I’m at camp, The air started to get hazier towards evening, and I started to get nervous that yesterday’s thunder storms may have ignited some fires in the area…the valley to the south of where I’m camping is super socked in now, and I’m getting very faint whisps of smoke smell, but the valley to the north seems much more clear.

I walked up the hill to try and get service to see if I could find anything out, had just enough juice to leave a message for Teresa at the CDTC to see if there was anything to worry about, and was able to check the Montana Fire Incident website and saw yes, there are some fires, but I have no idea of how close they are or again if it’s something I have to worry about.

Forest fires are a huge source of anxiety for me, but talk about something that is out of my control…I only hope the smoke is traveling a long way and will not get close to the trail. Not sure I’ll be able to sleep tonight…

The winds last night kept me up…but I had a late night visitor, I heard some grunting and something was climbing up the tree near my shelter….a weasel looking thing was hanging to the side of the trunk and I had no idea what it was! It didn’t seem scared of me, but didn’t seem threatening, so I lay back down. I met another new hiker later, G Funk, who said it sounded like it was a Pine Martin…I’ll have to look it up when I get reception.

I woke late (finally falling asleep in the early hours of the morning) and got back on the divide for the last few miles of this section of ridgewalking before the trail dipped down to a creek.

The next bit wound in an out of cow land…poop and misleading trails were everywhere, but I made it through to the next big climb where half way up I met Trail Blazer, a southbounder. We chatted for a few minutes, and I continued another 1,000′ up the climb. On the other side I stopped at a creek for lunch and met G Funk, a northbounder from Austria.

I was confused at first when he introduced himself because I was just hiking with G and Funk, and now here was G Funk…sometimes trail name overlaps happen!

The afternoon hike was beautiful, these open ridges and mountains were lovely to walk through, and I throughly enjoyed myself.

After a long open section, I rounded a corner to find Dan and G Funk talking to some guys in an ATV. They could not believe what we were doing, and marveled at the idea of walking so many miles. They gave us a Mt Dew which we all happily split.

Then more walking. Dan and G Funk are taking an alternate and I’m on the official trail, up on a saddle just north of Bannock Pass, and am trying not to be too freaked out by the smoke in the air. The wind isn’t too crazy tonight, and I don’t see flames anywhere, so hopefully it’s far off. I’ll climb back up in the morning to get reception and see if there is any news…

Still, it’s going to be a long night….

Today marks not only my 4 month trailaversary, but I passed the 2,000 mile mark! Dude! Celebrate!

We started the day by sleeping in…turns out we stayed out till about midnight, a very rare occasion on this trail!

We all went to breakfast across the road and I had a huge ham steak with hash browns, eggs, toast, and lots and lots of coffee. Ahhh, this is the way to start the day.

Delightful, G, and Funk had decided to take a zero day, and since it hadn’t even been a week since I took my week off, I wanted to hike out.

Mike, the owner of the motel arranged to give me and a few other hikers a ride back to the trail at about 11:30, and by noon I was hiking again.

The forcast was for potential heavy thunder storms, and I could see the storms clouds brewing, but most of the afternoon remained quite pleasent.

2,000 mile mark!!

Again the trees were absent for the most part, and soon I was climbing up a ridge line that just kept going and going and going. Looking at my maps I saw that I’d be up high for many miles and soon realized that might pose a challenge when I wanted to camp tonight.

I climbed up one steep section to find Dan, another northbound hiker…his phone wasn’t working and the wind had just whipped his map out of his hands…that sucks! We hiked together the rest of the afternoon, and soon were walking into dark clouds, brutal wind, and fat raindrops. The rain was intermittent, and at about 5ish we found a spring down on the side of the ridgeline. It was just a trickle, so we tried to form little pools to make it easier to scoop.

I had decided to camp near as the nearby trees were the first I had seen in a long time, and I wanted the protection from the rain and potential storm. Dan hiked on, and as I was making my way to a clump of trees, rounded a corner to find a nice cow tank with spring water pouring in. Doh! Oh well.

