Truly One Foot In Front of the Other – CDT Edition

31 2191.1 7/15/2021 sunny, hot, dark clouds, sprinkles. I needed less mileage, less climbing and less weight. So I did slack-pack today for 16 miles with climbs and with switchbacks. Got to Justin around 1 pm. It was just nice to sit afterwards. I put up my tent under his fancy awning. It took me quite awhile to get going: break down the slack-pack and prepare for three days on my own. I have 45 miles and there are a lot of climbs so I’m preparing for them. We sat and chatted to pass the time. Then as dinner rolled around dark clouds showed up, a gusty front came through, it got cooler and sprinkles came down. Luckily we were not in the direct path. Dinner was sausages in tortillas. After dinner I got in my tent to prepare for tomorrow. Then it started to downpour along with hail. I put out my vestibule flaps. My tent is getting old and is now leaking. Water is seeping through the tent and the hail causes micro-drops to fall on me. Finally the rain, hail, lightning, and thunder stopped. I made it through the deluge.

30 2175.2 7/14/2021 sunny, hot, some clouds. Woke up later after yesterday’s off-trail crazies. Got water and guzzled a lemonade bottle with breakfast. Tasted good. Immediately on trail at 5:45 and didn’t check my direction. Hiked about a half mile off course. OMG! Returned to bad turn and took off at 6 am. Story of my life especially after yesterday I should know better.  Regardless I was slow because of the climbs and at 8 am I had only done 3 miles. It was going to be a long day. There were several climbs and I had to count twenty-fives for them. At each snack and at lunch I guzzled water. I met a SOBO thru-hiker named Austin. It took me to 5:30 pm to get to Justin. I was in tears – it was so hard and so long. I sat and drank numerous (greater than 5) cans of soda or soda water. I could barely move. I think I need a break, a zero day. Dinner was carnitas tacos which was spicy. Tomorrow is a slack pack day.

29 2155.2 7/13/2021 overcast, smokey. Justin and I woke at the AirBnB at 4:30 and dropped me off at 5:30 on trail. The first part was an 8 mile road walk. Just afterwards I met another hiker named “Uncle  Walter”. Then next were grassy hills. The climbs were very steep. And there were a lot of them. Around noon I got off trail and when I tried to get back on trail I goofed and started hiking SOBO. Oh no! I didn’t catch my error until I had gone 3 miles. So I had to hike back 3 more miles. This wasted over three hours. So instead of ending around 5:30 pm I ended at 8:30 pm. It was a very very long day and I’m exhausted, but I made it to my planned endpoint.

28 2133.7 7/12/2021 Smokey, sunny, hot hot. I got on trail a bit later at 5:40, the sun rise is taking longer and the smoke is making it darker. I immediately had a 1000’ climb which was straight up. Also I had my full backpack today having had my daypack the past few days. I started in forest but at the summit it was grassy with sage. I accidentally went the wrong way, but realized it after about 0.25 miles and turned around. Then it was a long road walk to Justin in the heat. I tried to conserve water and my lips and tongue were dry. Although it was only 11.6 miles today I was tired when I reached him. He plied me with a Squirt and off we drove to Lima MT. Justin got us an AirBnB with two beds. To wait while it was available we had a late breakfast at a Cafe. It was filling and good. After breakfast he told me that there is a 35 miles trail closure in about 200 miles. We have two options hike around it or skip it. Since it’s only 35 miles we’re thinking about skipping it. The AirBnB is especially important because it has a shower. It’s been 9 days since I had one and I stink. Now dear Justin is out doing laundry. He is such a sweetheart. While out doing laundry he met two CDT hikers and when he mentioned “Tartan” they remembered me from last year. He invited them over for hamburgers and brats. We had dinner and chatted with Grace and Mike and had a lovely time. Afterward I did my chores and went to bed. 

27 2122.1 7/11/2021 Smokey, sunny, some clouds. Woke early. Quite dark out. Smoke in the air. I left our campsite at the trailhead and started my day of climbs. I listened to my audio book, The Splendid and the Vile. Some climbs were easy, but others were long, steep and on gravel which cause my feet to slip. I even fell once. At lunch I stopped at a spring that poured water into a trough. Two horses were tied up nearby. There was a big old canvas tent there, but I saw no one around. Then after lunch I had a descent which was steep and it tired my legs just slowing down each step. Justin could not get the Jeep to the meetup point. So he carried my backpack and food and water 1.2 miles to the meetup. I arrived at 2 pm. I transferred water and other stuff from my daypack to my backpack. Justin left and I set up my tent and tried to nap, but couldn’t sleep. Tomorrow we meet at Interstate 15 in 11.6 miles. We’re going to Lima for showers, laundry and grub which I desperately need.

26 2103.3 7/10/2021 sunny, hot. An uneventful day of hiking. Started at 5:30 and got to Justin at 1:30. Started with a medium climb over 5 miles and then descended over 14 miles with some smaller hills on the way down. Sometimes the trail was confusing and I just used Guthooks to get back on trail. Had lunch when I arrived because the mosquitoes on the trail near the end were awful. Justin and I just relaxed under the awning for the afternoon at the trailhead. He chatted with various people who stopped by this trailhead. He is my very sociable son. Dinner was easy. Mac and cheese with some leftover BBQ  brisket. I also had tortilla soup to get more hydrated. My little tent is in the sun but it’ll be down soon enough. Tomorrow is about 20 miles and has some climbs. I’m getting to the point I want a shower and clean clothes. I stink and I’m filthy. 

25 2084.2 7/9/2021 sunny, breezy. On trail about 5:25 am. Doing it as a slack-pack. No big climbs but many smaller ones. After lunch I got off trail while listening to an audio book. Missed a turn. Must have gone over a mile off so walked it back. Probably lost over an hour. Made me get done around 3:30 pm. Gotta watch better for Trail junctions. Ugh! Justin made brats for dinner. Yum. We think a forest fire started on the other side of the hill where we are camping. Big white puffy clouds erupting there. Justin is going to keep an eye in it. I can smell the smoke.

24 2062.5 7/8/2021 sunny, clouds, smoke. Today was climbs and long. I was out on trail at 5:25. Both climbs were ok. The audio book helped me keep my mind off the climbs. By 11:00 I finished the second one to Targhee pass at 10,000 feet. Whew! I had lunch about 12:15 and met Cheeto, Blind squirrel, and Flip. They were flip-flopping around CDT waiting for the Colorado snow to dissipate. Then about 3 miles to the Jeep I crossed a stream and they are there cooling down AND SO IS JUSTIN. And he had cold sodas for me. Fantastic! Nevertheless the last 3 miles were hard. I was exhausted. Later at the Jeep Justin and I met a CDT section hiker named iPod. He’s doing southern Montana. We gave him a coke and chatted for a while. For dinner Justin cooked steaks. Yum!

23 2039.6 7/7/2021 sunny, clouds, sparse dark clouds, some sprinkles. Got up a few minutes early, packed up my backpack and put it in the Jeep. Headed out with my slack-pack after breakfast of a pop-tart and Mio-laced water. Bopping along on forest road I made great time and completed almost 6 miles in first two hours. Kept pushing and got 20 miles done and got to Justin by about 1 pm. Yippee! We went to West Yellowstone for great BBQ and then back to the trailhead. Set up my tent. Although dark clouds appeared and a few rain drops fell we had a light dinner. I had corn chowder. Now it’s time for bed. Tomorrow will be a tough day with two big climbs and 23 miles. I’m planning to slack-pack it. I hope that there are only a few blowdowns and I can make it all the way. I’ll tell you tomorrow in my daily log. Night night.