Day 95 – The Roommate
Day miles: 21.8
Trip miles: 1881
I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. I wanted to catch up on my writing before I got too far behind. That dinner taking almost 3 hours really killed my available free time, other than time when I would normally just sleep.
As I lay awake in my room, I saw a little shadow dart across the floor. I was pretty sleepy, so I recognized it was possible that I imagined it, but then I saw it again down on the floor by my pack. It was a mouse! Ugh…. I have never been in a motel room that had a mouse in it. My thoughts shifted to my gear and my food.
I packed everything up and put my pack on the bed. I saw the mouse dart back and forth across the floor a few more times, but it was too fast to catch or corner. I looked around the room but saw no obvious mouse hole or nest. I suppose mice are a lot better than bedbugs. When I finally went to sleep, I just hoped that it wouldn’t run across my body while sleeping. I have experienced this before and did not enjoy waking up to the pitter patter of tiny feet on my torso.
The morning arrived without incident. If my miniature roommate had a disco party on my chest, I slept through it. I microwaved a burrito and breakfast sandwich and had a cold coffee, all of which I had purchased at the Exxon station yesterday.
I rode the 9AM shuttle with Pilgrim, Burning Man, Olive Oil, and a SOBO back to the trail. We had a little bit of road walk, so I talked with Olive Oil and Burning Man a little as I had only just met them yesterday. Olive Oil had some type of bird fly at her head in Yellowstone, which spooked her and caused her to run. When she did this, she blew out her knee and had to call the rangers to help get her out of the park because she couldn’t walk. Sometimes crazy things happen.
Today’s hiking was all exposed ridge walk. There were some seriously strenuous climbs; I spent a lot of time on the balls of my feet. Thunderstorms rolled in, of course. There was no where to go, and while there was a growing amount of thunder, I wasn’t seeing lightning. Burning Man and I pushed on, heading along the ridge into the belly of the beast.
It started hailing. It was pea-sized at first, and then slightly larger. It stung my hands and neck as it pelted me mercilessly. I just kept going, increasing my speed.
When I made it out of that storm, I was soaked, but I had managed to get through it. I could, however, see another big storm off to the west that looked like it was headed my way, so I kept hiking at a good pace.
The trail undulated and then turned to the east to descend down to a creek and valley. I made it there, but the storm was definitely on my heels. I had planned to hike 25 miles, but I didn’t fancy getting soaked again, so I grabbed some water and climbed up a little bit.
I saw a few fir trees on a hill and chose a spot under several of them. It started to rain and thunder, but my choice was just in time. I dove into my tent as the rain came down, and that was that! I felt pretty good about the mileage I made today, all things considered. I was grateful for the beautiful vistas during the ridge walk, chatting with hikers, and ultimately finishing the day intact. I’m hoping for no rain tomorrow, but we shall see.
Day 96 – The Blank Day
Day miles: 26.8
Trip miles: 1907.8
I am not sure where the day went. I woke up and somehow now it is 8:30PM. Nothing special really happened. The scenery was good, but nothing stood out. Somehow, I just floated through the day with a whole jumble of random thoughts bouncing around in my head like pinballs.
My tent was completely dry when I packed up in the morning, despite the storm yesterday evening. I love it when I find a nice pine grove to camp in! I saw a few deer early in the morning, but that was it for wildlife, other than a few birds throughout the day.
I dragged for the first half of the day. There were a few steep climbs, but nothing as difficult as yesterday’s series of steep ridge climbs. I think that really tired me out, and my body just wasn’t having it this morning.
By mid-day, I started to get a little more in the groove. I saw Burning Man and Olive Oil taking a lunch break. I passed them and noticed a storm brewing in the distance. This was enough for me to kick my legs into gear a bit.
I had more climbing to do, and as I got to the top of the next tier, I got a better look at the storm. I saw lightning, still far off. The trail transitioned to a dirt road, and I was basically walking just on the edge of the storm. I only felt a few drops of rain. There was lightning and thunder in the distance, but somehow I managed to slide just past it without getting caught in it. I was incredibly grateful for this – I had enough of storms yesterday.
The day was spent alternating between walking through patches of forest, meadows, and exposed ridge. I finished the day at Deadman’s Lake. I kind of wish I had pushed a few more miles. When I got here I was the only person and there was a lovely campsite. I now have 6 or 7 other hikers squeezed around me and all I hear are people rolling around on their sleeping pads and moving around in their tents.
I don’t really like camping around other people as I sleep much better when I don’t have to worry about making noise or hearing it. I think the CDT has spoiled me in that regard! But, it is what it is. I enjoy talking with other hikers – I just don’t like people camping right next to me, but not everyone thinks to even ask before they plop down. Sometimes people get in late and tired, so they are just looking to be done for the day. I get it.