I made my way up to find a little spot among some trees and had a bit of trouble setting up my tarp in the crazy strong wind. I was finally in and cozy, but twice the flapping tarp ripped my stakes out of the ground. Uggg, this would be a sucky night. At times I was worried the whole tarp would rip apart, but just a few minutes ago the wind died down, and now I might just have a still and pleasent night afterall.

Over 2,000 miles and 4 months on trail, celebrate!

I love cake, and I love my PCT hiking partner NEMO! Best of both worlds (other than having her on trail with me)

I swore I heard huffing in the middle of the night, I woke with my heart racing and gave a little whistle and stopped to listen to the night. It was still, nothing moved…could it have been one of the others? Whatever it was, I didn’t hear anything else and eventually fell back asleep.

I heard G get up early early…it was just after 5am and still dark, but we all were eager to get to town, so I began to make coffee and pack up, making it on the trail while I still needed my headlamp, something I have only done one other time so far this trip. I really wanted to make it to the post office before it closed at 4pm, and had 24 miles to hike along with a 20 mile hitch. Lets go!

The morning was still and as I traversed the grassy ridgelines I could see the big climb I had coming up. Sweating I climbed, climbed, climbed to the spiny and rocky ridge of this range, and found golden meadows of long grasses swaying in the breeze on top.

I kept hiking, feeling strong in the cool of the morning, to a tiny little trickle of a creek which would probably be my last water source of the day. G was there and we chatted for a few minutes before he was on his way, his desire to get to town was even stronger than mine! I found out later he jogged a good bit of the next 16 miles to the highway…now that’s dedication.

It was a bright day, and as I made my way down a big ridge to meet up with yet another 1,000′ climb, I took a much needed break in the shade and drank my liquids.

Hot climb! Even hotter on top, the rest of the day had almost no tree cover, and while I loved the views and walking on top of everything, I was drinking my water much faster than I had anticipated.

By the time I got to a dirt road I would walk the rest of the way to the highway I was THIRSTY and had almost no water left. Darn! I’ve been so good about carrying plenty of water so far on this trail, but today I failed….failed that is until I noted that there were some potential sources on the Ley maps that didn’t appear on the Guthook app. They had been dry in previous years, but I crossed my fingers. Rounding a bend in the road and seeing trees in a ravine, I knew this would be the spot, and sure enough there was a little creek running under a culvert in the road. WATER!!!!! I sat down and drank about a liter and filtered some more….enough to get me to the road.

Ahhhh, won’t do that again if I can help it!

I met a couple of forest service guys driving up to the trail…they had just constructed some new trail that I had just passed through and they had even put in one of those elusive register boxes, it is a nice treat to be able to check in to see where friends were ahead.

Then, highway! It was a busy 4 lane highway, and I jumped the fence between a frontage road and pavement to stick out my thumb. It took about 15 minutes but finally a car with Washington plates pulled over. Three college students were driving back from BYU to Spokane and were awesome enough to give me a ride to Lima and hook me up with some carrots and fruit. They were telling me about their friend who hiked the PCT last year and was on a long trail that went through the Rockys this year…it was Handy Andy! What a small freaking world that I would get picked up by another thru-hiker’s friends!

I got dropped off in Lima only to find the post office had changed its hours to close at 2:30! What kind of post office closes at 2:30????? So I called my bank to get the Fedex tracking number for my card that was supposed to have been delivered, only to find out it was getting returned. I bet they arrived when it was closed and thus returned it. ANNOYING! So I would have to bum $$ off someone for my resupply and stay here. I hate to inconvience others like that. Grrrr.

I found G at the Mountain View Motel, he had gotten a big room and offered to let me stay there, I gratefully accepted and swooned when another hiker, Rhodes, offered me a beer. A cold beer on a hot day was perfect. I showered and started to feel human again.

Soon Delightful and Funk rolled up and we all had a good ‘ol time hanging out, getting dinner at Jan’s Diner across the way, and tieing one on at Peat’s bar down the street. Other than the fact that I seem to have forgotten how to play pool, it was a great night.

