So smokey. The smattering of lightening we got yesterday had me a bit on edge as I walked, would I walk into a new fire? The smoke was so thick my imagination ran away from me during the morning, but eventually I had to stop thinking about it and just walk. I do have to say it’s hard to have that easy joyful feeling in the mountains when there is so much smoke and you are worried about not getting caught in an inferno.

Those worries didn’t take away from the brilliant view of Goat Flats though, I hugged a steep wall as I walked a narrow trail cut into the mountain, hearing elk bugles below for the first time. Dropping into Storm Lake, the smoke seemed to get thicker, but no flames, just my imagination running away with me.

By the time I had hiked to another set of lakes, Twin Lakes, I actually got service on my phone and immediately looked up the fire incident map to see about any new fires. Alas, nothing was close despite the thick smoke. Phew.

I soon joined an old road and walked quickly through more old burns and the foothills of the Divide. I would spend the afternoon walking along hwy 1 into Anaconda…it was fairly busy, but a scenic walk, and I didn’t mind the pavement miles all too much. I had planned to stay in the campground in town, but upon arriving I lost my willpower to my fatigue and dirt covered body, and ended up checking in to the Celtic Inn, a few rooms above an irish pub. Great decision! It was cheap, simple, and clean, and I met some truly interesting and generous people in the pub below. I learned all about Anaconda’s status as a superfund site due to the giant smelter which processed the tons of copper pulled from Butte’s nearby open pit mine; I met a women called to come to town from the east coast to practice Reiki and help heal the town the best she could; I met kind, funny, and generous folks who all thought I was a little bit crazy…

I retired early, a real bed! It was a relief to be out of the smoke for the night.

I had a curious deer harassing me all night, other than the fact that he didn’t seem scared of me in the slightest, I guess I was grateful he was around because that meant no bigger preditors were lurking!

As I was almost done packing up in the morning, G Funk came around the corner. He had camped a short distance back, and it was good to see him again. I finished packing up as he hiked on, I knew I would see him again soon, we often leapfrog each other on the trail or take breaks together…and sure enough when I reached the top of the first climb he was just starting down the other side.

Top of the second climb of the day

We had A TON of climbing today…it was something like 6 major climbs from start to finish; none of them were super steep, but many were long and drawn out. We took lunch at the beautiful Warren Lake, at the top of one such climb. The water was surrounded by cliffs and pines, and was one of the more scenic views of the section.

Warren Lake

Of course the trail whet down again, and then up where I found almost at the top of Cutthroat Pass that thunderheads had formed. I began to walk quickly to the top of the pass so I could drop down to the other side. Rain started, the first rain we’ve had in a while, all the while thunder sounding in the distance. I hope this doesnt mean more fires!

The storm was short lived though, and soon I was walking under blue skies once again. Phew.

At the top of Rainbow Pass I found I had reception and talked to Kirk for a few minutes before starting down the switchbacks on the other side.

Rainbow Pass

I had been planning on camping at a small lake nearby, but the smoke seemed to be getting thicker and thicker. One, the smoke likes to settle in the valleys for the night, and two, maybe the lightening did start something new? I looked at my map and decided to hike a few miles further to a higher spot that would be more out of the smoke, but would also offer somewhere to go in case there was a fire. Up! On the rocky mountains!

I found camp just shy of a saddle in a clump of trees right at the Anaconda cut off route that I’ll be taking in the morning. Lets hope there are no new fires, everyone has enough as it is!

The moon was bright last night, but a thick layer of smoke prevented much light from escaping.

I woke before the sun, made my coffee, packed up, and was on the trail by 7. Much of this section has been burned, and gave it an ugly exposed look that later turned uncomfortably hot with the lack of tree cover under the sun. Small stands of trees gave periodic relief, but overall I wasn’t much inspired by the devistated old forest.