Tomorrow I will get up early to get moving and get some space from this crowd. I am going to take a slight alternate around the lake to another lake (about 7.5 miles – shaves 4.9 off the official route), then rejoin the CDT and hike at least 25 miles total. At some point I need to find a cell signal to try and arrange a shuttle to get into Leadore on Wednesday morning. There’s little traffic on the dirt road into town, apparently, so hitching might be tough.
Hoping to have as nice weather tomorrow as today! I’m grateful to be dry and on my way to sleep!
Day 97 – The Crushing of Miles
Day miles: 35.8
Trip miles: 1943.6
I honestly don’t know how I hiked as many miles as I did today. Overall I felt great, and the scenery today was a spectacular variety pack of visual delights. Here’s how the day went down.
I woke up at 4:30AM, ready to get going. I had three packs of maple brown sugar oatmeal for breakfast, then packed my things. I walked extra far away from camp to dig my morning toilet hole. It was still dark out, but I got the job done by way of my headlamp.
I finished packing up and Burning Man, who had camped behind me, had awakened. The others seemed to still be asleep, or at least in their tents. I waived goodbye to Burning Man and headed out at 6:15AM.
The morning was gorgeous. The weather was cool, and I could see the sunrise over the lake and mountains once I climbed up the steep Jeep road leading away from Deadman’s Lake. The incline was such that I hiked on the balls of my feet. Fortunately it was short.
I enjoyed the peaceful morning atmosphere before all the whosits and whatsits of the insect kingdom began their daily business. I am often amazed at all the different agendas of all the living things. Ants build, reinforce, and feed great colonies. Butterflies feast on cow dung and flutter about. Grasshoppers bounce all over the place. We aren’t any different. We busy ourselves with all kinds of things, but in the end we are focused on the core facets of life: eat, rest, obtain food, produce copies of our DNA, protect said copies, die. Those are the basics, other than the culture and methods that surround those things. Hiking a trail is a great way to observe the similarities and differences – we are fundamentally the same as bugs, but culturally and biologically very different. That is to say, our fundamental needs and drivers are the same.
I walked on the dirt road towards Harkness lakes. Several ATVs passed me carrying hopeful fisherman. I talked to them when I arrived at the first lake. One guy was eating a blueberry muffin while speaking, and I don’t think I heard a word he said because all I could do was stare at that muffin. I knew it was probably a little dry. Maybe it was an Otis Spunkmeyer. It would be sweet. I imagined it would have a slightly crispy edge to the muffin top. A thin layer of cream cheese frosting on it might be good. Too far? Maybe…. But you can’t push your limits if you don’t find that outer edge, frosted or otherwise.
I laid my gear out to dry a bit in the sun. Condensation had been minor, so it only took 15 minutes. I then pushed on, determined to hike at least 25 miles.
The day was full of undulating terrain. One minute I was hiking up a steep incline to an exposed ridge; the next I was walking through a shady pine forest. The weather was beautiful – sunny with just a few puffball clouds in the sky. Under the sun it felt hot, so I enjoyed the tunnels through the forest where it felt like the temperature dropped 15 degrees.
The mountains looked like velvet, spotted with trees. The forests that grew on their slopes were few and patchy. As a result, in the distance the contours of the peaks, ridges, and sometimes valleys appeared to be made of some kind of velvet, as if they would be smooth and silky to the touch. Of course, the reality of grass, rocks, and sagebrush couldn’t be more the opposite at close range.
I took a couple of short breaks, but largely kept trucking. By 4:15 I had hiked to Morrison Lake, which was 20+ miles in. I ran into two other NOBOs there – Gargoyle and Boats. I didn’t want to stop at the lake, and I figured many others probably would, so I grabbed some water at the next spring a mile or so away and headed up on a long climb to a ridge.
I hiked the length of that ridge, which took me the rest of the evening until about 8:45PM. It was dirt road the entire way, but it was absolutely gorgeous. I had views off both sides of the mountain.
The ridge was not flat. It undulated up and down, up and down. It was tiring, but watching the sun dip lower in the sky as the temperature began to cool down was most gratifying. I saw three separate groups of elk. I’d say “herds,” but only one group had more than four elk. The smallest group was three – two adults and a small calf.
The sun set as I continued up the road, missing my trail turnoff and walking a fractional bonus mile uphill. I quickly corrected course, heading back down, and then got out my headlamp as I looked for a place to bed down for the night.