Da girls

Here we go again, I sleep well, don’t sleep well, sleep, no sleep. Last night was one of the no sleep days…but I manage to hike and keep it together…

We all woke early with a 30 on our minds…hiking by 6:30? Definitely will be enough time. The day meandered up and down the border of Idaho and Montana, in fact I think we slept in Montana last night, and would have celebrated, but didn’t realize until looking at the maps this morning. Montana! The last state!!

We had heard some grumbing from other hikers that the Idaho/Montana border was frustrating with PUDs (Pointless Ups and Downs), but even though we climbed and descended, much of the walk was along open ridges with expansive views…At one point I could see into 3 states, Wyoming with the Tetons looming in a haze on the horizon, Idaho on one side and Montana on the other. I enjoyed the hiking as it truely felt like we were traversing the Divide.

Since we got an early start and the day started cloudy and cooler, the first 15 miles seemed to fly and once we reached a creek for lunch, were happy at the progress.

The sun came out after, and somehow the humidity shot up a notch, I didn’t sweat so much as ooze during the afternoon. The ups got a bit steeper, and the downs fewer and far between. Blah. We took a few breaks in the shade and after the final push to make 30 miles, spied a stellar campsite at 27 miles near the last water of the day….to stop or not to stop. We were all tired, and the decision was either to go on and having a shorter day into the town of Lima tomorrow, or stay where the camping was nice and our feet were already wanting to stop.

Stopping it is! I made a bomb batch of mac & cheese followed by a devine batch of dark chocolate cheesecake. Lima tomorrow, I hope my debit card made it there.

(So I need to update my next mail drop to Butte…a more realistic arrival date since I just took a week off is 8/30, and Lincoln is 9/7…but even if boxes are already out they should hold them for me!)

It was a slow start this morning. Whenever I hike with someone new it’s always interesting to see how our styles differ, and since we were all in an established campground with a Subway nearby, the morning was slow and included a stop for some footlong subs for breakfast/lunch.

We began with a 10 mile road walk up up up near Sawtell Peak, plenty of ATVs and dumptrucks passed us, kicking up dirt and causing us to dodge the clouds. We never did figure out where all the dirt in those trucks was going, but there must have been a major dig of some sort up there.

After polishing off our subs, we finished the climb and found our trail, but it quickly petered out and we began a few miles of bushwack. Delightful and I found faint tread most of the way. We happened upon two moose; one was a big bull moose, the biggest I’ve seen yet! We walked up and around the big guy to give him a wide safe zone, and soon found ourselves deep in a swampy willowy section where our options were to either swim, or push our way through the willows to dry ground.

We all reconvened near Lillian Lake and started back on some really nice tread. The Idaho mountains were rocky and quite beautiful in the late afternoon sun. A quick squall had us scrambling for rain layers, but it was over as soon as it began and we made camp on a ridge where I can faintly make out the Tetons in the distance.

Very impressive Idaho!

It was a dew-riffic night, and even though I had some trees over head for protection, I woke with a wet tarp inside and out. Luckily the forecast was clear so I knew I would be able to dry out on breaks.

I thought when I had reached the Idaho border last night that I had also reached the border of Yellowstone, but when I arrived at the Yellowstone border a few miles into the day I realized my error, oops, I guess I shouldn’t have camped where I did!

The trail joined an old road, and for the rest of the day I had easy walking. For some reason to block off sections of this road big berms had been bulldozed in, and you would think one or two berms would do the trick to deter whoever they were trying to deter, but no, it went on for miles.

Old road

When I took lunch I had reception, so was able to finish canceling and re-ordering my debit and credit cards. I decided to have them sent to seperate towns incase problems occured, as it was one of my cards could be fedexed general delivery to my next post office, even though fedex doesn’t deliver to post offices…when I called the post office to confirm, they agreed that they didn’t accept fedex, even though the card company assured me they could…and it had already gone out, so we’ll see what happens!

Saw another moose cross the road!

I called the Leadore Inn, where I sent another card, and let them know my situation, and if I got the card I would be happy to stay there, and Sam said even if it didn’t arrive he would let me stay and I could just owe him, dude! how nice!!!!