Suprise lake was nice

I listened to a bunch of podcasts, and at one point thought a tree was falling, but it was a black bear I had scared; I barely saw his hairy butt as he went crashing through the underbrush. I know a lot of other hikers have seen bears in this section, so I was either playing my podcasts outloud or yelling “hey bear” periodically. I didn’t see any people today, so I didn’t have to worry about spoiling their wilderness experience with my noise.

There were a few nice rocky ridgewalks, but the terrain didn’t get really good until the end of the day as i got into more alpine meadows and trees again.

Good ending

Not sure what to say about today, I hiked, ate food, and now am camped. Just one of those days.

The night was warm and I didn’t zip up my sleeping bag until the early hours of the morning, but slept well! I figured I would do breakfast again before trying to get out of town, and I noticed a cafe that had been closed was open this morning. I went over and marveled at the cheap prices..blueberry pancakes sounded good to me, and when they arrived, holy cow! Each one was as big as a plate! Biggest pancakes I’ve seen! And then I ate almost all. I’ll have bit to pack out for lunch, but I was surprised how much I ate. Glad I have my appetite!

I walked to the south end of town and displayed my “hiker to town” sign, after about 20 minutes a pickup pulls over, and the guy in the passenger side asks if I’m hiking the CDT, which is surprising because not many people know what the CDT is, turns out he was also hitching a ride, and is a PCT hiker! Million Bucks had taken a side trip from the PCT to go to Glacier, and was on his way to burning man before getting back on trail in Oregon. He seemed to be truly going with the flow, and we had a good chat while Fred, the driver, also shared his stories of hiking the PCT back in the ’70s after he returned from Vietnam. I’ve had some really good luck with interestIng hitches on this trail.

I got dropped off close to the trail, and as I was headed up to Chief Joseph Pass here comes G walking down the road. G, Funk, and Delightful had been about a day behind me ever since I left them in Lima. I filled him on all the town delights, and heard he had seen 5 bears and the wolf tracks too.

I finally got back on trail and the walking was mostly tree-bound. There were some bike tracks on the trail, actually had been for the past few days, and I finally met the bikers, three local women who like to ride in this area. Much of the CDT is open to bikes, but I just marvel at where I see the tread sometimes.

I met another nice Fred on an ATV at Gibbons Pass, but other than that it was a quiet day on the trail.

Break time

I’m cowboy camped again tonight, it looks like there may be some chances of rain and storms this week, so this could be the last night in a while that I sleep out. I really hope storms don’t cause any more fires, apparently the CDT in Glacier is open again! Great news….lets hope it stays that way.

I did not sleep well in the comfort. In the middle of the night I had finally had enough and spent a few hours on my phone until I finally tired myself out…then slept until almost 8am. No matter, I didn’t have much to do today besides eat and not walk.

I went to breakfast down the street and had a bacon omelette, then returned to my room to veg until check out time at 10:30. At that point I did laundry down the street and meandered over to the RV park/campground with leftover pizza in one hand, chocolate ice cream cone in the other. I got several approving remarks from folks on the street!

The owners of the campground couldn’t be nicer, and I set up on the green lawn back in the corner; a fire crew would be staying in all the cabins and bunk house, and they wanted me to have a quiet spot, which I appreciated.

I did my resupply and talked to my dear NEMO for a long time. I read a bit and watched some Netflix and didn’t do a whole lot.

This is what a zero day should be!

Another day that turned out quite unlike how I expected. I woke about an hour earlier than I have been getting up, that might have something to do with me pondering setting an alarm to get a jump start on the day…I wanted to camp as close to the highway as possible to get an early hitch into Darby…but ultimately I decided to let my body be the judge. And low and behold I woke up early!

I was in thick smoke again; the rocks and meadows appeared slowly as I moved forward, but once I began a long descent into the forest I couldn’t see the mountains for the trees anyway.

A new forest!

I scared a bunch of elk to start off the day, and little did I know that would portend some more wildlife encounters!

The afternoon contained some rIdiculously steep sections of trail…right after some brand new trail so fresh it wasn’t on my maps or app, I think the juxtaposition of the two made the difference even more stark. It was so steep I had to climb on my toes, frequently stopping to yell in frustration. The downhills were just as bad. Embrace the brutalIty!

