07.19.2023 Day 30 – Up & Down & Up again

I wake up and both Salty Dog and Chaney are gone. Someone left a tent stake. I pocket it and I start to pack up. I time myself. It takes me about an hour to get going. Sheesh! I need to look for some efficiencies.

The trail starts off with a climb up a pass. Hiking in the morning light is just gorgeous.

The tiny waterfalls sing, glistening white and black. A boulder field looks like it’s tumbled down the side of the ridge. I can hear a stream underneath the massive stones. I come to a bend in the trail in a field.

It must have gotten very cold here last night, the grass is still frozen.

I slowly climb the twin lakes pass, enjoying my morning coffee and the multitude of wild flowers. The top of the pass is just covered with purple flowers.

The sunlight breaches the ridge just as I descend to the other side.

I’m looking at a very old tree when I hear a loud crash. I look up just in time to see a very large squat, light brown hairy animal rush away through the bushes. A bear! It pants heavily in its efforts to escape! I must have scared it! Poor thing! I’m glad it ran away. It definitely saw me before I saw it.

I should be more present and trying to make more noise. This area has good visibility through the trees though, and the bear must have been 150-200 yards away when it saw me.

I cautiously continue hiking down towards storm lake.

I had originally planned on camping here last night but I’m glad I camped where I did. It seems pretty windy and exposed around Storm Lake. Plus I was under some trees and had no condensation. Yessss

The trail goes around Storm Lake. I catch up to 4 other CDT hikers. 3 of them hike super fast and are immediately way ahead. The 4th is more my pace. His trail name is Steak.

Steak

He’s living in Colorado and is hoping to make it to West Yellowstone in time to meet his girl friend. We start to climb another pass, Storm Lake Pass.

This will be my second pass this morning. I check my maps and see a water gap. I pause to filter water and Streak continues on.

There are so many wild flowers going up this pass! Reds and whites. It’s beautiful.

Near the top there’s a big patch of snow just off trail and a gentleman very quietly stalking up the trail. He must be bird watching, he has the telltale gear, binoculars and pack.

I slow way down and stalk too. I don’t want to scare what he’s watching but I accidentally end up scaring him! Ooops! Sorry! He mumbles that he lost it, I apologize and hurry over the top of the pass in embarrassment. Right as I crest the ridge, two CDT hikers are coming down from summiting one of the near by peaks. Past-tense and Josh.

Josh & Past-tense

It’s the same couple Professor and I ran into when the trail veered strangely off a dirt road into some logs and someone had marked the turn with a stick arrow.

I leap frog with them a bit.

Before I know it were back on the official CDT trail. The Anaconda alternate has now been completed.

Blue is the Alt, Red is the Official Route

The trail goes down again. Down down down. There are some really tight switchbacks. It’s really fun looking down when they’re stacked like this and seeing people zigzagging below you.

The other couple admire the stone work the trail crews put into the switch back structure. The trail is very well maintained.

We run into Salty Dog taking a break! I return the tent stake. He isn’t sure it’s his but he takes it just incase. Chaney is way ahead reports.

I take a long lunch break at the banks of Page lake. It’s peaceful and relaxing. The others push ahead.

I love small mountain lakes. I notice some moths hopping across the surface, a spiderweb catching the light.

I pack up and start my 3rd big climb of the day, Rainbow Mountain.

Big flat slabs of stone stick out from the top. I make my way up the switch backs and am rewarded with a great view.

Then I plunge back down again. Lots of up and down today! At least the switchbacks are nice and gradual (unlike in the Lewis and Clark area lol)

I get water at the bottom and start climbing again, Cutaway Pass.

I break out the SanDisc and listen to an audio book Doug got me, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I marvel at some of the old trees. I thought this one in particular had a lot of character.

I crest the pass and hike down. Again.

My shoulders are starting to hurt but my legs feel strong. Down at the bottom, the forest feels dense and dark.

I pause the audio book so I can hear better. There are huge piles of what I assume must be moose droppings all over the trail. I wonder if I’ll see anything.

It must be getting late in the day. The shadows are getting long. I start to count out loud to let the locals know of my presence. I get to 100 several times.

The trail starts to climb again. My 5th climb!

I’m planning on camping at the top of this one. I get some energy but the last few switchbacks really have me panting. Phew! Almost there! Less than a mile!

I crest the top and walk through some trees and am rewarded with a view of Warren Lake.

