Follow Strider's Rambles

Day 29

Over breakfast, I chatted with Swampy and True Grit. I enjoyed their company. True Grit had a trail angel taking him southwest so that he could slack pack back to Anaconda. Swampy planned to ride with him and continue along the trail; she wanted to skip the road walk. I’ll likely run into Swampy in the next couple days, which will be fun.

From the hostel, I headed west along Park Ave. Realizing I shorted myself on calories, I stopped at a gas station and bought a bag of trail mix. The road walk was quite pleasant. Unlike coming into town, I only walked 2/3 of a mile on pavement, otherwise FarOut wove me via dirt roads to either side of the highway. With excitement, I started the newest Hunger Games book, Sunrise on the Reaping.

Eventually I turned onto a dirt road that took me towards the Twin Lakes trailhead. From the trailhead, I continued along the trail to the lakes. It being a Sunday, I met several day hikers. A large Western Toad hopped across the trail and I chased it for a picture. Then the sky darkened and rumbled before letting loose a brief rain storm. It was nice to have my pack cover, which I got from my dad in Helena.

The lower Twin Lake was small and shallow, however the upper one was picturesque. I continued past it, skirted a boulder field (where I saw my first Elephant Head flowers of this hike!), and hiked over Twin Lakes Pass. That brought me into another valley and ultimately to Storm Lake, where I hiked 3/4 of the way around the lake and set up camp. After a 24 mile day, I was hungry for dinner. Oh, and best of all, my body felt good!

Day 30

It was an epic day with five climbs that totaled ~6,000 ft. of gain over nearly 24 miles. Almost immediately, I entered the Anaconda Pintler Wilderness. The first climb took me up Storm Lake Pass. I felt a little low on energy for that one. A feeling which luckily dissipated with a good amount of snacking and perseverance. Anyway, then I traversed a cirque and came upon Goat Flats, a beautiful, alpine plain. After only 2.5 miles, I rejoined the CDT, then dropped into a lovely valley that contained Page and Flower lakes.

Throughout the day, water sources were everywhere. The next two climbs were up a ridge of Rainbow Mountain and Cutaway Pass. I ate lunch on the latter. Swiss cheese and chips on a mountain pass tasted amazing! Also, I love Montana and getting to hike across it is so special.

In the next valley, I found ripe huckleberries and did a fair amount of grazing, yum! I did the fourth climb in the midst of an afternoon thunderstorm. There was rain and hail, yet no lightning. While stopped under a tree to put water in my dinner, another SoBo came upon me. His name was Jan. We chatted while we reached and passed Warren Lake then on into the next descent.

I stopped to eat dinner at a small stream, which unfortunately swarmed with mosquitos. Jan continued on, but we agreed to camp halfway up the next climb, at Rainbow Lake. When I reached the flat campsite beside the lake, I found Swampy already there. I was happy to see her again! While I set up my tent, we caught up. She got a ride most of the way to Storm Lake then did two short days. I marveled that I was camped with two other thru-hikers, what a rarity on this trail!

Day 31

In the morning, I was reluctant to rise as it was sprinkling lightly and my bag felt so cozy. The others seemed reluctant too, though soon we were all up and the rain had ceased. Swampy admired my tent. She had a Zpacks single wall tent, but it was not as roomy and apparently hard to avoid the walls when wet or heavily condensed. The three of us chatted as we packed. Near 8 am, a late start, I headed up Rainbow Pass in bright sunlight. At the top, there was a fantastic view of Martin and Johnson lakes nestled in a tree-filled valley.

Johnson Lake’s shore marked the transition to a new FarOut map: Southern Montana & Idaho! The next climb was up Pintler Pass and on top I planned to take a break and dry my tent. I arrived to find Jan doing that very thing. He saw two mountain goats, which I was sad to have missed. I laid my tent out and soon Swampy was there and doing the same. We  chatted and ate snacks. Though I enjoy hiking solo – so do the others – I said it was nice to have company and they both agreed.

Mid-day I saw Swampy every now and then as one or the other of us stopped for water or a snack. When I stopped for a late lunch in the shade, she came along and joined me. She is making a vlog of her CDT journey and I told her about my blog. We also discussed how women are better than men at completing long distance trails.