WhIle I was on a flatter ridged section I spotted something carmel colored in the bushes on the side of the trail. I made a noise and watched as a cat, about 2-3 feet long, dart up the hill to my right. Startled myself, I started to talk loud and in a deep voice while waving my hiking poles over my head to appear bigger. I saw a little feline head poke up and watch me go before darting off again, a cougar! A young one at that! Wow! I nervously kept hiking trying to bellow as loud as I could, and snuck looks over my shoulder to make sure I wasn’t being stalked.

The next few miles passed without incident, and I was able to relax into the pace of the day. More steep climbs, more cursing, but finally I made it to the last 5 or so miles before the highway, and instead of taking a break and thinking about making camp, I realized I could make it to the highway during daylight hours, and then…should I try and go to town?

No…I would just spend money I don’t need to, and besides, I still have a ramen to eat for dinner, and maybe enough fuel to heat it up? I could cold soak it if not. Hmmmm, cold ramen, or a hot delicious pizza? Hmmm, what if I just hiked as far as I could, if I get to the highway while it’s still light and happen to get a hitch maybe I’ll go into town, if not I’ll just camp by the road and go in the morning.

As I was walking down the road I was noticing very very large paw prints. Did someone go walking on the road with their dog? Surely it isn’t a wolf or something. Hmmmm, so many prints going back and forth, this must be this animal’s territory. I just put the thought out of my mind and started playing a podcast outloud just in case something needed to be scared away.

And what do you know, I made it to the road by about 7:30, still light! I stood on the shoulder with my thumb out and just down the road noticed a big something crossing the road. A freaking wolf! Dude it was huge! That had to be the animal I was following! Wow, now I really didn’t want to camp there if I didn’t have to…and as luck would have it the first car that passed me stopped and gave me a ride the 30 miles to Darby. Yes!

I hopped out at the sign of an open restaurant, and a large supreme pizza later, was completely elated that I choose gooey cheese over cold ramen. When Mike, the owner, offered to see if there was an open hotel room at the place down the street, I said OK. I didn’t tell him I had been planning to camp at the RV park, I just went with the flow…Guess I’m spending some money in town tonight!

Dinner, and lunch, and dinner

I got a room, took a shower and collapsed in bed. This was my first 34 mile day since I was with Lint in the Great Divide Basin, and was in much more difficult terrain. I think I’ve earned a day off.

Today is my dear friend Rachel’s wedding! She is getting married to a stellar guy, Paul, and while I’m sad to miss the festivities, I’ll do my best to celebrate with them when I get home.

So I saw my first bear today! I was hiking up a rocky little hill and suddenly heard a crash and saw a baby bear tearing off into the distance. I looked around and made some noise in case mom was nearby, but didn’t hear anything else. Hard to believe this is my first bear.

After another morning of trees I entered the high country once again. The alpine meadows were taking on the golden and maroon colors of Fall, and even though the past week has been fairly warm, I can tell we aren’t far away from some colder weather. In fact with all the smoke in the sky today, the sun was barely able to break through, and I wore my longer layers the entire day.

I met a family up in the high country with a 2 & 4 year old! Wow, that is young for backcountry adventures, and they looked like they were having a ball. I also met 2 women from Butte out for the weekend as well, so good to see people enjoying their wilderness….this is a really stunning area and I would be up here all the time if I lived nearby.

Ah, my legs are aching a bit and my feet have been feeling the pounding. I’ll make over 2,200 miles tomorrow, the milage has just been flying. I’ll hit Darby on Monday morning, hope I can make it in for breakfast!

Ok starting this day out right with some Beasty Boys, if that’s doesn’t get me going, I don’t know what will!

While my walking started in the forest again: a uniform smattering of young trees (former burn area or logged?), I would enter the land of rock soon. But first I met another southbounder, Patrick. They keep coming! It’s so late in the season for me to still be meeting southbounders, they will be sure to have an interesting time of it in the high country of Colorado.