So I met a bunch of southbounders and flip floppers today, and the greatest reunion coming from Funsize, another Bend hiker! I hadn’t seen him the whole time on trail and it was great to catch up and hear that Delightful, the other and last of the Bend hikers still on trail, was just up ahead at the campground at Sawtell, awesome!

Funsize

I kept on trucking, got a hotdog, cheetos, and rootbeer at Macks Inn, a small resort community, and walked the 2 miles further to Sawtell where Delightful was camped with G and Funk.

I rolled up and dried out my stuff, and caught up with Delightful whom I hadn’t seen since Chama, NM. We ate a bunch of food, went on a beer run, and then the 4 of us went to play horseshoes with (forgot his name!!) a section hiker who was also staying at the campground. G and I killed it, and now I’m retiring in my tarp, not far from a busy highway. Why oh why do they put the campgrounds right next to busy highways??? I understand the convenience, but who can camp with this noise?????

Anyway. It’s night and I’m tired, so goodnight!

I thought I was back on trail when I woke in the middle of the night. It took me a long time to realize I was inside, and in an apartment. I guess I’m really ready to hit the trail!

I stayed with Andrew and Tara again, and this morning Andrew made us pancakes (awesome!) and set me up with some cash since it would be a while before I got my new cards. I can’t thank Andrew and Tara enough for taking in a dirtbag stranger and helping me out…I totally owe them big time and only hope they come visit Bend to climb at Smith Rock so I can return the favor.

I walked to the north side of town to start hitching and soon had a ride, actually a series of four rides that included a guy that worked with my trail friends g and Sunflower at Evergreen Lodge outside Yosemite, a local climber who’s life was caught up in these mountains, a couple of girls on break from their jobs at the park, and Aaron or Ghost Dog, another long distance hiker who was working in the park who showed me a waterfall and almost had me convinced to go soaking in a hotspring…but the pull of the trail was strong after a week off and I just had to get in some miles.

In true form I even left my new Vapur water bottle in Ghost Dog’s car. I went into the melee of the Old Faithful grocery store to buy another water bottle, but then felt a tap on my shoulder; Aaron had come back to give me the water bottle! DUDE! Good people!

I walked among tourIsts along a trail peppered with geisers and hot pools, stopping to take a few photos, but wantIng to move. I dIdn’t leave Old FaIthful until after 1, and I was intent on making it to the state line, some 16 miles ahead.

For some reason I thought I would be getting to Montana, but turns out it was Idaho. The trail follows the two state lines throughout this next section, so I didn’t feel like a complete idiot when I realized my error.

As soon as I left the geiser area I had the trail all to myself. I had a short little climb that caused the sweat to flow. I was feeling my week off, but then the tread evened out and I had a pleasant afternoon cruising towards Idaho.

I took a break at Sunset Lake to filter some water and noticed a couple of tents, but no people…walking on a few miles later I met the tent owners, some geologists out doing tests in the area, they had seen a lot of thru-hikers come through, which may mean some company up ahead!

I got to the state line after 7pm and celebrated with a few photos, and then hiked just a bit farther to find a place to camp.

Sleeping in yet another state!!!!!!!!!

Oh days off. Beginning with my flight to Salt Lake City on Tuesday and through my return trip on Saturday evening, the middle bits are a bit of a blur.

As expected the sudden rush into crowds of people, lights, and noise were a bit overwhelming, but as I had been to the Outdoor Retailer Show before I knew what to expect…and for that reason I don’t think I was as freaked out as I might have been if it was my first time. In fact, I loved being able to tell stories, talk trail, and see the wonder that lit up in people’s eyes when I explained I had been walking for the last 3 1/2 months and had covered almost 1,900 miles. Wonder at my sanity for sure 🙂

I connected with the CDTC crew: Teresa, Jabba, and Pete and we spent most of the show talking with present and future hopeful corporate sponsors, talking about why this trail was so important to support and protect, and also spent a bit of time in support of our other long trails: the AT & PCT.

Team Six Moon Designs (missing Brian!)

