Day 33: MacDonald Pass to Trailside Camp (Mile 2,684)

It is always hard to get moving again after a zero day, and today was no exception. We didn't make it back to MacDonald Pass until mid morning. Our hike started with a brief jaunt down the highway (the official CDT follows the highway for just under one mile), where multiple vehicles waved and honked their support.  We were soon back on dirt roads and trails, hiking through pine and aspen forests and over rolling ranch land. 

We met several hikers today: Happy Joe, Jeff, Fun Size, and Shimmy. Everyone warned us that the next water source, Dana Spring, still miles away, has been contaminated with several drowned squirrels. But all of them were drinking the water anyway because the spring is the only water source along a long stretch of trail. 

The clouds slowly gathered all day. Several brief squalls sent us scurrying to put on our rain gear, only to remove it again less than an hour later when the rain stopped, over and over again. Late in the evening we found a sheltered camp in the trees. 

Just as we were settling into our sleeping bags, we heard the rumble of a long train of ATVs, punctuated with gunshots, presumably shot at random from the moving vehicles.  The engines cut out nearby, and I heard voices and raucous laughter. I clutched my pepper spray to me like a child grasping a beloved teddy bear in a storm. Eventually things quieted down, but it was some time before I fell asleep.