Day 122 - Continental Divide Trail - Pintler Pass to Rainbow Mountain

Day: 122

Date: Thursday, 05 September 2024

Start:  Pintler Pass

Finish:  Rainbow Mountain

Daily Kilometres:  33.5

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

Total Kilometres:  3544.0

Weather:  Cool early then warm and mostly sunny with some smoke haze.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli 

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

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

Highlight:  Getting onto North Montana, the fifth and last map set for the Continental Divide Trail in our navigation app, FarOut.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Our day was to be spent crossing the Anaconda Pintler Wilderness.  We began hiking with a descent from Pintler Pass, where we had camped, around 6:30am on a cool and clear morning.

The pattern of our day soon became clear, as we reached the base of the descent, passed a picturesque lake, Johnson Lake, 1500’ lower than the Pass, then began the long climb to the next pass.  This time it was Rainbow Pass (9052’) and the climb seemed interminable on gnarly single-track trail.

There were great views from the pass, but these were soon lost as we descended steeply into the pine forest again, and past the beautiful Rainbow Lake.  The gnarly trail continued downwards through the peaceful and atmospheric old-growth forest getting as low as 7400’, before beginning the climb to yet another (unnamed) pass at 8600’.  This time there was just a short descent to the spectacular alpine Warren Lake, perched at 8400’ and backed by sheer rocky Warren Peak.

Another 1000’ of descent followed on gnarly trail before we began the climb up to Cutaway Pass (9032’) from where there were more awesome views.  Then it was back down into the forest again for the last few hours until we eventually camped around 7:45pm amongst the pines.

We didn't get as far as hoped today as Dave struggled from the first long climb.  The ups and downs, and the gnarly trail, following a tough day yesterday, seemed to catch up with him and he was tired and slow all day, despite assistance from some caffeine and Tylenol.

We’re hoping that the terrain is a little more forgiving tomorrow and looking forward to a shorter day on Saturday.

Day 121 - Continental Divide Trail - Hell Roaring Creek to Pintler Pass

Day: 121

Date: Wednesday, 04 September 2024

Start:  Hell Roaring Creek

Finish:  Pintler Pass

Daily Kilometres:  36.7

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

Total Kilometres:  3510.5

Weather:  Cold early then mild and mostly sunny.

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:  Blowdowns (fallen trees) seemed neverending today.  There was one period of about two hours in the morning when we had to climb over or find our way around a tree, or multiple trees tangled together, about every 50 metres.  Most had sharp stubs where branches had broken off that were keen to draw the blood or snag the clothes of unfortunate hikers.  It was exhausting and time-consuming.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by soon after 6:30am on a cold and clear morning.  For the first hour or so, we hiked along lovely trail through old growth pine forest, but then things went downhill, literally.  We came to the edge of the ridge we had been following and looked down and out over a huge burnt area where, though many dead trees were still standing forlornly, many more lay like a giant’s scattered matchsticks across the slopes of the valley.  Our trail descended through this chaotic landscape and soon we were negotiating blowdown after blowdown (see above).  It was slow and frustrating and not particularly scenic.

Although there were fewer blowdowns later on, they remained a feature of the day, even when we passed through unburnt forest, as we did for the last few hours of the day.

It was also a day of hills as we oscillated between 7000’ and 9000’, climbing a total of more than 5000’ and descending a similar amount.  There were good views from the higher elevations, but so much of what could be seen was, sadly, burnt forest.

The same young northbound CDT hiking couple who passed us at lunchtime yesterday, passed us again today while we were having lunch.  We had thought they would be miles ahead of us by now.  However, they had apparently stopped early yesterday because of the cold wet weather.  We had noticed how small packs they were carrying seemed and wondered whether that might mean they had insufficient warm clothing to deal with the colder weather.

We finished the day with a solid climb through peaceful pine forest up to Pintler Pass (8736’) as the sun set which was beautiful.  At the Pass, we found a campsite amongst a few trees around 8:15pm and quickly set up the tent and went to bed.

Day 120 - Continental Divide Trail - Chief Joseph Pass to Hell Roaring Creek

Day: 120

Date: Tuesday, 03 September 2024

Start:  Chief Joseph Pass (but staying in Darby MT)

Finish:  Hell Roaring Creek

Daily Kilometres:  36.8

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

Total Kilometres:  3473.8

Weather:  Cool to cold all day, with some sun in the morning and several thunderstorms in the afternoon accompanied by rain periods.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Microwaved egg & bacon muffins

  Lunch:  Turkey & cheese wraps

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals.

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

Highlight:  The wildfire smoke haze of the past four days was largely gone.

Lowlight:  Some misnavigation in the morning cost us 2-3 kilometres and about 45 minutes.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Our shuttle driver, “Buddha”, was on time and we were back at the Chief Joseph Pass trailhead and hiking by about 7:30am on a cool morning with much less wildfire smoke haze than we had been dealing with for the past four days.  It brightened our spirits considerably.

After following the CDT along a broad forested ridge for a few kilometres, during which we left Idaho for the last time, we took an alternate route recommended on our navigation app to avoid some burnt areas and to save some time.

