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.