In fact the Appalachian Trail Conservancy put on a sneak preview of the new movie A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson’s bestselling book about a hike on the AT. It was pretty funny, and was a hoot to see Robert Redford in a comedy.

Trauma, Czech, me & Jabba at movie premier

I got to reconnect with Bearclaw who had come with her sponsor, Backpacker’s Pantry, and other hikers like Snorkle, Trauma, Zach from Appalachian Trials and many of the UL gear owners like Ron from my own Six Moon Designs, Grant and Glen from Gossamer Gear and Ron from Mountain Laurel Designs. The long distance hiking community really is like a big family, even gear competitors like to get together, share a meal and tell hiking stories. I think our niche in the market is quite unique in that way.

I was able to check in with some of my sponsors: Oboz, Point6, Sierra Sage, Six Moon Designs, Bronwen Jewelry, and also was stoked to cultivate new relationships with Backpackers Pantry and Chums.

A lot of magic happens at the OR Show…we went to go see the Yonder Mountain String Band, I met amazing climber and photographer (and really nice guy) Jimmy Chin, got Scott Jurek (the speed record holder for a supported AT hike) to wear a hikertrash hat, saw my good friend Adryon from Bend, and brushed elbows with lots of amazing people on the floor of the show.

Jimmy Chin!

Scott Jurek!

The lovely Adryon!

I even had another of my blog readers who lives in the SLC area, Gail, contact me and invite me to lunch! I’m very grateful we connected because just as she arrived to pick me up I realized my wallet was missing. I knew where I must have left it, but when I got back there it was gone. Nothing was turned in, and after retracing my steps 10 times and checking in with security I had to admit it was probably gone. Drat! The week had been going so well.

Gail & me

We went out to lunch for some amazing Mole, and then she dropped me off at the airport early so I could see about getting through security without a photo ID. She even gave me some cash to tide me over. Thanks Gail!!!!! I truly appreciate your help!

I blocked all my cards, filed a police report, and was able to get through security without too much trouble. Still a bummer that I’m now without ID and I’ll have to get some replacement cards sent ahead to myself on the trail. Ugggg!

It’s been a long week, I’m tired, not so much from the miles I must have walked on the show floor, but the constant buzz of people and conversation. It will be a relief to be back in the trees.

So close to Montana, maybe I’ll get there tomorrow!!!

I slept badly…the night has so much power to dictate the day! Clouds and wind picked up over night and the blue skies I had been enjoying the last week were covered in haze.

But it makes for killer sunrises!

I made my way down the Devil’s Canyon Shelf in the early morning passing tent after tent. So many people in the backcountry!

Soon I made a turn and started winding down the canyon below where I had camped. While still beautiful, the shelf had been where it’s at.

Finally after about 12 miles I emerged at Phelps Lake and walked the final mile to a trail head where I stuck out my thumb…I didn’t complete the loop all the way to Jenny Lake…to do so would have meant a 20+ mile day and I was eager to get to Jackson, shower, do laundry, figure out where I was staying and explore the town.

Two hitches later after a ride from a park ranger and local mushroom hunter, I was back in Jenny Lake picking up my bag and back on the road hitching south.

A climber from Massachusetts picked me up and poof, I was in the legendary burg of Jackson Hole!

First stop? A slice of pizza. Second stop? The Rec center where I took a shower, sat in the hot tub followed by another shower. I needed lots of water to help me get the deep dirt out. I would be spending the rest of the week around people and trying to make a good impression…be gone dirt!

Next up? Clothes! I passed a thrift store in the middle of town and soon had a new (to me) dress, skirt, and tanktops. The trail slipped further and further away with each hour in town.

Now where would I stay?

Meagan in Leadville had given me a lead on a friend of hers, and while I waited to hear back I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. The lack of sleep from the night before was hitting me like a ton of bricks. I was so tired I could have laid down on the nearest bench for a solid nap. Hmmmm, I decided it wouldn’t be weird to sit in the rec center hot tub or sauna with my eyes closed, so headed back over there.

