Day 117 - Continental Divide Trail - Big Lake Creek to Three Mile Ridge

Day: 117

Date: Saturday, 31 August 2024

Start:  Big Lake Creek

Finish:  Three Mile Ridge 

Daily Kilometres:  40.0

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3418.6

Weather:  Cool early then warm with hazy sunshine.

Accommodation:  Tent 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported; both have eye irritation from the wildfire smoke.

Highlight:  We don't very often get somewhere earlier than expected or climb less than expected, but the last 10km today qualified on both counts.  After a solid day of ascents and descents, we were expecting 2500’ of ascents and 1300’ of descents.  Happily, trail crews had built new trail around the sides, following the contours, of some of the mountains we were expecting to climb and the hiking was easier and faster.

Lowlight:  Despite making better time than expected over the last 10km of the day (see above), we were in a badly burnt forest where we could not find anywhere suitable to put up our tent.  We kept hiking to 9pm, using our headlamps, and eventually found somewhere very lumpy and very sloping.  We expect an uncomfortable night.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by 6:30am on a still but smokey morning, hoping that we were in for an easier day than yesterday.  Initially, though the trail was very rocky, it followed the contours high above a valley, making for comfortable walking.  Sadly, the smoke haze marred the views and most of the surrounding mountains were silhouettes.

After a few kilometres we descended nearly 3000’ to the forested Sheep Creek valley, at around 5700’, our lowest point on the trail for a very long time.  There were some tricky creek crossings, but we managed OK apart from Dave dunking one boot when he slipped off a rock.

Whatever goes down must come up, and the afternoon was spent climbing on a mix of single-track and 4WD tracks back up to the crest of the Continental Divide and the Idaho-Montana border at over 8000’.  There were some really nice forested sections along the way and there would have been some good views, but the smoke haze spoiled them.

After dinner at Big Hole Pass (7053’), where we were passed by a couple in their car on the forest road, the only people we saw all day, we apprehensively tackled our last 10km of the day, which didn't turn out quite as bad as expected (see above), though it was sad to see so much burnt forest showing no signs of regeneration.

Eventually, we found somewhere to camp (see above), having gone further and later than hoped.  We are looking forward to a shorter day tomorrow and a day off on Monday in the town of Darby, to which we will hitchhike.

Day 116 - Continental Divide Trail - Miner Creek to Big Lake Creek

Day: 116

Date: Friday, 30 August 2024

Start:  Miner Creek

Finish:  Big Lake Creek

Daily Kilometres:  35.5

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3378.6

Weather:  Cool early then mild to warm and sunny with a smoke haze.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - very tired and the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  We spent much of the day surrounded by magnificent steep rocky mountains, reminiscent of the Wind River Range, complete with pristine alpine lakes and gnarly pine forest in the valleys.

Lowlight:  Thick smoke haze from some big wildfires in central Idaho marred the views and irritated Dave's eyes.  The radio news tells us that many local sporting and other outdoor events have been cancelled or postponed this long weekend, including the opening of the high school football season, because of the health dangers posed by the smoke.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Dave forgot to set the alarm and we didn't wake until after 6am but, with a big effort, were hiking by 7am on a smoky cool morning.

Initially, we had a long descent, 1000’, from the 8300’ where we had been camped, but then it was a day of mountains and mountain passes as the CDT, which had strayed well into Montana, made its way back to the Continental Divide and the Idaho-Montana border.

It seemed like we were always climbing, mostly on good trail and often switch-backing, and we did ascend nearly 5000’ over the day, but there was nearly as much descending.  Progress was slow, but the scenery was brilliant, and a big change from yesterday's “green tunnel”.

Apart from the hikers who camped near us last night and said goodbye as they left, we saw one other young northbound CDT thruhiker early on, then nobody else for the rest of the day.

We kept hiking until 8pm to make up for our slow progress and late start and found a tent site just off the trail on a saddle beneath a towering rocky mountain.  It had been a tough but good day.

Day 115 - Continental Divide Trail - Goldstone Pass to Miner Creek

Day: 115

Date: Thursday, 29 August 2024

Start:  Goldstone Pass

Finish:  Miner Creek

Daily Kilometres:  37.8

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3343.1

Weather:  Cold early then mild to warm and mostly sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  After a fairly windy night, we woke to a calm and very cold morning and the first couple of hours hiking were magic as we climbed over some rocky knolls and followed a cliff edge as the sun gradually rose.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Strangely, three motorcycles roared by on the remote forest road near to where we were camped at around 10:30pm.  What were they doing?  Anyway, apart from the noise, they didn't disturb us and we woke at 5:30am after a windy night.

It was perfectly calm as we packed up and we were hiking by 6:45am on a beautiful, if cold, morning.  The first hours, though they involved a couple of solid climbs and descents were fantastic.  Great views up high and lovely peaceful forest in the valleys.

After those first few hours, the rest of the day was spent hiking on undulating single-track trail through mostly pine forest at a lower altitude, between 7000’ and 8000’.  There were occasional meadows and pretty little streams but mostly we were in the “green tunnel”.

It was warmer and calmer than yesterday and, by afternoon, we were both hiking in shorts and t-shirts

We didn't see anybody at all until after we had set up camp around 7:20pm, when, about an hour later, two northbound CDT thru-hikers turned up, one of whom we have met before, and camped nearby.  We thought we were the last of the northbounders, but apparently not.

Day 114 - Continental Divide Trail - Warm Springs Road to Goldstone Pass

Day: 114

Date: Wednesday, 28 August 2024

Start:  Warm Springs Road 

Finish:  Goldstone Pass

Daily Kilometres:  37.1

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3305.3

Weather:  Very cold early then cool and mostly sunny with a cold wind.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported 

Highlight:  After spending most of the day hiking through forest, the last two hours took us across a series of rocky outcrops with terrific views of the surrounding mountains.

Lowlight:  Getting up in the mornings has been a lowlight for the last few weeks when it has been very cold.  We both curse when the alarm goes off, not wanting to leave the warmth of our sleeping bags, but we do.  Then comes 30 minutes of getting dressed and packing everything up inside the tent, keeping as warm as possible, then 30 minutes of packing up outside, including the tent and our packs and sorting out what food needs to be accessible during the day.  It can be a miserable 30 minutes with frozen hands.  It's always a relief to put on our packs and start walking.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

It rained quite a lot overnight but, with a wind continuing to blow, everything was dry when we woke and packed to leave on an exceptionally cold morning.  The rain last night had been part of a strong cold front, as the weatherman on Dave's radio later reported.

For most of the day, we continued to follow the Continental Divide and the state border northwards, mostly on reasonable single-track trail through pine forest, although we did pass through several burn areas.  It was good to see new trees beginning to grow in these stark landscapes.

There was only one place to get water during the day, a stream which we accessed by detouring off the trail and following a forest road for a few kilometres. We saw two cars on the road and the only other person we saw today was a trail runner.  The trail here is part of the course of the Beaverhead Ultra.

Later in the day, we reached a more rocky landscape and the trail took us over some outcrops before climbing steeply to the top of the last, reaching 9700’, before we descended steeply to Goldstone Pass.  Julie, who had gone ahead, got some water from a spring a little off the trail and we found somewhere reasonably protected to camp amongst the trees around 7pm.  There is a cold wind blowing and it is very cold, so we ate and got into the tent as quickly as we could.

Day 113 - Continental Divide Trail - Bannock Pass to Warm Springs Road

Day: 113

Date: Tuesday, 27 August 2024

Start:  Bannock Pass (but staying in Leadore ID)

Finish:  Warm Springs Road

Daily Kilometres:  39.7

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3268.2

Weather:  Cold early then mild to warm and mostly sunny with a smoke haze.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Jen, our shuttle driver, delivered is back to the trail at 7:00am and we were hiking soon afterwards on a cold and breezy morning.