Then I was climbing up shale talus to a few peaks and to meet the Divide. Mountains! I could see a horizon line again, and there were mountains! The smoke was still lingering in the air, but much of it had dissapaited, and it was wonderful to see my surroundings once again.

There were dramatic cliffs and ridgelines all over the place. For most of the morning I wound in and around these rocky outcroppings, and met a few more hikers: Three Trees who was sectioning the CDT, and Voyager, a very seasoned hiker who’s CDT blog I had been reading last year. He hiked north to the Winds, and this year was hiking south to his finish spot last year…which would make his second thru-hike of the CDT. Cool guy.

Voyager

The afternoon was spent back in the trees and at lower elevations, Three Trees said he was dissapointed to have to leave the Divide and walk these lower miles, but I really don’t mind that much, it gives much more water, and I like the diversity.

I saw some clouds building as I was about to make camp, so pitched my tarp for the first time in a long time (I’ve really enjoyed sleeping out this past week), but now, a few hours later, the clouds are gone and it looks to be another clear night. This section has been nice and dry, which is a huge change from the rest of the trail, and I’m really enjoying it!

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get another air mattress. The difference is just night and day. I had been putting my down jacket under my hips to provide a bit of padding since most of my natural padding is gone…but sleeping on the new Gossamer pad last night was wonderful!

Another smokey day, another day without the views I knew were lurking beneath the layers of surrounding forest fires. That’s really ok though, it’s a small price to pay to have a muted horizon and not have to be threatened by all the destruction that’s currently sweeping the west. I hear big portions of the PCT are closed, and some fire fighters even lost their lives this week. Heart breaking.

I made it to Lemhi Pass for lunch, and got water from a spring that is the headwaters of the Missouri River, a spot that Sacajwea took Lewis in his search for the Columbia river in 1805. I’ve enjoyed visiting all the historical spots the trail passes through. While I was there I met Renee, Laura, and Beau. We chatted for a few minutes and Renee (a former nuclear engineer!) got me thinking about working down at the South Pole, she had done a number of seasons at the big base down there. Oh you know, there are so many adventures to be had!

Straddling the headwaters

Renee, Laura & Beau

I downloaded a new audiobook, another Stephen King novel, The Long Walk…you know, the title grabbed me, but after listening for a few hours I became disconcerted with the dark story where those who stopped walking would die. I found I wanted to walk less and less, the story must have hit a nerve. I took a long afternoon break complete with nap, and even when I switched from the dying walkers to some podcasts and music, the afternoon dragged on and I just wanted to be done.

I had set a goal of 25 miles today, and the minute I reached that mileage, I found a flat spot in the woods to plop down.

Not sure what this is about, but some animal didn't approve.

Man, oh man, I had a some awesome pasta from Backpackers Pantry…ever since connecting with them at the OR Show and getting some meals (with more coming to my town stops up ahead) I’ve been eating well. I can’t tell you how much better they are than ramen and mac & cheese. I’m so stoked to have their support.

So camp was earlish tonight, but I’ll read and just relax, it doesn’t do to force more walking if you want to be done for the day. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll be in a more walkable mood.

I was successful in not doing much of anything yesterday, so today had to resupply, mail some stuff, patch my tarp, and manage a few other odds and ends.

The morning passed quickly and soon it was check out time and we were on the porch hanging out for a few more hours. Delightful had texted, they were going to get to the pass about 2pm, and to save Sam a few trips we decided to wait to leave until then.

We had lunch at the restaurant, I did regret the greasy fried food soon after as it sat REALLY heavy in my stomach. I knew some hiking would help that out though.

Dan, G Funk, and I got back on trail at 2pm, and I spent the afternoon walking some very pleasent tread through trees and a few open balds. As I tend to do, I made camp earlyish (well, earlier than the guys like to) and enjoyed some down time to drink a beer I packed out, eat some dinner, and just putz around with my camp.

So looking forward to sleeping on my new pad! Air is where it’s at. None of this ridgerest stuff for me anymore!

Oh blessed air!