It must be a popular spot. Some normal backpackers are set up in the spot I wanted. They say there’s more camping up the trail. I head that way and find Steak!

We set up near the water.

He jumps in while I eat dinner. It’s a really beautiful spot!

I bet the sun rise will be gorgeous.

I’m glad I have tent. There are a lot of big flies here.

07.18.2023 Day 29 – Upper Twin Lake

I lucked out and had the hostel room all to myself for the night. Yesss I don’t have to worry about waking anyone up.

My 5:30am alarm goes off but the bed is so comfy. I get up at 5:50 and rush about packing. I grab a hot coffee from the kitchen downstairs, put the towels down the laundry shoot, grab my berries and cucumbers from the fridge, sign the log book and head out.

I’m on the road a little later than I had wanted but the air is still cool even if there is a little sunlight.

I snack on my berries as I walk down the road.

Good bye Anaconda! You are a really great town and I had a great stay!

At the edge of the neighborhood the paved road transitions to dirt. I’m surrounded by beautiful cow grazing pastures dotted with aspen trees. Everything feels so lush. The cows ‘moo’ good morning.

I see two other backpackers up the road ahead of me. I speed up hoping to catch them.

It’s Salty Dog and Cheney! I thought I’d never see Salty Dog again. It’s cool to catch up! I learn that they had started hiking the CDT Northbound and made it all the way to Leadville, then flipped to Canada to start hiking south because of the high snow in Colorado. I’m really impressed they made it as far as Leadville in the snow!

I end up hiking a head. I really want to get this road walk over with before it gets too hot.

I meet a celebrity along the way.

The dirt road kicks me out onto a highway. At least this one has a shoulder. I step off into the grass when cars pass. They zoom by so fast!

At one point there is a dirt road parallel next to the freeway. It’s a welcome alternative path.

Eventually the trail turns off the freeway up another dirt road. Phew! I take a short break, eat a snack and regroup.

Up the dirt road I find an old flume! How cool!

Near by, a small damn creates a lovely pool of water.

It’s the perfect lunch spot. I sit out on the deck and enjoy a cucumber and cheese tortilla wrap. I stretch and enjoy the water pouring over the damn.

After a while I head out. The road finally turns to single track trail! Or does it? It’s a bit confusing….. The FarOut maps want me to go up an old dirt road that people clearly have tried to block. It’s filled with obstacles, trees and boulders.

This is marked as the trail… but it looks like someone disagrees….

Meanwhile, there’s a very easy to walk on path crisscrossing over this road several times. The path doesn’t show up on any of my maps, even Gaia. I guess this is a new trail???? I take a gamble and follow the easier path instead of the road filled with obstacles. It eventually leads me towards my goal destination, two lakes marked on trail. Phew! My gamble worked out!

I pause at some water to filter and paint.

Salty Dog and Cheney pass by me without noticing I’m there.

I catch up to them taking a break at the Lower Twin Lake and surprise them. They thought I was still ahead haha

I hike with them to the Upper Twin Lake.

Salty Dog & Cheney

There’s a beautiful campground right on the water’s edge.

We can’t pass it up and decide to camp here. It’s 3:30! so early!

Now what.

I know! I inflate my air mattress and float out onto the water.

It’s cold! But the sunshine helps keep me warmed. It’s sooo relaxing.

Cheney decides joins me and we hang out in the water while Salty Dog naps on the bank.

I eventually get a little chilly and head back to my tent to dry off. I make a clothes line with my bear hanging rope to dry my garments in the sun.

We make dinner and turn in early.

What a great day back on trail!

07.17.2023 Day 28 – An Anaconda Zero

I naturally wake up at 5:30am. I try to go back to sleep and manage to stay in bed till 7am. There’s another girl sharing my room. She’s still asleep. I sneak out, hoping to not wake her.

I walk a mile to a cute Mexican restaurant and order a huge breakfast and coffee. It’s awesome.

Before

After

The sky starts to darken with clouds. Ack! I didn’t bring my rain jacket!

I try to run to the Albertsons down the street but my tummy is too full. I do the best I can haha

Luckily the rain only sprinkles on me. The cool air is nice and I’m jealous of the hikers heading back to trail right now. Doug messages me that my box arrived! yay!!! Thank you Doug!

I pick up some supplies from the Albertsons and have a pleasant call with my uncle Charlie. He lives near the Tetons. Hopefully I can see him when I get closer to Yellowstone!

I head to the tiny public library to print some papers.