Heavy packs and uphill, as usual, for our first day out of town, but at least the grade of the trail was not too steep.

We climbed up from Bannock Pass (7682’) onto the crest of the Continental Divide )also the Idaho-Montana border) and followed it roughly northwards for the rest of the day, generally at around 9000’.

For much of the time we were in pine forest and, for the first 10km, followed a very old log fence that marked the border.  Occasionally, we emerged into meadows with views that made us realise how high we were, with valleys and agriculture far below.

On the Montana side, later in the day, we could see the wildfire burning that we had heard about, but it didn't seem to pose any threat to us.  However, as the day wore on, the smoke haze became thicker and thicker though it may have emanated from other wildfires in Idaho.

The trail alternated between single-track and 4WD track and though there was the occasional steep section, the walking was generally good.  Nevertheless, there was plenty of elevation gain and loss during the day (+/- 4400’) so we were working hard.

We didn't see anybody on the trail in the morning but, later in the day we met a southbound CDT hiker and a couple riding ATVs then, shortly before we camped, we came across a trail-crew camp with a couple of guys who had been building new trail (which we had just hiked along).

There weren't many possible tent sites on the sloping and rocky terrain when we started looking for a spot around 7:30pm and it was 8pm before we found a marginal sloping site and set up our tent.  It is very smoky.

Day 112 - Continental Divide Trail - Leadore

Day: 112

Date: Monday, 26 August 2024

Start:  Bannock Pass (but staying in Leadore ID

Finish:  Bannock Pass (but staying in Leadore ID

Daily Kilometres:  0.0

GPX Track:  Click here and here for Julie’s Strava & Photos from her run and walk today

Total Kilometres:  3228.5

Weather:  Cold early then warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Microwaved breakfast burritos.

  Lunch:  Cheeseburgers, ice-cream.

  Dinner:  Pizza, ice-cream.

Aches:  Nothing reported.

Highlight:  Jen, our shuttle driver from yesterday, kindly bought what supplies we needed at the Walmart in Idaho Falls, nearly 200km away, on a trip there today for a dentist appointment.  We were expecting to make do with the very limited range of supplies available at the general store here in Leadore, so.were very happy to accept her unsolicited offer made yesterday and put together a shopping list.  She will also be shuttling us back to the trail early tomorrow morning before she takes her kids to the first day of the new school year.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular. 

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Julie went for an early run into the rural. countryside around Leadore while Dave slept in.

Then it was a very quiet day of chores, admin and relaxation.  Dave did some planning, particularly around what day we will finish the hike and how we will get from there back to Los Angeles and our flights home.  Julie took care of all the day's logistics and still found time to go for an afternoon walk.

We had lunch at the general store, which is the hub of this tiny town, that seems to have good community spirit despite a number of closed and derelict businesses in the short main street.

Given the limited menu at the general store, it was pizza for.an early dinner again tonight.

Day 111 - Continental Divide Trail - Elk Mountain to Bannock Pass

Day: 111

Date: Sunday, 25 August 2024

Start:  Elk Mountain 

Finish:  Bannock Pass (but staying in Leadore ID

Daily Kilometres:  18.5

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3228.5

Weather:  Very cold early, then just cold with an increasingly strong wind, and partly sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Snacks

  Lunch:  Pulled pork sandwich & macaroni salad, cookie

  Dinner:  Meat lovers pizza, pastry

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Although it was very cold, the first hour of hiking over the shoulder of Elk Mountain at about 10000' was magic as the sky slowly lightened in the east and the sun finally showed itself.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Before we went to bed last night, Dave tried to make contact with the motel owner in the tiny town of Leadore where we had booked a room for tonight and tomorrow night and planned to resupply.  He had said he would arrange a shuttle for us from Bannock Pass, where there was little traffic, which we expected to reach around noon today.  However, we needed to phone from the upper parts of Elk Mountain, the only part of the trail with phone reception before the Pass, which was still 19km away.  Anyway, he wasn't answering his phone and Dave left a message, knowing that, with our planned early start, he didn't want to be calling again before 7am on a Sunday morning.

We got up at 5am, wanting to make sure we got to Bannock Pass comfortably before noon, and were hiking by 6am, with headlamps, on a beautiful cold clear morning (see above).  Soon after, when we had some reception, Dave checked his phone and there was a message confirming our shuttle to Leadore.

Initially, we had a steady climb on single track above the treeline over the shoulder of, and very near the summit of, Elk Mountain.  The trail passed across steep slopes including some talus fields, requiring attentive footwork despite the temptation to look at the views.

Later, the trail followed 4WD tracks along the treeless spine of the Continental Divide and state border as it descended to Bannock Pass (7700’).  It was another rollercoaster ride with a few climbs that had Dave worried about getting gravel rash on his nose (or on his butt when descending).

Every now and then we just had to stop and take in the fantastic alpine views, even though they were marred a little by smoke haze which we later learned emanates from a new wildfire not that far from the CDT ahead of us.  We hope we don't have to make a detour.

We reached the Pass at 11:15am and sat at a picnic table in the cold wind while we waited for our shuttle.  Jen arrived at 11:45am and we enjoyed a chatty ride for the 22km of gravel road to Leadore.  Jen dropped our packs at the unmanned motel and then dropped us at the nearby general store where we bought some lunch.  There were a lot of firefighters and vehicles there getting lunch when we arrived.  They were fighting the new wildfire.

The store is the only place to get food in the tiny town and closes at 4pm on Sundays.  We bought a pixza from there for a very early dinner.  There is a cafe in town but it is only open Wed to Sat!  Bad timing on our part.

We are pleased to have finished the five days to Leadore, which we had heard was tough.  We were lucky with the weather, even though we copped some thunderstorms, hail and strong cold winds.  So much of the trail is very high on exposed ridges and would be no fun in really adverse weather.

We passed 2000 miles today.

Day 110 - Continental Divide Trail - Coyote Creek to Elk Mountain

Day: 110

Date: Saturday, 24 August 2024

Start:  Coyote Creek 

Finish:  Elk Mountain 

Daily Kilometres:  34.7

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3210.0

Weather:  Very cold morning then cold and overcast all day with a strong wind in the afternoon.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rice & tuna/Rice

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  All afternoon, as we hiked along the top of the Continental Divide on a broad grassy ridge averaging an altitude of 9000’ and following the Idaho-Montana border, we had superb, if a little hazy, views in all directions of layered mountain ranges receding into the distance.

Lowlight:  From mid-afternoon, a strong and very cold wind sprang up which made hiking along the very exposed ridge (see above) quite unpleasant.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by 6:45am on a very cold morning but were treated to a beautiful sunrise as we followed the single-track trail across a talus field and down to the upper slopes of the broad grassy valley below.

Before long we joined a 4WD track and then followed various 4WD tracks until late afternoon.  In the morning, we stayed mostly in a grassy valley, passing through occasional pockets of pine forest, but all the while gradually climbing towards a distant pass.

We reached there around noon and then followed the ridge of the Continental Divide northwards.  It was very exposed and a bit of a rollercoaster, but had great views all the way.  At first it was very peaceful under grey skies but, as the afternoon wore on, the wind became much stronger and that took the edge off our enjoyment.

Fortunately, around 5pm, when we had both had enough of the freezing wind, we left the exposed 4WD track to follow a single-track trail through some forest climbing steadily up the side of a long ravine which was mostly protected from the wind.