In the late afternoon, I encountered Jan at a bridged stream. It was 12 miles to the next water so I filtered two liters and started my dinner. Again the three of us chatted; what a fun day this has been! He was going on to Surprise Lake while Swampy and I were only doing 20 miles. However, Jan also has a box in Camp Sula so I will see him when I resupply.

Swampy and I set up our tents in two sandy spots on a ridge with great views to both sides. It was great to eat outside without mosquitos. I learned that before she quit her job to hike she was a social worker who worked with troubled teenagers. There was weather blowing in, yet the rain held off until we finished dinner.

Day 32

From our campsite ridge, the trail wound downhill through an area with lots of downfall. It was either step over, climb over, or walk around. On top of the following ascent, I met a section hiker named Humblepie. Then I met his companion Willy something or other, who told me a cute story. They were best buds in high school, but lost touch for 35 years. Then Humblepie was doing a CDT section SoBo and Willy the Colorado trail NoBo. They met, chatted, and finally recognized one another. A year later they’re doing a week on the CDT together, what fun!

At the day’s first creek crossing, I stopped for water. We’d dry camped and I was nearly out. Swampy was only a minute behind me, we have a similar pace. Less than a mile later, we came upon Surprise Lake, which was peaceful and lovely. We ate lunch on top of the day’s highest climb. Swampy dried her tent, which got overnight condensation, wind having dried the rainfall.

I made a concerted effort to eat hearty snacks throughout the day. Since we plan to reach the highway at 12:30 pm tomorrow, I have extra food and my body needs the calories. The walking was really easy all afternoon. It was also warm, 90 degrees, and no shade in what was mostly burn. In order to dry camp again, we filled up from an unmarked creek that I discovered by reading waypoint comments. It was crystal clear, amazing water.

Soon the sky clouded over and a bit later it began to hail. We put on our rain gear. The precipitation vacillated between rain and hail; it didn’t let up. There was constant rumbling and occasional lightning (not close, I kept count). The rain and hail intensified and my rain jacket gave up, all my worn layers were wet, and I felt slightly chilled. Then the trail turned into a rushing creek, chilly water which I trudged through. Puddles were everywhere, there was nowhere to camp.

When I told Wendy from Camp Sula that I’d be there tomorrow, she’d warned me of flooding. At the time, it was warm and dry, it seemed preposterous, though I’d checked the forecast, which warned of flash flood potential in burn areas. Back to experiencing it… Swampy and I kept hiking and the trail took us up a climb. At the top, we found live trees, flat ground, and no puddles. We set up our tents. Thanks to my pack cover and trash compactor bag, everything inside my pack was dry. Inside, I shivered until I peeled off my wet layers and replaced them with dry ones. My feet were the last to warm, but I was soon cozy. I ate dinner in my tent and enjoyed every bite of my cold soaked peanut noodles.

Day 33

I awoke to clear skies. As we packed, Swampy and I chatted about the craziness of the night before. Events like that make the best stories once they are past!

It was an easy 10.5 miles walking to Chief Joseph Pass/ Highway 43. We were early, still it was a short wait until Max “Flash” pulled up in his pickup. Swampy connected with him through a Facebook PCT group. He did the PCT in 1977 and now he’s a fabulous trail angel. I’d planned to stay at Camp Sula, however the forecast called for another rainy night so he insisted that I come along to his house. I was easily swayed so we stopped at Sula to pick up my box and continued to Darby.

Max brought us cold tea to drink in route. In town, he insisted on treating us to lunch at the 406 Saloon. I had a veggie burger on a gluten free bun with sweet potato fries. It was tasty! Then he took us to his beautiful property with a vineyard, berry bushes, trees loaded with apples, and deer and chickens roaming the lawn. Swampy and I showered and did laundry.

In the late afternoon, Max took us into Hamilton so that Swampy could resupply. Upon our return, he and his wife Tina treated us to a superb dinner of smoked salmon, corn on the cob, and potatoes followed by ice cream, mine with huckleberries while the others ate huckleberry pie. It was a fabulous meal and our hosts were so nice. We ate in a small building by a creek. Then it was bedtime, Swampy headed to a queen bed in a tiny house and I slept in a luxurious camper.