The people who work there are so helpful! The upstairs has some very interesting relics like:

This cool painting of a prospecting donkey.

A giant bird book!

Rocks! And Bugs!

This random sculpture!

There’s a log book for hikers behind the front desk. It dates back to 2009! Wow! I feel super cool getting to sign it.

After successfully printing my papers I head to the post office. It’s a beautiful old building.

I pick up my box and head back to the hostel to sort my food. Thank you so much Doug!

I spend some time blogging and make one of my left over hiker meals for lunch.

It’s sooo nice using the kitchen. Yay. This has to be one of the nicest hostels I’ve ever stayed in.

I meet some new hikers, two brothers from Florida. They started hiking on June 21st! The day after me.

I go back to the post office to mail some things then walk a mile to the local produce store. I get a bunch of berries, cucumbers, red wine and avocado. Yummm.

Back at the hostel I make yet another extra hiker meal I had leftover and add the fresh veggies. It tastes really good!

I’ve been hiking faster than expected and have extra meals. It feels good to use them in town.

I blog more and head to bed. I hope to wake up early and get the road walk out of Anaconda over with before it gets too hot.

This has been a super cool town to stay in!

07.16.2023 Day 27 – Road Walk to Anaconda

I wake up at 5am and think about packing up to get a jump on the day’s road walk. It’s still dark, and I don’t wanna walk by the deer carcass in the dark (an excuse to sleep in).

I sleep 30 more minutes and then start to get moving.

Quitter is already gone. I didn’t even hear him leave!

There’s a group of three young hikers packing up next to my tent. I’ve been calling them The Candy Kids (every time I see them they have a huge bag of candy).

They head out while I’m futzing with my bear hang.

The trail is a dirt road.

The morning light softens the surrounding landscape. I find it quite beautiful, rolling hills, interesting rocks, there’s a stream next to the road almost the whole way down.

This is where the deer carcass was

Also, lots of private property signs. No camping here!

The sun light eventually chases away all the shade. The road spits out onto some gorgeous farmland. Hay bales dot the fields.

Sparrows burrow in an earth bank along the road. I try to get a picture but they fly away when I get near.

I’m surprised to see Quitter in the distance before me. I catch up to him right as he’s making a new friend.

We hike the rest of the road walk together. The day gets hot and the miles go by much faster with conpany.

Quitter & Me (Quick Draw)

We see two juvenile bald eagles hanging out on some farm equipment.

Check out those talons! That bird is huge!

The dirt road transitions into a paved one. We stop at a small parking lot to get water and rest in the shade of a parked truck. It looks like a great place for fishing! If I wasn’t trying to get to town fast I’d jump in for a swim.

We cross under I-90, the cars woosh by, so fast!

There’s a stretch of road with very little to no shoulder. The speed limit is 70miles an hour. Scary! Every car that comes towards us we step off into the brush several feet away from the pavement.

Thankfully that section doesn’t last too long and we’re walking along a road with a much wider shoulder.

The sun is high in the sky now and it is getting hotter.

My phone gets over heated and turns off. There was a really cool mining smoke stack as you walk by the outskirts of town. I wish I could have gotten a picture. Oh well.

I see a driver pulled over ahead of us, they’re moving an animal off the road. Oh no. As we near it, we see feathers everywhere. Someone hit an owl 😦

Poor owl. Was not expecting that. Road walks can be a bit sad. One sees a lot of road kill.

On a lighter note, we finally reach the town of Anaconda!

Quitter picks a place for lunch. He gets a burger and I order a grilled chicken sandwich with fried pickle spears. We eat in a near by park. The food tastes sooo good!

We made really good time for a 20 mile day to make it to town for lunch!

I head off to the Pintler Hostel and check in. It’s really nice! Unlimited showers, coin laundry, great kitchen and conmen room.

I shower and wash my clothes. The hostel has town clothes I can wear while I do laundry! It’s great!

I work on some blog posts then head out to find food.

Quitter and a bunch of other hikers are at a nearby taco spot and brewery. I join them and meet a bunch of new hikers and immediately forget everyone’s names. There was live music and it was loud. I’m sure I’ll see them all again in a more quiet setting.

I head back to the hostel and watch Nimona on the the TV. The hostel has Netflix!

I’m so excited to finally get to watch it! It came out while I’ve been hiking. Great job to everyone who worked on it! If you haven’t seen it I recommend checking it out!

It’s been really fun exploring Anaconda!

Pizza Hut and Tiny Pizza Hut!

Dancing Cactus Man!