Around 6:30pm, we found a somewhat protected tent site in a small copse of pine trees on a ridge at 9500’ and set up camp.  Although the sun made a belated appearance, it was cold while we ate dinner and we anticipate a very cold night.

The only people we saw all day were a couple in an ATV who passed us along the ridge and asked if we needed anything (we didn't).  We did see a herd of deer earlier in the day, but much other animal life.

Day 109 - Continental Divide Trail - Divide Creek to Coyote Creek

Day: 109

Date: Friday, 23 August 2024

Start:  Divide Creek

Finish:  Coyote Creek

Daily Kilometres:  32.6

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3175.3

Weather:  Cold early then a mild mostly sunny morning.  Storms, cold winds and hail in the afternoon. Partly cloudy in the evening.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  For the last part of the afternoon we hiked along a broad treeless ridge at around 10000’ with superb mountain views in every direction.  It was very windy and cold but, had we been a few hours earlier, we would have been caught in dangerous thunderstorms (see below).

Lowlight:  A cold front came through in the early afternoon bringing with it a significant drop in the temperature, strong cold winds, thunder, lightning and hail which turned the ground white and pummelled us mercilessly.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

There had been quite a lot of rain overnight and a little bit of water had got into the tent, maybe because our Tyvek groundsheet was protruding a little.  Nothing too serious.

Dave was slow to get going for some reason and it was 6:50am before we started hiking.  Initially, we had some nice pine forest walking and descended to picturesque and crystal clear Deadman Lake.  From there we followed a 4WD track steeply upwards then across open grazing land, with some cattle visible in the distance.  We passed quite close to a couple of RVs camping near Nicholia Creek and some cabins but didn't see anyone apart from one southbound CDT thru-hiker.  

The only other person we saw all day was another southbound CDT hiker when we stopped for lunch a few hours later once we had climbed back up into the mountains and forest.  This was shortly after the first thunderstorms of the cold front had moved through (see above) and just before the second batch of storms arrived, which saw us sheltering under some trees from the worst of the hail.

After the storm we climbed steadily up to a pass at 9400’ then, after some lovely pine forest walking, we climbed to another pass then followed a broad treeless and very exposed ridge for several kilometres (see above).  The views were incredible, but we were so glad we hadn't been up there when the earlier storms had rolled through.  Much of the ridge walking was cross-country without much of a discernible trail to follow and our navigation was done by trying to spot marker posts, sometimes more than 400m apart, or using our navigation app.  It was slow going on the tussocky grass and we didn't cover as much ground today as hoped.

Around 6:45pm the trail descended below the treeline and we got some water at the first stream we had seen for a while and found a nice tent site squeezed between some pine trees where we camped around 7:15pm at 9000’.  It is cold and we'll both be wearing our puffer jackets to bed along with other layers.

Day 108 - Continental Divide Trail - Sawmill Creek to Divide Creek

Day: 108

Date: Thursday, 22 August 2024

Start:  Sawmill Creek

Finish:  Divide Creek

Daily Kilometres:  35.0

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3142.6

Weather:  Very cold early then mild and mostly sunny with a strong wind in the afternoon

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  A strong crosswind in the afternoon made hiking unpleasant.  At times, with our packs acting as sails, it was hard to stay on the trail.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Around 1am we were woken by a wolf (but maybe a coyote), not too far away, howling loudly at the moon.  It was answered by another further away.

No sign of the wolf when we woke at 5:30am on a cold clear morning and we were hiking by soon after 6:30am.  We were climbing straight away, but the grades were not as steep as yesterday and we made reasonable progress.  For most of the morning, the trail alternated between crossing open grassland and passing through dark pine forests.  It seemed that, with the open grassland came fantastic views and difficult uneven trail while, in the forest, the trail was good but there were no views.  You can't have everything.

Once again, for much of the day, we were following the Idaho-Montana border with superb views in all directions of mostly treeless mountains when we weren't in the pockets of forest.

After lunch, except for a very rough first few kilometres almost cross-country through the grass and sagebrush, we followed a 4WD track which made for faster progress.  It followed a grassy ridge where we were exposed to an increasingly strong crosswind as we slowly descended to Bannack Pass, where we stopped for dinner, before climbing steadily and sometimes steeply into the mountains on the other side of the pass.

Around 7:30pm, in an open grassy saddle, we found a tent site and set up camp.  We are quite exposed, so are hoping none of the forecast possible thunderstorms eventuates overnight.

We didn't see any other people today, just some cattle and three deer.

Day 107 - Continental Divide Trail - Horse Creek Trailhead to Sawmill Creek

Day: 107

Date: Wednesday, 21 August 2024

Start:  Horse Creek Trailhead (but staying at Dillon MT)

Finish:  Sawmill Creek

Daily Kilometres:  26.3

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3107.6

Weather:  Mild and mostly sunny in the morning, overcast with a few sprinkles of rain in the afternoon and then partly cloudy in the evening.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Bacon, egg & cheese McGriddles & hash browns.

  Lunch:  Turkey & bacon wraps

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Endless views in all directions for most of the day.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We had a gentle start to the day, leaving the motel at 7am and, after picking up some breakfast at the nearby McDonalds, Mathieu and Christine drove us back to the trailhead from Dillon, a journey of about 75 minutes.  On the last part of the drive, we saw three southbound CDT thru-hikers, the only hikers we saw for the day.

After saying our farewells to our French Canadian friends, who had gone to such lengths to meet us on the trail, we began the not-so-gentle part of the day.  From the trailhead we climbed steeply upwards and the rest of the day, at least until late afternoon, was a rollercoaster.  The trail followed the grassy ridge which marked the Idaho-Montana border and it went up and down relentlessly and often very steeply.  But, the views were superb, although we didn't always enjoy being able to see, far ahead, the faint outline of the trail as it climbed over yet another knoll.

There were pockets of pine forest in some of the valleys below, but we stayed well above the treeline.  The trail was unmaintained, narrow and uneven underfoot making for difficult hiking.  In places it was hard to follow though there were CDT markers every so often to give us some assurance we were going the right way.

In late afternoon, we made a long descent and stopped at a creek for dinner.  From there, we stayed relatively low and the trail took us through some forest and grazing land populated with herds of cattle.

Around 7:50pm, on the crest of a low ridge, we found a place to erect our tent and called it a day.  Although we finished at roughly the same elevation we started, 7500’, we climbed and descended 4000’ to get here.

Day 106 - Continental Divide Trail - Dillon

Day: 106

Date: Tuesday, 20 August 2024

Start:  Horse Creek Trailhead (but staying at Dillon MT)

Finish:  Horse Creek Trailhead (but staying at Dillon MT)

Daily Kilometres:  0.0

GPX Track:  Click here and here for Julie’s Strava & Photos from her run and tour today.

Total Kilometres:  3081.3

Weather:  Warm and mostly sunny with a severe thunderstorm in the early afternoon.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  American breakfast

  Lunch:  Chicken & fried rice/Turkey & bacon roll.

  Dinner:  Nachos/Pulled pork sandwich & fries, peach pie & ice-cream.

Aches:  Nothing reported.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: No pictures today.

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

A lazy start to the day for Dave, and not so lazy for Julie, who went for a run around Dillon with Christine.

The four of us had a late breakfast at an American diner up the road before Mathieu and Christine drove us around town to various shops to do our usual resupply.  Dillon seems to be a busy rural college town with civic pride and well-kept properties.

Then, while Dave stayed at the hotel.doing some planning, admin and relaxing with the TV on in the background, Julie joined Mathieu and Christine on a visit to the ghost town of Bannack, once the capital of Montana.

Later, after a very pleasant dinner in downtown Dillon, near the college/university, we returned to the motel to pack ready to return to the trail tomorrow for the next five-day leg which we have heard is tough.

