Follow Strider's Rambles

Day 25

Over breakfast, I chatted with a Great Divide bikepacker from South Africa. He thought he had too much food until he saw my full bear canister. Leaving Helena, I had 5+ days of food when really I only needed four. Still, my pack felt lighter than heading into town, probably because my body was rested. Funny how that works. 

From MTBCity, I walked to Highway 12. It took me ~15 minutes to get a ride. When I did, it was from a friendly man, Craig Abernathy, who often gives rides to hikers. He also gave me a snack size bag of hard candies, trail magic! Craig and I chatted about hiking and fishing.

I was happy to be back on trail! Not far from the pass was a boardwalk that reminded me of the AT in New Jersey. Next came a miles long area of unsightly giant mulch. I asked a day hiker about it and she said it was beetle kill that was chopped up and spread around. It continued until shortly after Switchback Ridge. Afterwards the trail became blowdown city, though I didn’t mind as it gave my upper body a workout.

In the evening, I stopped for dinner, then hiked a couple more miles. I saw my first elk of the trail, a male with large antlers and a female. At that point, my right foot and a muscle in that same calf were really hurting. Plus my pinky toe blister had re-opened. I felt discouraged and contemplated a zero in Anaconda or on trail, but did not want to as it would slow me further… felt an urgency to make miles. Maybe I won’t make it to Mexico? Then I met Slide, a NoBo who had hiked all the way from Mexico. It was a brief encounter, yet it lit my fire. I will do this, I will keep going.

Day 26

Yay, my blister dried overnight! A recovery that was not occurring prior to my zero day. Thinking of Wendy, I focused on careful foot placement while hiking through a pleasant forest packed with spindly pines. After an initial bit of aching, my foot stopped hurting and only the calf muscle bugged me. I’m on the mend!

The CDT is funny, there will be no blaze for miles upon miles. Then today I got these comically large blazes near junctions.

Late morning, the trail took me near the top of Thunderbolt Mountain. I got cell service and used it to check on several library book holds. On the descent, I met Night Crawler, finishing a section from Butte to Canada, though he did the whole trail a couple years ago. We chatted for a while and he gave me a couple good tips on two areas in New Mexico.

Near Cottonwood Lake, which looked more like a pond, I ate lunch. There were enough water sources that I bypassed the reed edged, stagnant ponds and collected from streams and a spring. Mid-afternoon, I met a couple section hikers and a thru-hiker traveling with them for a section. I startled a mom grouse and got an up-close look at her two babies.

In the evening, I got water from a cow tank inlet pipe, traveled under giant DC power lines, and stopped for dinner. I continued on for several miles, having trouble finding a camp site that I liked. Finally, I made my own, next to live pine trees on the edge of a meadow filled with white mariposa lilies.

Day 27

What a lovely camping spot! Early morning sunlight lit my tent. The day’s hike started with trail broken by road walk snippets so I had to keep a careful eye on junctions. At Champion Pass, I met a SoBo named Sunflower, who was doing a van supported thru-hike. We chatted and hiked together for a half hour then she broke into a jog. Her journey didn’t sound fun to me, missing the entire camping aspect.

After hiking 6.3 miles, I reached the Anaconda Cutoff trail junction. This is a popular alternate because it simplifies resupply by taking you directly through Anaconda and cuts ~90 trail miles that make a big loop around Butte. I was sorely tempted to continue towards Butte as I had enough food. However, then I’d need to push for a week to make my next resupply and coming off an injury that didn’t seem wise. So I took the cutoff… after all, it’s a choose your own adventure trail!

The rest of the day was dirt road walking. I put on a four hour audiobook titled Remote Control. At one point, a couple in a pickup stopped and offered me fruit. I thanked them and took a delicious, crisp apple. For a long time, the road was in a canyon and paralleled Cottonwood Creek. When it turned across farmland, there was no shade and I drank most of my water. A lady in an ATV told me to turn in at her farm and get water from a spigot. I gratefully filled both my bottles.

I camped near a pump house building that had a clean and open Porta Potty. There was an impressive thunderstorm blowing in and I got my tent up mere minutes before it hit. The storm didn’t last long, but with I-90 less than a mile away, I was out of camping options and content with my spot.

Day 28

It was only ten miles from my tent site to the eastern edge of Anaconda, mostly paved road walking with a tiny shoulder – ughh – however, it went fast. Once in town, I went to McDonald’s to get coffee and use the WiFi. Someone called my name and I looked up to see Stew, who I hadn’t seen since my first day south from Marias Pass. We chatted for a while; he, Mamacita, and Bugs Bunny slack-packed from Storm Lake yesterday so they are about a day ahead of me.

For a brief time, I contemplated pushing to catch the other hikers, but I’m actually happy as I am, hiking my own hike and going my own pace.

At Albertsons, I did my resupply plus got lunch and dinner food. This time I craved hummus, veggies, Tillamook Swiss cheese, and gluten free Chips Ahoy. I ate lunch in a shady spot in the park then walked to Pintler’s Portal Hostel. It was a great place, super clean with a huge kitchen and lounge area filled with cozy chairs. I had one roommate in my 4-bed female dorm room. Her name was Ester, Swampy, and she was from Germany. She’s also hiking the CDT, her first USA thru-hike.

In the evening, I lounged in leggings and cozy loaner tops. There was one other thru-hiker at the hostel: Phil, True Grit. He got his name on the AT when he briefly wore an eye patch for a scratched cornea. He asked if Swampy and I wanted to slack pack with him tomorrow. Not me, I’m ready for the climb!