(Getting the stink eye from a local)

I may spend one more day here, I have a resupply box that hasn’t arrived at the post office yet.

My bed for the night ✨

07.15.2023 Day 26 – Zapped!

I sleep a little chillier than the past few nights. Before going to bed we noticed that the stream nearby completely disappears into the spongy ground. I imagine there’s a big cold reservoir of water under me and beneath the open valley.

I wake up before my midnight alarm and silence it before it goes off.

I pull on my puffy jacket and step out of my tent.

The meadow grass glistens silver with condensation and starlight. It’s beautiful, but it’s soaking my wool leggings, ack! I look north over the clearing, hoping to see the aurora borealis, but no luck. I look down the field and see Professor’s headlamp in the dark, also looking towards the northern sky.

I want to run around in the silver field but decide sleep is more productive. I head back to bed.

I wake up at 5:30am and pack up. I’m always last out of camp! I guess I’m slow getting ready.

Today’s trail leads me through beautiful forests interrupted by stunning green marshy clearings. The pine trees are huge.

There are a few downed logs across the trail. I always feel incredibly clumsy trying to navigate them with my heavy pack.

I’m walking down the trail when suddenly a rock moves. A bird shaped rock? It’s a baby nuthatch right in the middle of the trail! I almost stepped on it! Poor thing!

I hear its parents calling to it, it peeps back. Must still be learning to fly. I hope it figures it out!

I leap frog with Professor, Quitter and Bullwinkle through the morning. The sky is kind of smoky. Professor says it’s from the Canadian fires.

We break for lunch on a big rolling grassy hill. I can barely make out some mountains in the distance. Hopefully the fires stop and the smoke clears up soon.

After lunch I pause under some big power lines and try the science experiment Professor taught me.

Holding onto the cork handle, I raise up one trecking pole and lightly touch the metal with my other finger to see if I can get an electric charge. Not working. Professor walks up with his trecking pole and holds it out. There’s a slight buzzing.

Suddenly, he yelps! He thinks a bee stung him! We look around for it but don’t see any bugs…. Yelp! Again! Ouch! And again! It starts happening to me too! We realize it’s the wet plants under the power lines zapping our legs! Yikes!

We hurry away from the power lines.

That was crazy! We have a good laugh.

I’m probably not going to try that again….

We pass by a heard of black cows. They run away from us.

We see some cowboys on horses in the distance riding after a solo cow. So cool! Like the Wild West!

The cow water tubs are the best water sources, see the clean water coming out of the pipe? Yum.

So.

Today is the last day I get to hike with Professor 😢

He is going to Butte and I am doing the Anaconda alternate trail. The split is coming up soon.

We had planned on making dinner at the last water source but we hiked so fast we got there really early! Quitter was at the water and we hung out with him for a little bit before hiking to the actual split in the trail.

Good bye Professor! It’s been so wonderful hiking with you! Thank you for all the science talk! I wish you best of luck on the rest of your hike!

I turn down a dirt road and Professor disappears into the trees.

I bring out the sandisk to cheer me up. The local country station plays a song about a guy parting with his truck. It’s very fitting for the moment until they start singing about beer again. Noooo I change the channel. The last thing I need is to be obsessively thinking about ice cold beer again haha

The road is hot in the late day sun. I find an oldies channel and listen to the Beetles.

There’s a lot of private property and very little camping options through this area.

The spot that I had wanted to camp at has a comment in the FarOut app about a grizzly stashed deer carcass. Yikes. I’m definitely avoiding that area. I’ll have to figure out a different spot to sleep. I look at my maps. There’s a small space about a mile from me.

I find a sliver of sand bar below a bridge that doesn’t have private property signs all over it and make dinner before the campsite.

It’s very relaxing near the water, and there’s miraculously no bugs! I feel very content.

Quitter suddenly hikes over, he quickly grabs water and lets me know that 5 other hikers are behind him, and we’re all probably aiming for the same camping spot to avoid the deer carcass site. Ack! Thanks Quitter!

I quickly pack up and follow him. He gets the perfect spot for his tarp between two trees. There’s not a lot of flat spots… how are we going to fit 7 tents here! Oh well!

I take the one decent flat spot. It feels weird to have said good by to The Professor and have this expectation of hiking by myself when suddenly there are so many other hikers!

Quitter’s tarp & my tent

The others arrive after I’ve set up my tent and hung my food. They set up close to me. It’s amazing how we all manage to fit! Gotta love those small small tents.