Day 105 - Continental Divide Trail - Boatman Springs Road to Horse Creek Trailhead

Day: 105

Date: Monday, 19 August 2024

Start:  Boatman Springs Road

Finish:  Horse Creek Trailhead (but staying at Dillon MT)

Daily Kilometres:  19.3

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3081.3

Weather:  Cool early then warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Bacon cheeseburger & fries

  Dinner:  Chimichanga, rice & beans/Nachos, peach pie & ice-cream.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Catching up with Appalachian Trail friends from last year, Mathieu and Christine, who made a huge journey to meet us on the trail as the first part of their summer roadtrip through the western states of the US.  Their flights from their home in Quebec were massively delayed and then, after arriving in Edmonton after midnight, they picked up their rental vehicle and drove over 1200km through the night to reach us in the early afternoon as originally planned.  It was wonderful to see them again and we are very appreciative of the effort they made to get here to see their AT “spiritual trail parents”.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke at 5am after a sometimes very windy night, knowing we had about 20km of road walking to reach the trailhead where we had arranged a pickup from a local CDT volunteer at noon.

The first kilometres were gradually downhill on the dirt road through sagebrush country on a perfectly still early morning with the sun slowly illuminating the bare mountains on the other side of the valley.  A peaceful and beautiful scene.

At the base of the descent, we crossed the valley, through sheep and cattle grazing country, and a rail line and the I-15, a remarkably quiet interstate freeway.

After road walking on a gravel forestry road alongside the freeway for a few kilometres, we followed the road gradually uphill into the bare mountains on the other side of the valley, reaching our goal trailhead soon after 11am.  There, we waited for our rescheduled, to 11:30am, shuttle to the tiny town of Lima.

By 12:30pm, with no vehicle appearing, we feared the volunteer had misunderstood where she was to pick us up, despite being sent, and acknowledging, a specific Google location.  Using a flakey AT&T connection on Julie's phone, we contacted our friends, Mathieu and Christine (see above), who were on their way to meet us in Lima, and they offered to pick us up around 2pm.  We were very remote and there was no traffic along the forest road, so were lucky to have a Plan B.

In the event, the shuttle driver turned up around 12:45pm, directed by the only other hiker we had seen that day, a southbound CDT thru-hiker, who knew we were waiting and also wanted to go to Lima.

We reached Lima around 1:15pm, in time to get our mailed replacement boots/shoes from the Post Office which closed at 2:30pm.  Mathieu and Christine arrived 30 minutes later and we ate our lunch and caught up on our respective activities in the shade of a pavilion in a small park.

They then drove us to our booked motel in Dillon, a larger town 80km away.  After showers and a short relax we all had an early dinner at a local Mexican restaurant followed by an early night.

Day 104 - Continental Divide Trail - Kay Creek to Boatman Springs Road

Day: 104

Date: Sunday, 18 August 2024

Start:  Kay Creek

Finish:  Boatman Springs Road

Daily Kilometres:  34.8

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3062.0

Weather:  Cool early then mild, sunny and breezy.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Snacks & trail mix

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were again late getting away, this time because we were trying to sort out some arrangements for our next resupply stop while we had some phone reception.  It was 7am by the time we started hiking on a cool sunny morning.

Initially, we descended from the saddle where we had camped through some forest burn areas then we had a day of some big ascents and descents, over 4000’ of each overall and some of them were steep with what we are calling ball-bearing slopes where small ball-bearing size rocks make the going treacherous.  Dave sat down hard several times.  For much of the day we were following the Idaho-Montana state border which seems to follow the crest of the Continental Divide.

At the top of the ascents, generally at around 8500’-9000’, we had some lovely high ridge walking through pastures and sagebrush with frequent magnificent views into Idaho and Montana.  The descents generally took us down through shady pine forests to saddles before another steep climb.

The steep bits took a toll on our average speed (and Dave's body) which was slower today, despite walking a forest road for the last 5km.  Water sources were scarce and we didn't reach a stream to get water for dinner until 7:30pm and then find somewhere to camp until 7:45pm.  To save time, and because we are going to be eating in town tomorrow, we decided to just have some snacks for dinner and a wet-wipes wash in the tent.

We only saw three other people today, two southbound CDT thru-hikers and a rancher in his pickup just before we camped for the night.

Day 103 - Continental Divide Trail - Centennial Mountains Wilderness to Kay Creek

Day: 103

Date: Saturday, 17 August 2024

Start:  Centennial Mountains Wilderness

Finish:  Kay Creek

Daily Kilometres:  40.0

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  3027.2

Weather:  Cool early then mild and mostly sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  From mid-morning until early afternoon we were hiking at 9000’-9500’ above the treeline with never-ending and expansive views in all directions on a perfect day.

Lowlight:  Much of the trail today was very narrow, uneven underfoot, and through low overhanging vegetation meaning we had to watch where we were placing our feet rather than enjoying the views as much as we would have liked.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were later getting away this morning because Dave was grappling with the relacing his disintegrating boots and we had trouble extracting a tent peg which had been inadvertently hammered into a tree root last night while setting up the tent.  Fortunately, we have new footwear waiting for us at our next town and we did manage to eventually extract the tent peg without breaking it.

It was 6:45am by the time we started hiking.  The CDT climbed steadily on difficult trail from about 8000’, where we were camped, to over 9500’, but the views were magnificent and we could see vast distances to the plains below on both the Idaho and Montana sides of the mountain range we were following.  There were long stretches where we followed the contours giving us dress-circle views.

In the early afternoon we began descending, spending more time in the pine forests and grassy meadows, and stopped for our dinner break around 4:30pm at the Aldous Lake Trailhead (7000’) where there was a welcome and convenient picnic table next to a stream.

After dinner, we hiked another 8km, mainly through forest and rocky areas, and climbed to a saddle at 8400’ where we camped as the sun was setting, and the moon was rising, soon after 8pm.

We only saw five other people today, all of them southbound CDT thru-hikers, three of them together, so felt like we had the mountains and views to ourselves.

Day 102 - Continental Divide Trail - Island Park to Centennial Mountains Wilderness

Day: 102

Date: Friday, 16 August 2024

Start:  Island Park

Finish:  Centennial Mountains Wilderness

Daily Kilometres:  33.3

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2987.2

Weather:  Cool early then mild and mostly sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Microwaved breakfast scramble

  Lunch:  Turkey, bacon & avocado wraps

  Dinner:  Rice & tuna/Rice

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles plus a couple of small blisters; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  We crossed into Montana today, the fifth and last state on our CDT journey.  However, we haven't left Idaho behind as the CDT follows the state border for some days and tonight we are camped right on the Montana-Idaho border.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We had a relatively relaxed start to the day and didn't leave the comfort of our heated cabin until around 8am.  Our first 15km was a forest road walk climbing gradually up to 9000’ on the shoulder of Sawtell Mountain from Island Park (6500’).  We both noted how nice it was to be hiking in dry socks and shoes/boots after about five days of wet feet.  There were a few cars and ATV’s on the road but not enough to matter and hiking conditions were good, so the climb wasn't too bad and we did get some nice views.

We turned off the forest road on the shoulder of Sawtell Mountain onto a rough single-track trail and gradually descended following Hell Roaring Creek, which was actually quite benign, through pine forest and wildflower-carpeted meadows until we linked up with another trail at Lillian Lake and climbed up to rejoin the official CDT around 4pm.

Any hopes we had that the trail quality would improve were disappointed and we had long switchbacking climb up onto a high ridge at 8500’.  The country was partially forested, felt very remote and there were good views.  Since leaving the forest road we saw no-one and feel like we have the place to ourselves.

