We have 4 miles to go to the highway where Matthew from the Black Bear Inn in Dubois will pick us up. We have organsied to meet at 10 and so have plenty of time to cover the distance. 

As with most town days we are on a road heading out of the forest and with the added incentive of a hot shower, good food and a warm bed our pace picks up. We make it to the road by 9:00. 

Matthews family own the Black Bear Inn and come up every year to open it for the summer. For the rest of the year they live in Colorado and Matthew attended the same high school with Yeti’s youngest daughter and played in the boys basketball team while Katie played in the girls team. This we found out because Matthew’s cell number had a Denver prefix which lead to the question of where do you live. 

Matthew picks us up and we head to Brooks Lake Lodge to pick up our food boxes we had sent. Our original plan was to do a resupply at Brooks Lake and not go into Dubois but when Mathew posted in the CDT that he will pick you up for the cost of gas it was too good a chance to pass up. 

As we take the 30 mile drive down to Dubois we get to know Matthew and ask him what he does after the summer. He tells us this year he is planning on doing a solo kayak trip down the Mississippi. Something he has been planning for a couple of years. He originally wanted to go with someone else but could not find anyone that could take the time off for such an adventure. This sounds like a tremendous adventure and we plan to follow along with his blog 1foot2foot.wordpress.com. 

We have a shower at the motel revelling in the hot water. Clean and respectable again we head to the laundromat to make our trail clothes the same. 

Having completed our chores it is down to the Bistro to try the famed Thai Beef Salad. It turn out to be every bit as good as its reputation and well worth the 15 mile walk since we first heard of it. We accompanied the food with a couple of good beers and made it a wonderful first meal and afternoon in Dubois.