I explore a bit and find a paper notice stapled to a tree. Someone found gold near the stream and made a claim! Cooool!

I’ll have to keep an eye out for shiny things when I filter my water.

I turn in early.

It’s a long road walk into town tomorrow.

07.14.2023 Day 25 – Charge that Phone!

My alarm goes off at midnight.

I slink out of my tent and walk to the edge of the trees and look up.

The stars twinkle in the dark blue sky. It’s quiet save for the cricket symphony.

I let my eyes drift over the horizon, looking for signs of the aurora borealis. I think I see a sudden very faint color change in the sky but it lasts a second and is gone. Maybe a trick from my tired eyes. I’m seeing things.

I climb back into my tent. It was worth the try.

I sleep super hot and wake up several times to take my hat off.

I end up missing my alarm and sleeping in more than I normally do. Oops. Professor is already packed up and on the trail. He’s probably miles ahead by this point.

I slowly get my gear together. There are feathers all over in my tent. What is going on… ah, I find a small rip in the foot box of my sleeping bag. Noooo. I’m sad and do my best to patch it with some duck tape from my trecking poles. Sorry sleeping bag!

Eventually I am on my way.

The morning is beautiful.

The trail passes by a lake. Morning mist floats across the surface mysteriously.

The trail leaves the dirt road and travels into a forest.

More bear grass! It never gets old.

I am lucky and just catch Professor finishing his breakfast. I sit down for a break on the rocks and a hiker comes down the trail. It’s Running Bird, she is hiking the CDT northbound to Waterton and is in a bit of a bind. Something happened to her charging cable for her phone. She’s unable to use it and her phone battery is out! She doesn’t have any maps without it!

I offer my battery pack for her to charge. With my new solar panel I have unlimited juice (that is if it’s sunny and I’m not in a shady forest haha)

Professor hikes on

See ya up the trail Professor!

and I hangout with Running bird.

Hanging out with Running Bird

I want to get her phone into the green. It’s fun chatting! She trail runs and recovered from breaking her femur in 2018 and hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 2019. Incredible! She also teaches and helps special needs students. Her partner has a support van and has been following her on the trail. All the more reason to get her phone back up and running so they can connect! Eventually it hits 25%. She’s 15 miles from the road and insists that is enough to get her there.

I hope it works out! Best of luck Running Bird!

I continue hiking.

A trail crew must have recently passed by here. There are fresh cut logs lined all along the trail. It makes me feel like royalty!

Not having to step over any downed trees! Thank you so much trail crew!

There are a lot of marshy meadows today.

I try to avoid having to get my drinking water from those, the water tastes kind of funny and it backs up my filter.

I come to one stream source labeled on the FarOut app as running but it’s definitely dry! Running Bird actually warned me of this water source. It’s fun getting trail intel from people hiking in the opposite direction. She wasn’t able to leave a comment because her phone was dead at the time.

I leave a comment on the FarOut app for other hikers behind me. Yay my first comment! There is no water here.

Professor and I leap frog. I pass two other hikers, Tropical and Quitter.

Quitter taking in the view

The 4 of us all leap frog, past a ridge and down into a valley next to a lake.

Two older women with humungous packs hike up from the lake with their dogs. They’re trail race volunteers and are marking the course for a 30K trail run tomorrow morning! How cool!

Most friendly Golden ✨

I hope I don’t get in the way of the runners haha

I find Quitter making dinner near a stream and join him. Tropical and Professor also join. It’s a nice spot! Right next to a beautiful grassy valley.

Professor and I decide to camp right along the trees and grass. The meadow is just magical, so green!

JijiToo enjoying the meadow

I take a beat to do a postcard painting.

I set up my tent under some huge pine trees with a view of the valley.

The earth is kinda springy and soft. Very cozy spot. I bet I’ll get good sleep.

This must be someone’s favorite spot because we find an odd bottle of liquor hanging in the trees.

Neither of us are brave enough to touch it haha.

????

We’re going to try and wake up at midnight again to see if there are any aurora borealis this time. Fingers crossed!

07.13.2023 Day 24 – Resupply Surprise!

I had dreams that it was raining. I wonder if it was because of the hotel’s sprinkler system outside.

I try my best to sleep in but I naturally wake up at 5:30am.

The post office isn’t open till 8. I try to sleep more. The bed is so nice. Thank you again Doug!

I grab some coffee from the hotel’s breakfast nook and head over to the post to get my box. It’s a short 8 min walk.