Around 7:45pm, we found a nice place to camp in a small copse of pine trees on a very calm evening.

Day 101 - Continental Divide Trail - Moose Creek to Island Park

Day: 101

Date: Thursday, 15 August 2024

Start:  Moose Creek

Finish:  Island Park

Daily Kilometres:  14.3

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2953.9

Weather:  Very cold early then mild and mostly sunny.

Accommodation:  Cabin

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Hot buffet breakfast.

  Lunch:  Mexicali Sub

  Dinner:  Cheeseburgers & fries, ice-cream.

Aches:  Nothing reported.

Highlight:  Reaching the tiny resort hamlet of Island Park around 8:30am, hoping for somewhere to have a good breakfast and finding a lodge advertising a $13 hot buffet breakfast which turned out to be perfect for our needs.  Not only that, the restaurant was nicely heated on a very cold morning.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke to a very cold dewy morning (hail from yesterday's storm still lay on the ground) at 5:30am, packed up our damp tent, and began walking along the sealed road towards Hwy 20, 5km away.

There were a few businesses at Mack's Inn at the highway junction, but the only restaurant was closed.  We were keen to get a good breakfast, so continued 2.5km north along the busy highway to the tiny resort hamlet of Island Park, where we had booked a cabin for the night, in the hope we would find something there (nothing was showing up on Google).

We did, and enjoyed a good breakfast, taking our time to enjoy the warmth of the restaurant and because we learned that the earliest we could check-in to our cabin was 2pm.

After breakfast, we sat at a picnic table in the sun outside the restaurant, dried some of our damp gear and did some.planning and shopping at the nearby small supermarket.

For lunch, we crossed the road to a Subway restaurant, then sat in a nearby park until 2pm before walking the short distance to our booked cabin.  Later, Julie did our laundry at a resort across the road and we dried more.gear in the sun outside our cabin.  A relaxed afternoon.

For dinner we went to a restaurant next door then had an early night.

Day 100 - Continental Divide Trail - Summit Lake to Moose Creek

Day: 100

Date: Wednesday, 14 August 2024

Start:  Summit Lake

Finish:  Moose Creek

Daily Kilometres:  39.6

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2939.6

Weather:  Very cold early, then cool all day, partly cloudy in the morning and thunderstorms with hail and rain in the afternoon.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Meat & cheese subs

  Dinner:  Snacks

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles plus a right groin strain incurred when recovering from a stumble; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  In mid-morning we left Wyoming and entered Idaho, our fourth state on our journey.

Lowlight:  Thunderstorms in the afternoon brought very cold temperatures, hail and rain.  It was unpleasant hiking and, of course, got our footwear and socks wet and cold again.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Given how late we were camping last night, we slept in until 6am as Dave was desperate to get a reasonable night's sleep.  Sadly, more gastro trouble caused that sleep to be interrupted and.he didn't feel great when we started hiking around 7:30am.

Our last kilometres in Yellowstone National Park continued across a high plateau (8500’) through pine forest and a burnt area with the smell and steam from another geothermal area passed along the way.

Around mid-morning we crossed from Wyoming to Idaho, another milestone for us, and, in late morning, we exited Yellowstone.

The weather deteriorated during the afternoon as we followed a series of forest roads, some disused with massive berms to prevent vehicle use, but also challenging for hikers to negotiate.  We left the official CDT and joined the Mack's Inn Alternate, which we will follow for the next few days.  It gives us a chance to have a short day tomorrow and to resupply.

We actually made good progress today, despite the late start and poor weather in the afternoon, and ended up getting closer to Mack's Inn/Island Lake, where we have a cabin booked for tomorrow night, than we had expected.  Dave was hindered by a groin strain sustained during a stumble, but Tylenol made it more manageable.  The scenery was mostly just pine forest today, with few views.

Around 7pm we found a place in the forest by the side of the road to erect our tent.  The storm must have been more intense here as a lot of hail remains on the forest floor.

Given our long day and the prospect of good food tomorrow we just ate snacks for dinner before retiring to the tent.

Day 099 - Continental Divide Trail - Firehole Springs Backcountry Campsite to Summit Lake

Day: 099

Date: Tuesday, 13 August 2024

Start:  Firehole Springs Backcountry Campsite

Finish:  Summit Lake

Daily Kilometres:  31.5

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2900.0

Weather:  Very cold and partly cloudy early, then rain most of the morning and occasional thunderstorms during the afternoon.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Cheese omelette, bacon & hash browns, toast & jam

  Lunch:  Hot buffet lunch

  Dinner:  Nothing.

Aches:  Dave - very tired and the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Seeing the Old Faithful Geyser erupt several times though, for some reason, being part of a huge crowd detracted from the scene a little.  Made it more like a circus attraction than a natural phenomenon.  We preferred the smaller geysers that we passed on the trail yesterday.

Lowlight:  Dave, whose boots and socks had been gradually drying out all day after getting soaked yesterday, slipped on a log crossing a small creek late in the afternoon and managed to get boots and socks totally wet again.  As it turned out, following a later thunderstorm, wet undergrowth saturated all of our footwear and socks anyway.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke at 5am on another very cold morning and were hiking by soon after 6am, intent on getting to the Old Faithful village, 8km away, in time for a good breakfast.  After descending through the pine forest, we emerged into the already busy large tourist complex soon after 8am.

It took us a little while and some walking to orient ourselves, but we managed to be on site for an Old Faithful Geyser eruption at 8:45am which was a bit of a fizzer because the fog and steam completely masked the height of the eruption.  We then adjourned to the warmth of a nearby grill which opened at 9am, after learning we would have to wait 30-40 minutes for the Lodge breakfast buffet, and enjoyed a delicious breakfast.

Sadly, by the time we finished, steady rain was falling and our plans for the morning changed.  Julie was going to go for a walk while Dave (who has been here three times before) took it easy but, instead, like everybody else, it seemed, we adjourned to one of the public areas in the warmth of the Lodge to wait out the rain.  It was even too wet to walk the considerable distance to the General Store to resupply for the next few days.

Eventually, the rain eased a little and Julie went to watch another eruption of Old Faithful before going to the store for our supplies, during which time, the rain came down again.

For lunch, we decided to go to the Lodge buffet but the queues were long and it was after 1pm before we got in, though the meal was excellent.

After lunch, and an hour or two later than planned, we began hiking the 16km to our campsite starting out via the busy boardwalks visiting other geysers and geothermal features in the immediate area.  They were impressive, but the crowds were oppressive, and it wasn't much fun.

After a few kilometres, we left the tourist area behind and rejoined the CDT trail.  It was clear we were going to be very late to our booked backcountry campsite, particularly as Dave seemed to be having another bad day (or perhaps too much buffet lunch), and the hike became even more tedious as a thunderstorm and rain rolled through making the trail and undergrowth wet.

Eventually, we reached the Summit Lake campsite around 8:30pm but found the tent sites taken by other hikers.  We decided to hike another kilometre or so and camp (illegally) by the trail.  We found a site in the pine forest at 9pm and quickly set up the tent and went to bed, skipping dinner, having had such a big lunch.

Day 098 - Continental Divide Trail - Shoshone Dogshead Trailhead to Firehole Springs Backcountry Campsite

Day: 098

Date: Monday, 12 August 2024

Start:  Shoshone Dogshead Trailhead (but staying at Grant Village Campground)

Finish:  Firehole Springs Backcountry Campsite

Daily Kilometres:  32.9

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2868.5

Weather:  Cold early, then a mild and partly sunny day with a thunderstorm in mid-afternoon.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Hot buffet breakfast

  Lunch:  Italian wraps

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals.