I ended up camping next to a spring in a pine forest. It was just the kind of pine bedding that I prefer for camping. I had woken up feeling a bit crabby and sluggish, but had turned my day around into a wonderful, long day of looking at beautiful views. The sunset ridge walk sent me to sleep with a smile on my face – that and a Knorr rice side and two packs of M&Ms….
Day 98 – Leadore
Day miles: 13.3
Trip miles: 1956.9
I had a great sleep, as one might after an entire day of dawn to dusk hiking. My tent was moisture free in the morning – thank you pine forest! I ate three oatmeal packets, the rest of my jar of peanut butter, and broke down camp.
Rather than grab water at the stagnant spring next to me, I decided to fill up at the piped (and flowing) spring 1.7 miles ahead. There was no reason to carry water for that distance, but it would be my last water source for about 11 miles.
On the way to the piped spring, I saw two herds of elk. I had camped at the base of Elk Mountain, and it was clear that it was aptly named. I grabbed cool, clear water from the spring and headed towards the summit.
The summit of Elk Mountain was at 10,177 feet – not high in comparison with many peaks I’ve climbed on this hike, but high enough to have a fantastic view. A fat little chipmunk crawled out of the cairn at the top and studied me intently. I had a feeling it had been fed before….
I coordinated a ride with a donation-based shuttle driver. I would have to make it to the pass by 11:30AM, or otherwise wait until 3PM. It was tight and I had to jog the last mile or so, but I made that 11:30 shuttle into town.
Randy was the shuttle driver. He had grown up in Leadore but only recently moved back. Most of his adult life he traveled the US working construction as a heavy machinery operator. He did this until they had to fuse his neck vertebrae back together, at which point he took an early retirement and moved back to Leadore.
Randy pointed out where things were in town. He drove a somewhat retro Ford pickup. I mean, he was already a cool guy, but the truck added a nice flair. I could almost picture him in some kind of Hollywood flick.
Randy dropped me off at The Outpost – the restaurant in town. I ate a burger, fries, and an eclair for dessert. I actually wanted a brownie sundae, which was in the menu. The server said they were out of brownies, but she could bring me an eclair (not on the menu). “That sounds delicious – I’ll have one.” Of course I was going to eat the eclair. I drank a huckleberry milkshake after inhaling the eclair in about 30 seconds. When the server wasn’t looking, I licked my eclair plate.
After lunch I went over to the Stage Stop gas station. I had mailed a resupply box there. Like in many small towns, the gas station was also a small grocery of sorts, and this one also served hot food! I grabbed my box, picked up a few items I needed, and headed down the street to do laundry. I knew I would be back to the Stage Stop for food later.
Everyone in town was super nice and very hiker friendly. As CDT hikers increase, I expect it will be very good for their local economy. The Outpost restaurant had a hiker box (place where hikers leave gear and food they don’t want so others can take it), the Stage Stop had a hiker box and a whole sorting area for emptying and breaking down resupply boxes and purchases. Smiles were all around.
I washed my clothes and sat on the lawn outside, talking with another NOBO hiker named Franzia. She was American, but had been living in Portugal for years. I had fun asking her about that journey. Lisbon is high on my list of places to visit.
When my laundry was done, I walked the half mile or so over to the town RV park. I had originally planned to go right back to the trail, but it was only $10 to camp and I was in a day early, so I decided to stay. I was able to grab a shower there and then put on my clothes, which were now free of salt rings.
I chatted with the park host, Mark, for a bit. He told me about his two cats that hike with him. He mentioned that they had befriended elk, martens, and other creatures here and there. He relayed a story about a bear he called Boo Boo. It would walk down to his property sometimes, and the cats would try to sneak up on it, but Boo Boo wouldn’t have it. Mark was a character in all the best ways.
With most of my chores done, I walked back to the Stage Stop and gave my wife a ring. We caught up for a bit, and then I went inside to grab a pizza I had ordered and some other snacks, as well as a burrito for breakfast. The Stage Stop makes fresh pizzas – pretty amazing!
I took my food back to the RV park and stuffed myself with fellow hikers. It was a fun evening and I definitely ended it feeling a bit pregnant. I was grateful for the views from elk mountain this morning (where I could also hear elk bugling in the distance, fittingly), for Randy’s kindness, Leadore’s hospitality and the chance to get clean and fed.
Tomorrow I head out early at 7AM. I’m hoping for good weather and that I feel strong for the day. I’ll have a giant bag of food for the 122 miles to Darby, MT, my next town stop.
Day 99 – The Headwaters
Day miles: 30.1
Trip miles: 1987
Tomorrow will be my 100th day on trail! It feels like some kind of milestone, though I don’t know why. I guess 100 days is a long time to be a nomad in the wilderness.
The RV park in Leadore was a great place to camp. For some reason, it was fairly cold when I woke up. It felt like the chill of fall in the air. It was the coldest morning I could remember.