I open the resupply back in my room and what a surprise!!!

Jiji Too!!!! And lots of yummy snacks and treats. Oh my gosh! Thank you Doug!!!!

I had to retire my original Jiji hiking buddy in East Glacier.

I am so happy!

Ready to adventure ✨

After my zero with the Gosink’s and hiking faster than I had anticipated, I am left with a lot of extra food. I think I have twice as much as I need. Haha ooops

I pack a box to send back to Doug. Normally you can put extra food in a hiker box. A hiker box is like a donation box that you can leave extra food or gear in for someone else to take. It’s a wonderful system!

But this hotel doesn’t have one of those, and I have quite a lot… so I’m sending it back to Doug to send to me later haha

I walk over to Professor’s hotel. We are meeting up with Jim and Pam for breakfast. The place they pick is right out front of my hotel! I didn’t even realize there was a food place right there!

I order a breakfast burrito and it is soooo good. I eat almost all of it, I am stuffed!

After breakfast I head back to the post office to mail Doug my extra food.

I pack up my things and meet Professor and Jim out side.

Jim gives us a ride to the trail head again! Thank you so so much!

Right as we are dropped off a Lyft pulls up and drops off another hiker! Her trail name is Platinum.

The three of us cross the highway onto the alternate route around the trail closure. It’s a 10 mile treck up some hilly side roads. 5 miles paved, 5 miles dirt.

The Professor and Platinum

There’s not a lot of info on the water situation so I carry extra. Ooof my tummy is so full, my hip belt squeezes on it. Maybe I ate too much….

We take a break at the paved to dirt road transition. Ouch pavement hurts to walk on for long periods of time. The break is welcome. I get some painting done.

We eventually head out.

The hill steepens and I get in a groove.

Maybe eating that much burrito was a good thing after all…. Burrito power!!!!

I charge up the rest of the hill and back onto the official CDT trail. Yesss.

I pause to paint and wait for the others. Professor breaks with me and Platinum hikes on.

The trail goes along a rolling dirt road. The wild flowers are just gorgeous. They never get old.

It starts to sprinkle and I rush to put my pack cover on. I need to figure out a good way to protect my solar panel.

Professor hikes on as I fiddle with my rain jacket.

We reach the next water source. A swampy kind of pond.

It starts to sprinkle heavier. We rush to set up our tents and dive in just as it starts to hail! Perfect timing!

(I manage to fit my tent between the trees haha)

We wait out the rain and hail.

It starts to clear up and we make dinner on the road away from our tents. The mosquitoes are quite bad. It starts to sprinkle again while we eat. I don’t mind because it makes the mosquitoes less.

We hang our food and start to turn in for the night when Professor remembers there might be some Aroara Borialis tonight! Exciting!!!!

We’re going to wake up at midnight to hopefully see them.

07.12.2023 Day 23 – An Ice Cold Beer

So. The tent spot was more slanted than I had thought…

That’s always how it works. You look at a spot and your eyes are like, yeah that’s kinda flat. That should do.

Then you get in your tent and you can’t stop sliding to one side.

I basically was wrapped around the tree trunk all night haha

But I some how got decent sleep!

The morning hike was just gorgeous through old moss covered trees, the early sunlight casting beams of light between their branches into the green grass dotted with wild flowers.

Today is maybe a big water carry, depending on if some of the sources are still good. Some of them have dried up according to the FarOut comments.

We have a spring off trail flagged as our next source. If that doesn’t work out it’s a 20 mile waterless stretch. I carry a lot of extra water today just incase. Almost 4 liters. My pack is heavy but I feel strong from the rest at Jim and Pam’s house. And it’s mostly dirt road hiking today with rolling elevation.

Dirt road walks aren’t so bad, I don’t have to watch my feet as closely. I have cell service and give Doug and my sister Yvonne a call while I walk.

A man on an atv passes by. We chat, he asks where I started from and if I need anything. People here are so nice! I’m all set, he drives off.

I pass Professor taking his morning coffee on a beautiful hill overlooking the countryside. Man early morning hiking is the best.

I continue on. I come to a dirt road that leads off trail to our unlisted water source. It’s a cattle watering tub and it’s full of water! Hooray! I paint while I filter water.

Professor arrives, gets water and heads out while I battle with my paints.

This was a tough one! But I think I got the wild flowers okay.

The road is exposed but thankfully it’s cool out!

I pass Professor again and see two other hikers in the distance.