Aches:  Dave the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  The Shoshone Geyser Basin was fabulous and we had it all to ourselves.  The trail snaked past fascinating bubbling cauldrons of translucent boiling water, steaming gurgling vents and erupting geysers, with other similar thermal features  visible in the distance.  Signs warned us not to leave the trail, but we didn't need to.  We could see plenty from the trail.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Dave didn't have a very good night with some kind of gastro problem, but he still heroically tackled the excellent buffet breakfast we purchased at the Grant Village Restaurant, not wanting to miss such an opportunity.

We packed up camp before breakfast and, after breakfast, walked across to the laundromat where “Slow & Steady”, the manager, has offered to drive us back to the trail at 8am, which he did.

Dave still wasn't feeling great, but he improved as time passed after we started hiking at 8:30am.

The day was mostly spent hiking mellow trail through very pleasant pine forest across a seemingly vast plateau at an altitude between 7000’ and 8000’ with a couple of notable exceptions.

There were several visits to the shoreline of the huge, remote and scenic Shoshone Lake and our interesting walk across the fabulous Shoshone Geyser Basin (see above).

There was also some less than mellow trail through bogs and marshland which kept our footwear and socks wet after several stream fords earlier in the day.  A thunderstorm in mid-afternoon brought cold temperatures and hail for a short period, but it cleared on time for a lovely evening.

Around 7:45pm we reached our booked backcountry campsite at Firehole Springs and found a tent site amongst the trees.  There was one other overnight hiker already in residence and he had the best spot.  During the day we saw about seven southbound CDT thru-hikers and no-one else.

Day 097 - Continental Divide Trail - Snake River Backcountry Campsite to Shoshone Dogshead Trailhead

Day: 097

Date: Sunday, 11 August 2024

Start:  Snake River Backcountry Campsite

Finish:  Shoshone Dogshead Trailhead (but staying at Grant Village Campground)

Daily Kilometres:  25.6

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2835.6

Weather:  Very cold early then mild and sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Bacon cheeseburgers & fries, ice-cream.

  Dinner:  Bacon double cheeseburgers & fries, ice-cream.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Heart Lake, which we reached around 9am, was a sublime picture of serenity on a beautiful sunny morning.  Very large and backed on one side by rocky mountains with a little bit of snow remaining, there wasn't a ripple on the water, as we walked along the gravel shore apart from the wake of a mother duck and her trailing ducklings 50m out..

Lowlight:  The first 90 minutes of hiking was miserably cold.  As usual, we got frozen hands packing up the tent on an icy morning, but then had to ford a very cold river, twice, in the first half hour, leaving us with frozen feet as well.  On top of that, the undergrowth was wet, making sure our feet stayed wet and cold.  Dave was hiking the fastest he has done all trip to try and warm up while Julie was almost whimpering with the cold.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

There was rain again overnight and the tent was damp and cold as we packed up before leaving at 6am.

Our first 3km was across a treeless flat river valley through dew- and frost-covered undergrowth, with a couple of river crossings thrown in for good measure.  We were very cold (see above).  We met a couple of southbound CDT thru-hikers around 7am, who were enjoying the same experience and we commiserated with each other.

Eventually, as we knew it would as we climbed away from the river and the sun peaked over the mountains, we gradually warmed up and by the time we stopped at a ranger station for our breakfast break after walking along part of the shore of the beautiful Heart Lake (see above), it had turned into a beautiful day.  We chatted with the ranger, who had spent a semester at the University of Tasmania, and some overnight hikers passing through while we ate.

From there we gradually climbed through a geothermal area where steam was venting from the ground in places and some hot pools were bubbling invitingly.  One stream was quite warm and some.hikers were already enjoying themselves in the water.

After the climb, our final kilometres for the day were through a pine-forested green tunnel until we reached Hwy 89 around 1:15pm.  From there we hitch-hiked for about 30 minutes before we got a ride into Grant Village (run by Yellowstone National Park), about 12km away, and bought ourselves a late lunch at the General Store.

We then walked down to the laundromat/shower block, which was managed by a supporter of CDT hikers who arranged for us to have free showers.  He will also give us a lift back to the trail tomorrow morning.  Then, while Julie did our laundry, Dave walked down to the campground where, despite it being full, room was found for us as CDT hikers and we got a nice spot surrounded by trees with a table.

Later, we returned to the General Store grill and had a dinner which was pretty much the same as our lunch.  Not much choice (and very expensive), but still a welcome change from rehydrated meals.

Internet reception is poor here so, on our way back to the campground, we stopped outside the closed service/gas station and used a contraband wifi password to login and publish the blog.

Day 096 - Continental Divide Trail - South Two Ocean Creek to Snake River Backcountry Campsite

Day: 096

Date: Saturday, 10 August 2024

Start:  South Two Ocean Creek

Finish:  Snake River Backcountry Campsite

Daily Kilometres:  36.2

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2810.0

Weather:  Very cold early then mild and overcast with a thunderstorm at noon and another mid-afternoon.  Mostly sunny in the evening.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Reaching the famous Yellowstone National Park which seemed impossibly far away when we left the Mexican border just over three months ago.

Lowlight:  Yellowstone gave us a welcoming thunderstorm when we arrived around noon.  The temperature plummeted, icy rain began to fall and the wind picked up.  Our mood was not helped by the need to ford freezing rivers and creeks ensuring we had cold wet feet, or forcing our way through sopping wet vegetation and dense willow thickets.  As we hiked across the open Snake River valley floor, lightning flashed and thunder boomed for nearly an hour to accompany the cold.  Julie was not happy!

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were woken by a thunderstorm in the small hours accompanied by steady rain but, fortunately, it had gone by the time we got up.  After packing up a slightly wet tent we were hiking by 6:15am.

Our first few kilometres, on an overcast and cold morning, involved climbing up to, and then hiking across, the Two Oceans Plateau at just over 10000’.  Once we warmed up, it was pleasant hiking with hazy views to distant mountains from the treeless plateau.

Then began a long descent to the Snake River and, after fording it a couple of times, we crossed from the Teton Wilderness into Yellowstone National Park.  About the same time, an unpleasant thunderstorm arrived (see above).  We continued to follow the meandering Snake River downstream for the rest of the day, crossing it twice more along with numerous tributaries.

Further downstream it passed through a ravine and the trail climbed high on the overlooking hillside from where we could hear and see the river roaring below.

After the noon thunderstorm, the weather warmed up in the early afternoon but then it cooled again as we caught the edge of another thunderstorm and some more rain.

For the last part of the day the river valley flattened out again, the weather calmed, and the hiking became easier.

We have to stay in booked, and paid for, campsites in the Yellowstone backcountry.  As we walked along the track that led to our booked Snake River Campsite, we spotted a nice place to camp in a copse of pine trees and stopped around 7:15pm.  We are not, strictly speaking, at the campsite where we are supposed to be, but a southbound CDT hiker we met yesterday said he had not seen a ranger at any campsite nor had his permit checked, so we think we'll be OK.

We saw more than twenty southbound CDT thru-hikers today, and nobody else.  Southbound hikers generally start between mid-June and mid-July as the snow melts in Glacier National Park on the Canadian border, so the hiker bubble will be passing by us for the next few weeks.  They will only be one-third of the way into their journey while we are two-thirds through ours.