I spent the rest of the afternoon there, and when I still hadn’t heard back from my contact, decided to activate plan B. When I met Beads a few days ago she mentioned that I could stay with friends of hers in town, so I texted her pal Tara, and just a short while later was headed to the apartment she shared with her boyfriend Andrew…in fact Beads was in town too!

Such great people, putting me up like that. Between Beads and I we had stuff all over the small living room, but they were most gracious!

The rest of the night we hung out telling stories and before I knew it, hiker midnight was upon us and I was ready to pass out.

Sleep! Finally!

I’m giving myself a day off. A day off in the backcountry! What luxury!

I slept in to 7:30, simply unheard of when I have to hike 25-30 miles, and am spending the morning reading in my sleeping bag. Reading, in addition to backpacking, is one of my great loves, and when I’m surrounded by quiet and no cell reception…no distractions…I can truely concentrate on what is in front of me. Today, that’s my Harpers. I’ve always found Harpers to be one of the only magazines I can read front to back, there’s poetry, essays, prose, quirky tidbits, social and political commentary…and I always come away from an issue having learned something. And I’ve downloaded a Steven King book on my phone, you know, for something easy, quick, and absorbing.

I’m only going to hike a few miles today, so laying around most of the morning is the most exquisit, relaxing, polar opposite thing I can think of to do in the middle of the Tetons. Sure I could do lots of hiking, see many more peaks and valleys, but really, my legs are tired and I have the CDT to devote my miles to.

I probably have something like 800-1,000 miles left to my trip, practically 1/3 of the entire length, but it already seems like this journey is coming to a close…why is that? I’ve heard “You’re almost done!” quite a bit lately, but am I? Some dream of taking a month to go hiking…the perspective can be quite unbalanced out here at times.

So I’ll hike a few miles today, make camp in another stunning spot in the Tetons, then hike out, hitch to Jackson, see about a shower, laundry, maybe pick up some town clothes in a thrift store, then fly to Salt Lake City for the Outdoor Retailer Show.

I’m quite excited to be taking 5 days off for the show. This will be my 3rd time to one of the largest trade shows in the outdoor industry, and since I’m attempting to make the business of the outdoors my full-time career, it will not only be a chance to oogle new gear and meet old friends, but a chance to drum up some work potential for when I return home to Bend and need to pay the rent.

Trying to make a career as a freelance writer and designer in the outdoor industry could be challenging, but if there’s one thing I’ve always done, it’s put 100% of my energy towards doing what I love, and in this case the writing, the design, creativity, AND the outdoors combines just about everything that makes me get up in the morning. Isn’t that what we are all trying to do in this world? Find something fullfilling, something to get excited about, and pay the bills at the same time?

I’m looking forward to this new chapter in my life – post thru-hike. If the business of the outdoors is my specialty, I hope that allows me to spend more time…outdoors! Packrafting, backcountry skiing, rafting, sea kayaking, backpacking, biking, adventuring…I have to do it to be able to write about it, right?

Ya’ll will have a front row seat as I try to make this happen, I have some great ideas of how to translate my hike into art and opportunity when I get back, and I hope this blog serves to chronicle this journey even after I don’t have to hike 25 miles a day anymore.

So to give into this day, I have hours of reading, plenty of food, and an inspiring view to keep me company.

After finally starting my hike about noon, I came upon a group and immediately a woman asked if I was hiking the CDT. When I said yes, she exclaimed “She-ra! I’m reading your blog!” What a small world! Nancy was from North Carolina, but was out for a 5 day backpacking trip in the Tetons, and she’s been following my trip from the beginning! Wow, I was flattered and excited to meet someone who had been inspired by my stories. What a treat.

So cool to meet Nancy!

I hiked about 2 miles before deciding it was time for lunch, and settled on a rock ledge for a few hours. Then I hiked another 2 miles and found an amazing spot to camp on Death Canyon Shelf. I have an incredible view of the canyon, and spent the rest of the afternoon finishing my magazine…next my Steven King novel!

View from camp

Even after a day of doing almost nothing, I’m still tired at 6:30. Tomorrow I’ll head to Jackson and get ready for my trip. It’s gotten off to a lesiurly and relaxing start!