I’m going to catch them. I put on some speed. I’ve almost caught up!

There’s a bend in the road. I start to round it when I see them hiking back towards me. I’m super confused. Am I off trail?

We all pause and look at our maps as a group. Their Farout is different than mine! We spend some minutes puzzling when Professor walks up. His maps show the trail going randomly left at 90 degree angle off the dirt road into the tall grass and over some logs.

?????

The others observe that someone had placed a stick arrow pointing that direction…. I guess this is the way?

Clearly this is the way

I’m glad the hikers ahead of me had figured it out or I would have blown right past this turn and kept hiking the road, down a big hill. Then I’d realize I’m off trail and would have had to hike back up said hill. Phew! Dodged that bullet.

Professor and I hike together. There are many downed trees and the trail is super uneven. We eventually break into a clearing and pause for lunch.

I try out my new solar panel!

I’ve been using my phone to call people while I hike so the battery is low. It goes from 21% to 31% in the span of our lunch break. Amazing!

We hike on and get separated. I find a local country station on my SanDisc radio player. All the songs are about ice cold beer! I’ve never wanted a cold one so bad in my life haha

I fasten the solar charger onto my pack so I can charge my phone while I hike.

The trail goes through some gorgeous pastures,

then into some woods.

The dead trees are really scary. Lots of widow makes. I’m extra vigilant.

At a junction I check my maps. I see a comment from another hiker in the FarOut App: “I dare you to take the bridge.”

I don’t see what they’re referencing… I wonder what that’s all about…

Then suddenly, emerging from the trees as I walk is a massive old wooden mining bridge, completely falling apart yet still incredibly impressive. I imagine trying to walk across it and there are no good endings to any of the scenarios.

What a cool structure though! It’s not marked on any of my maps and was a complete surprise.

The trail continues to meander through the forest. I pass the spring that has dried up, I check my water in my pack and I’m doing good.

We come to a turn off point, Priest Pass.

There is a trail closure coming up after Helena. One of the alternates has people walking a few miles on a highway. Professor and I agree to try going around that, an alternate to the alternate if you will.

This option has us going down a quiet dirt road instead of a busy highway. I’m very happy to avoid walking on the highway.

Scraps (one of the geologists) messaged Professor ahead of time that they had done this alternate to the alternate and that is was good and had water! Thank you so much Scraps!

We hike the Priest Pass and last 6 miles down to the freeway and find some cute mules near a turn off.

Will you give us a ride to town? No?

I have cell service and manage to get us an Uber into town.

Doug called ahead and got me a hotel room near the post office! Yay thank you Doug!

I shower and meet Professor. We had wanted to take Jim and Pam out to dinner but we got to town too late so we make plans to take them out to breakfast tomorrow instead.

I’m able to order an ice cold beer at a local bar! Yessss so good!

I head back to my room while Professor does shopping for resupply. I have a box at the post office I’ll get in the morning.

The hotel I’m staying at is under construction and I can’t figure out how to get the laundry to work.

One of the hotel staff helps me figure it out. Thank you! She leaves then suddenly ALL of the machines start running… it’s chaotic haha

Oops! I guess the adventures don’t stop, even when you’re off trail haha

Belly full, showered, laundered and my beer craving satisfied, today was a good day.

07.11.2023 Day 22 – Frog Trouble

A second night sleeping in a bed! Wow! I feel refreshed. I wake up early and pack all my gear.

Jim gives us a ride back up to the pass.

Thank you so much!!!

It feels good to be back out on the trail.

My legs feel good and my shoulder doesn’t hurt.

(I knifed out the lens protection on my iPhone case so now my pictures won’t be blurry anymore! Yay! I’ll just need to be careful when it rains and refrain from putting my phone underwater)

I can see a watch tower in the distance.

Before I know it I’m right under it.

There’s a really nice family staying in the tower for two nights. I talk with the youngest about a video game called Minecraft. Thru hiking does kinda remind me a bit of Minecraft

They go back up into the watch tower to finish a game of Wing Span. What a cool family trip! I head out and realize I had missed a water spring 2 miles back… oops! It’s 13 ish miles to the next water source.

Thankfully I over prepared and brought two liters so I should be okay.

I turn on my phone and get a message from The Professor, he can’t find the water spring I missed listed on the farout app! Oh no. It must be dry! He’s going off trail farther to a stream on the map.

A truck passes by me. Maybe they would have extra water if he’s in a pinch?