The instructions were somewhat ambiguous and we missed a turn as we descended to cross the Trail Creek valley.  Fortunately, we woke up before we were too far off course and it didn't cost too much time.  After crossing Trail Creek, the alternate route followed an unmapped trail upstream beside a small creek and then along a forest road and a trail back to the CDT.

The CDT was following the crest of the Continental Divide through forest which had largely been burnt out.  The undergrowth was returning but the trees were dead and the soil blackened.  It was quite depressing.  The scenery stayed this way through most of the afternoon, made even more forlorn by heavy clouds and haze that moved in.  There was a series of thunderstorms and it got very cold and rained for an hour or two.  While stopped for lunch we were passed by a young couple also northbound CDT thruhikers, who had been staying at the same place as us in Darby last night.  They were the only hikers we saw all day.

In late afternoon, we finally exited the burnt area and enjoyed some pine forest walking as well as crossing some rocky outcrops offering good views.  The rain also stopped and we found a nice campsite in the forest around 7:30pm, having hiked a little further than planned.

Day 119 - Continental Divide Trail - Darby

Day: 119

Date: Monday, 02 September 2024

Start:  Chief Joseph Pass (but staying in Darby MT)

Finish:  Chief Joseph Pass (but staying in Darby MT)

Daily Kilometres:  0.0

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

Total Kilometres:  3437.0

Weather:  Warm and sunny with a heavy smoke haze.

Accommodation:  Cabin

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Homemade, by Julie, scrambled eggs and ham steaks with toasted muffins and jam.

  Lunch:  Ham & cheese subs.

  Dinner:  Pulled pork, macaroni cheese, beans & coleslaw/Burrito & sweet potato fries, icecream.

Aches:  Nothing reported, though Julie's eye is still sore.

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We had a low-key day, which was just what we needed.  Julie, of course, got in a morning run while Dave caught up on his sleep, then it was the usual day of chores, admin and planning done at a relaxed pace.

We now have our days for the next month tentatively mapped out, including finding our way around a newl trail closure because of a new wildfire north of Helena.  The end of our journey, likely October 1st, is starting to feel real.  Although we are both ready for the hardships to end, we both know we will be wishing we were back here before long so are determined to savour these last weeks.

After an early dinner at the same bar in town where we had lunch yesterday (everywhere else was closed), we had an early night and will be back on the trail early tomorrow.

Day 118 - Continental Divide Trail - Three Mile Ridge to Chief Joseph Pass

Day: 118

Date: Sunday, 01 September 2024

Start:  Three Mile Ridge

Finish:  Chief Joseph Pass (but staying in Darby MT)

Daily Kilometres:  18.4

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

Total Kilometres:  3437.0

Weather:  Cool early then warm with hazy sunshine.

Accommodation:  Cabin

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Cheeseburgers & fries

  Dinner:  Meatloaf, macaroni cheese & vegetables, apple crumble & icecream.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - eye trouble from wildfire smoke particles (not good when you only have vision in one eye).

Highlight:  Getting to Darby in Montana and our cabin around 1pm after a tough section of the CDT that has certainly tested Dave physically.  Over 200km (125 miles), about 7500m (25000’) of ascent & descent in 5.5 days, the last three of which were in thick wildfire smoke haze.  We are both looking forward to a relaxing day off.

Lowlight:  We were impatient to get a lift into Darby, 50km from the trail, when we reached the highway and thought that more than 30 minutes of hitchhiking, when there was a reasonable amount of traffic, was too long to wait.  (Eventually, a very kind lady and her daughter took pity on us and we had a.pleasamt chatty ride into Darby.)

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were late getting to sleep last night and our tent site was the worst we have had for the whole trip - sloping, lumpy and rocky, surrounded by gnarly burnt vegetation - meaning we both had poor sleep.  Our sleeping mats kept sliding down into the bottom of the tent with us on top and, at one point, a tent peg  was dragged out of the ground at the top end.

Anyway, we were both ready to get up when the alarm went at 5:30am and keen to get to Chief Joseph Pass, 17km away, from near where we intended to hitchhike to Darby and our day off.

The first 8km was undulating single-track trail through mostly burnt and desolate forest with the surrounding views marred by the continuing smoke haze from the wildfires in central Idaho.  The smoke was affecting our eyes (both of us wear contact lenses), but Julie's good eye was particularly impacted and very painful, making her even more keen to get to Darby.

The last half of the hike to Chief Joseph Pass was a long a forest road, which meant faster hiking and we reached the Pass and Hwy 43 around 11:30am.  Although there was some traffic,.not all of it was going in the direction of Darby, so we walked another 1.5km down the road to its intersection with Hwy 93 and began hitchhiking from there.  It took longer than we would have liked, but we finally got a lift into Darby where we were allowed to check in early to our roomy cabin.

After quick showers, we walked down to a bar in the centre of this small Western town and enjoyed a burger accompanied by multiple cold drinks for lunch.

It's Labor Day, a public holiday in the US, tomorrow so, rather than risk shops being shut (even though we didn't expect them to be), we did most of our resupply shopping during the afternoon. While at the small supermarket we also bought some dinner that Julie later cooked in our kitchenette.

We will have a very welcome early night tonight followed by a sleep-in tomorrow.

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.