there is coin operated laundry and dryer. One of the nice things about Yampa is how easy it is to walk through town—everything is close to each other.
After feeling like I’d taken care of everything I could in town, I made my way back to my room, where I watched three movies, talked with family back home, and looked over the route ahead one more time before committing to the longest segment of the trail so far.