Day 095 - Continental Divide Trail - County Line Creek to South Two Ocean Creek

Day: 095

Date: Friday, 09 August 2024

Start:  County Line Creek

Finish:  South Two Ocean Creek

Daily Kilometres:  38.2

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2773.8

Weather:  Cool early then warm and mostly hazy sunshine with a mid-afternoon thunderstorm nearby.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  Horses and blowdowns.  For all of today's hiking we were on a trail that is also used by horse riders and mule/packhorse trains.  Consequently, the trail was extremely dusty, a mix of dirt and manure, we were constantly dodging piles of droppings, the trail had become multiple narrow deep ditches in places and, whenever the trail crossed water or a stream, it had been churned to mud.  Also, there were a lot of trees down over the trail today, slowing us as we had to climb over, or detour around, them.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

It sounded like it was raining lightly when our alarm went off at 5am but, happily, everything seemed dry when we emerged from the tent thirty minutes later and we were hiking by 6am on a cool, somewhat hazy, morning.

For most of the day, we were following long valleys before climbing over low passes and entering new valleys.  Where there was forest on the morning, it consisted of stark dead or burnt forest offset by colourful wildflowers.  The trail was dusty and there were many blowdowns (see above).

On either side of the valleys, which averaged 7000’ - 8000’ elevation, rose attractive high mountains partially covered in forest.  We met about eight southbound CDT thru-hikers during the day and two mule/packhorse trains.

At one point we could see fresh bear tracks on the trail and one of the thru-hikers said he had seen a bear earlier in the day.

Despite the trail conditions we made reasonable time all day, exceeding our goal mileage if only because we couldn't find anywhere flat to camp in the last hours of the day as we climbed steadily to over 9000’.

Eventually, we did find somewhere passable around 7:30pm and set up camp.  We'll still have a bit of climbing to do first thing tomorrow.  We also reach the famous Yellowstone National Park tomorrow.

Day 094 - Continental Divide Trail - Brooks Lake Road to County Line Creek

Day: 094

Date: Thursday, 08 August 2024

Start:  Brooks Lake Road (but staying in Dubois WY)

Finish:  County Line Creek

Daily Kilometres:  30.3

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2735.6

Weather:  Gloomy overcast and cold morning; mild and partly sunny in the afternoon

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Microwaved breakfast burritos

  Lunch:  Italian subs 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  Hitchhiking out of town took about an hour and a quarter, longer than hoped, despite quite a lot of vehicles passing by.  The weather was cold with low cloud and a biting wind as we waited for someone to finally stop - a chatty retired couple who had already picked up another CDT hiker and were on their way to Jackson Hole to do some kayaking (kayaks on the roof), weather permitting.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke at 6am, wishing we could sleep in but knowing that we had to get about 30km along the trail today in order to reach our booked campsites in the Yellowstone National Park backcountry as per our permit.  This meant hitchhiking back to the trail as quickly as possible so we could start hiking.

After checking out of the motel at 7:30am, we walked to the edge of Dubois with our thumbs out to passing vehicles, then found ourselves a spot where oncoming vehicles had a good view of us.  There was moderate traffic, but it seemed a long time in cold weather before we got a lift (see above).

We were dropped off at Brooks Lake Road where we had stopped hiking on Tuesday and our first 8km was a road walk along that gravel road to Brooks Lake where we had our morning break in a National Forests campground.  The morning was still very gloomy and cold with low cloud, making for a bleak scene.

However, after our break, when we reconnected with the official CDT, the weather began to improve.  The trail was nice single-track, though with plenty of evidence of horse traffic (and we did see some riders and packhorses), along a valley giving glimpses of some overlooking rocky bluffs as the cloud cleared.  We were now in an area with reportedly high grizzly bear activity and we kept our eyes open as well as practicing our “quick draw” technique with our bear spray canisters.

For the rest of the day the trail was generally good, with only one significant climb, as we passed through valley meadows and pine forest.  There were occasional good views to the nearby mountains and bluffs.  Along the way we encountered about eight southbound CDT thru-hikers, generally travelling solo, and sometimes keen for a chat.

After fording a wide creek around 6pm, we cooked our dinner on the shore before hiking another 3km and finding a tent site by the trail at 8pm.

Day 093 - Continental Divide Trail - Dubois WY

Day: 093

Date: Wednesday, 07 August 2024

Start:  Brooks Lake Road (but staying in Dubois WY)

Finish:  Brooks Lake Road (but staying in Dubois WY)

Daily Kilometres:  0.0

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos from her run this morning.

Total Kilometres:  2705.3

Weather:  Warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  American breakfast 

  Lunch:  Meat & salad bagel/Pulled pork salad.

  Dinner:  Elk sausage, macaroni cheese & salad, ice-cream.

Aches:  Nothing reported.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Typical day off for us.  Julie went for a short run early and we then walked to a cafe for breakfast, followed by shopping and a trip to the Post Office to pick a parcel for Dave containing shoulder pads for his pack to hopefully ease the chafing on his shoulders, and new gaiters.  Not surprisingly, we are wearing things out, and have also ordered new shoes and boots for pickup in about ten days time.

Dubois is quite a small western-style town with wooden sidewalks and lots of cowboy-related stores and signage.  Seems to also have plenty of holiday accommodation and bars.

We managed to sort out our campsites and permit for Yellowstone National Park this morning with a schedule that will give us time to look around as we pass through.

The afternoon was spent doing the usual chores, planning and admin, with the Olympics on TV in the background.

Looks like we will be hitchhiking back to the trail tomorrow morning, which always adds a bit of uncertainty to our day.

Day 092 - Continental Divide Trail - Union Pass Road to Brooks Lake Road

Day: 092

Date: Tuesday, 06 August 2024

Start:  Union Pass Road

Finish:  Brooks Lake Road (but staying in Dubois, WY)

Daily Kilometres:  37.1

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2705.3

Weather:  Cool early then warm and mostly sunny with a couple of thunderstorms in the late afternoon.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix

  Dinner:  Bacon cheeseburgers & fries, ice-cream

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  With just 2km to go in our day, a thunderstorm rolled through dropping the temperature with gusty winds and rain.  Just what we wanted when we were soon to start hitchhiking.  (However, it had cleared by the time we did start hitchhiking.)

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We got away at 6am with a dry tent despite some rain periods overnight.  We had 35km+ of road walking in front of us to reach Brooks Lake Road from where we planned to hitch-hike back to Dubois where we had a motel booked for two nights.

Our first 15km was to continue along the dirt Union Pass Road through forest and then past guest ranches and holiday cabins before descending steeply to Hwy 26.  During the descent a car pulled up and the driver told us he had just seen a black bear on the road not far behind us.  We.must have just missed it.

At the busy Hwy 26, which we reached around 9:30am, we could have hitchhiked south to Dubois for an early finish to the day, but the wildfire detour we were taking required us, at some point, to go north on Hwy 26 for 20km.  If we didn't do it today, then we would have to do it on Thursday when we left Dubois (with full packs).  We did it today.

Although we were climbing much of the way, and the road was very exposed, we made good time.  We were following the meandering Wind River upstream through treeless hilly open range country, backed by mountains, with occasional guest ranches and holiday cabins.  Ahead were the precipitous rock walls of North Breccia Cliffs and Pinnacle Buttes.

We reached our goal, Brooks Lake Road, around 4:40pm, having endured a brief thunderstorm half an hour earlier (see above).  We then began hitchhiking back towards Dubois and got a lift after about twenty minutes with three seasonal workers, two of them native American Indians from Arizona and had a good chat as we retraced our steps for the day.  It brought home how far we had walked.

In the busy small town of Dubois, after buying some drinks at the supermarket where we were dropped off, we walked half a mile and checked into our over-priced motel around 6pm (but it is the height of the summer season and the annual Dubois rodeo is on this coming weekend).

Soon after, Julie went to a nearby cafe and bought some welcome takeout for dinner after a long day.

Looking forward to a day off tomorrow.