I hike on. The ridge line plunges back into the trees.

I come to a field of cows and there’s Professer! How the heck did he get in front of me? I guess the search for water gave him a short cut.

Moo

We break for lunch. Professor is super nice and had gotten extra water for me. Gosh, thanks! I eat a dry lunch anyways.

The trail crisscrosses with a lot of dirt roads and other trails. I’m constantly checking my maps.

Professor takes a break and I push on. There’s good enough cell service I’m able to face time with Doug while I hike!

I come to a ridge line and it’s super windy. I have to hold on to my hat while I cross over back into the shelter of the trees.

I break out the SanDisc and listen to the local radio. I find the MTPR (Montana public radio). There’s a woman reading aloud some kids books, Frog and Toad. Between each short story she plays a frog or toad themed song, it’s a hoot!

My favorite is this one about Frog Trouble.

There’s a lot of cool looking moss in this section.

And a lot of scary trees fallen across the trail. I try to not walk under them in the wind, just incase they decide to keep falling.

Before I know it I’m at the next water source, a cattle trough. There’s clean water trickling into the tub from a pipe. It’s really convenient and easy to gather.

I decide to break here and make dinner. The next water isn’t for another 17 miles. Professor catches up and joins me.

Then 3 more hikers join. They let us know the next water is dry, it’s actually a 20 mile water carry. Yikes.

Water is heavy. 1 liter is about 2 pounds. I like to have 1 liter for every 5 miles. A 20 mile water carry means I’d have to carry 8 pounds of water. Hmmm

We sit and strategize over dinner. There are a few springs down some dirt roads off trail that might be some good options.

We pick one 5 miles away. I still camel up just incase.

We find some sheltered tent spots under some trees and hang our food.

I’m really proud of how close I was able to get my tent to the tree! There’s not a lot of flat space.

I hope the dirt road spring off trail works out tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

07.10.2023 Day 21 – A Zero Mile Day

The Professor and I am taking a zero day, where you hike zero trail miles for a full day.

I sleep in. It’s so luxurious.

I get out of bed around 7am and Jim makes us camp omelets!

It’s a cool technique using freezer bags to Sous Vide the egg with very little mess. We added the left over veggies from last night, some garlic and cheese into the bag. Then you boil the bags for about 11 min. Super simple!

He then grills up some of the best bacon I have ever had. The combination with the omelettes is to die for.

5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So delicious! Wow! I’m definitely making these camp omelets again some day.

I can feel my body rebuilding its strength, thankful for the rest. My shoulder is feeling much better.

The morning is spent chilling in the living room. Pam and Jim go about their morning routine, reading with their cuddly dogs near by. I work on my blog posts and The Professor researches alternates around a trail closure coming up around Helena. There’s some trail maintenance going on and it’s good to not get in the way.

Jim and Pam’s dogs are soooo cute. At one point I have one as a lap warmer and the other as a foot rest. So comfy!

Can I bring them with me? 🥺

Around noon they take us to visit their cabin.

The drive up is gorgeous and Jim gives us a history tour of the area. It’s incredible to see the remnants of old mining projects, to imagine native tribes traveling through the mountain passes and migrants living in caves while they work the mines. It must have been a tough life back then.

The Gosink cabin is nestled in some trees lining a gorgeous green field with a small creak babbling by. It is so pleasant and cozy! What a dream!

It even has the original stove in the kitchen! What a beautiful space!

Thank you Jim and Pam for sharing this gem! It makes me want a cabin so bad haha

They drive us to the post office and I’m able to pick up my next resupply box from Doug. Thank you Doug!

The Professor has a different resupply strategy. We head to the grocery store and he shops for his meals to get him through to the next town.

A sudden storm blasts through the area. I am so glad we’re not stuck in this up on some ridge line! What a great day to zero!

Thankfully it doesn’t last long and calms down to a light drizzle.

Back at Jim and Pam’s house we have delicious sausages and potatoes. So so good!

And of course, more peanut butter pie. This time with a chocolate drizzle 🤩

After dinner we do a slide show and share all the photos from the trip so far. It’s incredible seeing The Professor’s photos from the southern terminus of the trail! New Mexico looks like some tough but beautiful hiking. I’m really impressed with his hike!

We make plans to head back to the trail early in the morning. I’m a little sad to go!

Thank you so much Jim and Pam for hosting us! And thank you Professor for including me! I had the best time hanging out. I feel like I’ve made some new family 💖

The Gosink’s are really good people 🥰