When Randy showed up at 7AM to shuttle us back to the trailhead, I asked him about the crisp temperature. He said he thought the smoke in the air held the cold down in the valley. I’m no meteorologist, and he was definitely speculating, but who knows – that could be possible. There has been a growing haze and the scent of burn in the air from the nearby Salmon fire. I expect it will get a little worse as we get closer to Darby, and then better after that when we head east away from the border.
I got up early so I could use an ancient toaster oven at the RV park to heat up a breakfast burrito from the Stage Stop. It was “mostly warm” when the oven decided to quit on me. I am not sure why it just stopped working. Later, I saw someone else using it. Maybe it needed a short nap? The burrito was good either way.
Randy has an old 80s model single cab Ford pickup. You know the look – boxy with a lighter colored panel down the side center and Kurt Russell in a lumberjack jacket at the wheel. A southbounder and Olive Oil jumped in the cab, and Boats and I bundled up and sat in the truck bed with the packs. Randy had a tarp that we could hold around ourselves, which was a lifesaver and kept us warm enough on the ride. Fortunately, while “highway” 29 up to Bannock Pass is a dirt road, it is incredibly well maintained, so we didn’t get covered in dust or tossed around the truck bed like popcorn.
I saw some familiar faces at the pass catching a ride to come in. We all gave Randy some gas money and thanked him before he took the others into town. He was such a great guy! I hope hikers continue to make doing this worth his while. The combination of Randy and the hospitality in Leadore made it a great trail stop. If the town keeps this up as the CDT grows (which growth seems exponential now…), it will be great for their little economy.
I was hiking just before 8AM, which was great considering the trailhead was roughly 30 minutes away. Usually I have to hitch, so getting back on trail takes much longer. I started out with a quick pace, and the terrain was pretty gentle, so I was making good time.
Leadore to Darby, via Chief Joseph Pass, is 122 miles. I packed 5 days of food, thinking I would hike 4 days in the 25 mile per day range, then the 5th around 20 miles and camp right by the pass to go into town the next morning. But, if the terrain and weather were cooperative , I might be able to hike four 30 mile days and go in early on day 5. So, I decided to aim for 30 today and see how I felt. I had never hiked 30 miles per day for four consecutive days before.
I cruised through the first half of the day over sagebrush-covered rolling hills and through cool and shady forests. I took a break with a nice view and spread out my tent to dry the small amount of condensation on it. I ate peanut butter tacos and enjoyed the vista over lunch.
The day was kind of a grab bag of scenery. It had ridge walks with views, forest, rolling hills and only a few steeper climbs. It definitely felt like a break from some of the gradient we had south of Leadore. The trail itself alternated between dirt road and single track.
At one point, I was hiking on a dirt road and I came upon a man standing in front of a parked Jeep. He looked to be in his 70s, with unkempt gray hair under his MAGA hat, and eyes that seemed to roll around in his head. Was he staring at me, or staring at a memory from 30 years ago? I wasn’t sure.
I said hello. He warned me about rattlesnakes and asked if I had a snakebite kit. I said no, to which he asked if I needed one. I said no thank you, mostly because I think snakebite kits are probably pretty worthless. I think you just need an anti-venom and to have the site cleaned up. You’re not supposed to play Rambo, cut an X and suck the poison out. Also, most of the time rattlesnake bites are not fatal to humans. I doubted I would even see a snake. The mountains here didn’t seem like a great environment for snakes, being a bit cold, but who knows.
Anyway, I slid by his Jeep and said hello to his dog Penny inside. She whimpered. I get it Penny – those MAGA hats look ridiculous.
After a while I arrived at Lemhi Pass. This was my next water source, and lucky for me the water from the spring there was crisply cold. The spring at Lemhi is actually the headwaters, the very beginning, of the Missouri River! It’s quite something to see it, because it doesn’t look like much at all – just a tiny little spring that you can straddle. That little spring, however, gets larger and larger and eventually flows roughly 1200 miles away into the Gulf of Mexico. Water on the west side of Lemhi Pass flows into the Colombia River and makes its way some 600 miles to the Pacific Ocean. Gotta love the Divide!
Lemhi is also full of history. For thousands of years native people, including the Shoshone, utilized the pass. Lewis & Clark crossed it during their exploration of the area. It’s an interesting feeling to stand on a mountain and know a bit about what transpired there in the past.
I climbed away from Lemhi up to the top off the ridge. I passed the 30 mile mark for the day, reaching my day 1 goal. I found a great spot to camp off trail in a beautiful dry pine forest. As the light faded out of the sky, I was grateful for an all around good day.
You might also like