Day 091 - Continental Divide Trail - Green River Lake Campground to Union Pass Road

Day: 091

Date: Monday, 05 August 2024

Start:  Green River Lake Campground

Finish:  Union Pass Road

Daily Kilometres:  38.1

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2668.2

Weather:  Cold early then mostly warm and sunny, with a couple of wintry squalls late in the day.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  Just as we were preparing dinner a cold squall with rain and strong winds came through, making things very unpleasant.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

After some messing around, we didn't start hiking until 6:30am on another very cold morning.  There was fog hanging over the Green River as we followed the CDT steadily away from the river and up over 2000’ over 12 kilometres to Gunsight Pass (10135’) through mostly open country.  The jagged peaks of the Wind River Range were visible in the distance behind us, but the countryside had changed to more rounded hills and open grazing land bordered by pine forests.

After the Pass, we descended a little through the open range and then across sagebrush and grassland at around 9000’ on easy trail.  During our lunch break a SOBO (southbound) CDT hiker, a young civil engineer from San Francisco and the first person we had seen all day, stopped to join us and we had a good chat, picking each other's brains about what lies ahead.  He confirmed that the CDT was closed ahead because of a wildfire, as we expected, and offered some advice about the best way to get around it, including a short-cut we didn't know about.

We continued across the open range after lunch, reaching Union Pass Road, the point at which the CDT was closed, around 4pm.  There was some wildfire smoke visible ahead and Dave later heard on the radio that the fire had grown significantly and burned across the CDT trail, meaning it will be closed for some time.

We turned north along the road and walked another 10km, stopping to cook dinner along the way on a squally evening.  The fire detour and the recommended short-cut, plus some time we have gained since Pinedale, means that we will get to Dubois, our next town, tomorrow night, a day earlier than expected, so once we camped in the woods beside the road, Dave logged onto the internet and changed our bookings.

Day 090 - Continental Divide Trail - Upper Jean Lake to Green River Lake Campground

Day: 090

Date: Sunday, 04 August 2024

Start:  Upper Jean Lake

Finish:  Green River Lake Campground

Daily Kilometres:  33.7

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2630.1

Weather:  Mild overcast morning, then warm and partly sunny with a few showers in the afternoon.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks

  Dinner:  Brisket, corn & salad

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  At the end of our day we reached the Green River Lake Campground where we were planning to find a tent site and stay the night.  While orienting ourselves we walked past a cabin, apparently owned by National Forests, and two of the occupants came out and asked if they could be of assistance.  To cut a long story short, they provided water and took our trash, suggested we camp on the hill behind the cabin, which they were renting for the week with friends, and invited us back to share dinner with them in the cabin once we had set up camp.  We had a lovely evening enjoying an excellent meal and chatting with them.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

After a mild night, disturbed only by what we think may have been a coyote howling, and the smell of smoke, which we think was probably from a wildfire up ahead, we reluctantly dragged ourselves out of bed at 5am and were hiking by soon after 6am.

After a short distance, we had to choose between the Shannon Pass Alternate and staying on the CDT.  The Alternate was shorter but involved more climbing and some boulder scrambling.  We took the Alternate and climbed over the pass (11600’) before descending through bare rocky terrain and across taxing boulder fields, surrounded by towering steep rocky mountains.  It was awesome scenery and made up for the slow difficult hiking.  It took us just over three hours to cover the eight kilometres before we rejoined the CDT.

Most of the rest of our day was spent following the aptly-named Green River, translucent green because of the glacial sediment it carried, downstream throughout lovely pine forest.  The river alternated between rushing roaring rapids and a slow meander across grassy meadows as we followed the relatively good trail.  One either side towered, cathedral-like, massive steep grey rocky peaks.  It was never-ending awe-inspiring scenery and many photos were taken, none of which will do the scenery justice.

In one meadow, we encountered a mother moose and her calf grazing, unfazed, on the riverside vegetation.

After skirting the scenic Green River Lakes, we reached our target campground at about 5:45pm, where we met a group of friends who had rented a cabin and insisted we join them for dinner after we had set up camp (see above).  It was a lovely surprise ending to an excellent day.

Day 089 - Continental Divide Trail - Elkhart Park to Upper Jean Lake

Day: 089

Date: Saturday, 03 August 2024

Start: Elkhart Park (but staying in Pinedale)

Finish: Upper Jean Lake

Daily Kilometres: 28.3

GPX Track: Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos.

Total Kilometres: 2596.4

Weather: Warm and sunny.

Accommodation: Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Microwaved breakfast burritos

  Lunch: Cheese & meat rolls

  Dinner: Rehydrated meals

Aches: Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Irish, our volunteer shuttle driver, a retired local resident who hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2022, picked us up at exactly 8am as promised.  We had a good chat with her as she drove us back to the Elkhart Park trailhead.  The trailhead carpark was packed with scores of cars with license plates from many states.

We began hiking at 8:45am, retracing our inbound steps from Thursday for the first 9km before taking the Seneca Lake Trail another 7km back to the CDT.  It was busy, with overnight hikers setting out and others returning.  We even met a few people we saw on Thursday who wondered what we were doing heading out.  When we explained, they often seem a little over-awed, and perhaps a little envious.

The day was warm and sunny and the scenery superb again - rugged rocky mountains backing reflective lakes.  The trail was generally very rocky and technical and it was often slow going, especially on the little rocky passes that separated the seemingly endless lakes.

Once we reached the CDT and turned northwards, there were far fewer hikers and, for the last few hours of our hiking day, we didn't see any.

We cooked dinner by a lovely lake around 5pm and then endured mosquitoes for our last few kilometres of the day.  Around 7:30pm, we found a spot to put up the tent near the trail near the top of a low pass with some patches of snow visible nearby.  We are quite high again, at just over 11000'. 

Day 088 - Continental Divide Trail - Pinedale

Day: 088

Date: Friday, 02 August 2024

Start:  Elkhart Park (but staying in Pinedale)

Finish:  Elkhart Park (but staying in Pinedale)

Daily Kilometres:  0.0

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos from her runs this morning.

Total Kilometres:  2568.1

Weather:  Warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Omelette/Scramble & fries, toast & jam

  Lunch:  Cheese & meat rolls

  Dinner:  Enchiladas, rice & beans, icecream.

Aches:  Nothing reported

Highlight:  We managed to watch some of the Olympics on TV, including the exciting Men's 10000m final.

Lowlight:  Trying to book accommodation in Yellowstone National Park at the height of the season.  Having booked a cabin online at Old Faithful (very scarce), Dave booked backcountry campsites (also scarce) that fitted with that schedule.  Later, he received an email saying he couldn't have the cabin he had booked and offering an alternate at three times the already expensive price.  We have cancelled the Old Faithful booking and will have to try and rebook the backcountry campsites from our next town, Dubois, since it is too late to do it today and we are back on the trail early tomorrow.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

A lazy start to the day for Dave while Julie went for a run in the local area and actually saw a moose!

After breakfast at a nearby cafe we did our shopping.  Pinedale seems like a nice little town oriented towards outdoor activities in the nearby mountains.  Lots of accommodation and cafes and bars, relatively compact, which is good for hikers like us, well-cared-for, and with a Western flavour.  At the Visitor Center, there is actually a room set aside for CDT hikers to hang out, with goodies, coffee, a PC and charging ports.

The afternoon was spent on planning and laundry, followed by a sub-par dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant which was disappointing.

Part of our planning revolved around working out our options to get around a new wildfire that has reportedly closed the CDT a couple of days ahead of us.  Another part was making campsite and cabin bookings in Yellowstone National Park, where we will be in ten days time.  We thought we had it done, but will have to start again when we reach our next resupply town, Dubois, in five days time (see above).