Day 126 - Continental Divide Trail - Champion Pass to Bison Blackfoot Trail Jct

Day: 126

Date: Monday, 09 September 2024

Start:  Champion Pass

Finish:  Bison Blackfoot Trail Jct

Daily Kilometres:  40.3

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

Total Kilometres:  3680.6

Weather:  Cool early, then mild with hazy sunshine.

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:  The wildfire smoke haze came back overnight.  It wasn't as bad as a week ago, but it spoiled what views we had today, though made for a spectacular orange sunrise and sunset.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

There had been a strong wind overnight and with that came the unwelcome return of wildfire smoke which spoiled our day a little (see above).

Conscious that we needed to record a high mileage today if we were to reach Helena tomorrow night, we were hiking by 6:30am in good conditions apart from the smoke haze, and trying to maintain a good pace.

We were following the crest of the Continental Divide and initially hiked through attractive partly forested country where small groups of cattle were grazing.  After a couple of hours, we left the cattle behind and the trail spent more time in the pine forest.  Generally the trail was good walking, but there were sections that were rocky and technical that slowed us down, as did the sporadic blowdowns.

Apart from the climb up onto the shoulder (8400’) of Thunderbolt Mountain, the hiking was more undulating than mountainous and we maintained an altitude of between 7500’ and 8500’ for most of the day.

Around 2pm, while we were stopped for lunch, we were caught by two northbound CDT thruhikers, one of whom we had met a couple of times in New Mexico, which seems a very long time ago.  We didn't see anyone else all day.

Some blowdowns in the last 5km of the day slowed us down and we didn't quite get as far as hoped before deciding to camp around 8pm, as it got dark.  But, we are within striking distance of Highway 12 and a hitch into Helena tomorrow.  To give us the best chance of doing it on daylight, we will make a very early start tomorrow.

Day 125 - Continental Divide Trail - Anaconda to Champion Pass

Day: 125

Date: Sunday, 08 September 2024

Start:  Anaconda MT

Finish:  Champion Pass

Daily Kilometres:  42.7

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

Total Kilometres:  3640.3

Weather:  Cool early then warm with hazy sunshine.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  McDonalds big breakfast

  Lunch:  Turkey, avocado & bacon wraps

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals.

Aches:  Dave - very tired and 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 a bit later leaving the motel (7am) than hoped but, beforehand, enjoyed our takeout McDonalds big breakfast from their restaurant across the road, which only opened at 6am.

Our first 12km for the day was mostly a flat roadwalk through farmland and public land along reasonably busy sealed roads with little shoulder to separate us from the fast-moving traffic.  It was tedious and Dave found it tiring, but we made reasonable time.  We hoped to walk more than 40km today, and each of the next two days, so that we reach our next resupply stop, Helena, in three days, saving us a day overall on our original plan.

After crossing under the I-90 freeway, we joined a very quiet gravel road through more farmland for another 12km which was still tedious, but less so.

We had a lunch break at a road junction leaning against a farm fence in the shade of some trees around 1pm on a day that had become quite warm.  Then we followed a forest road up into the mountains alongside the picturesque Cottonwood Creek, climbing 2000’ up to 6800’ to rejoin the official CDT at around 6pm.  The country was hilly and partly forested grazing land and quite attractive.  It was nice to be amongst some trees again after the morning’s roadwalk.  Along the way we saw some bow hunters in their vehicles, dressed in their camo outfits.  We had already seen some closer to Anaconda in the morning.  It must be bow-hunting season in Momtana.

The CDT was single-track when we rejoined it and we followed it further upwards through pine forest getting some occasional views of the bright orange setting sun.  Around 7:40pm, on the crest of a ridge at 7500’, we found a nice tent site amongst some young pines and camped, happy with our day.

Day 124 - Continental Divide Trail - Lime Spur Road to Anaconda

Day: 124

Date: Saturday, 07 September 2024

Start:  Lime Spur Road

Finish:  Anaconda MT.

Daily Kilometres:  14.9

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

Total Kilometres:  3597.6

Weather:  Cold early with a biting wind, then warm and sunny and hazy.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Omelette & hash browns, toast & jam/pancake & syrup.

  Lunch:  Mexicali subs

  Dinner:  Fried chicken, macaroni cheese & salad, ice cream.

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

Highlight:  On the recommendations in our navigation app, we had breakfast at a bar in Anaconda when we arrived there soon after 8am.  Our omelettes were delicious, large and good value.  We enjoyed a hearty breakfast in the warmth of the bar..

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

For some reason, neither of us slept that well.  It could have been the lumpy and marginal tent site we had been lucky to find, or the ATV that roared past us around 11pm (we could easily be seen from the road), or the eager anticipation of a relatively short walk into Anaconda for a hot breakfast.  Around 4:30am we decided to pack up camp and by 5:30am we were walking the quiet road to Anaconda on a dark and very cold morning.

There was some traffic and we walked against the flow using our headlamps for the first hour, making good time on the sealed road.  By soon after 7am we were on the outskirts of the historic copper mining town of Anaconda (5500’) which occupied the floor of a flat river valley bordered by high partly-forested mountains.  The town was stretched out, long and thin, and it took us another hour to reach the centre of the old town and the bar where we were hoping to get a good breakfast.  We were not disappointed (see above).  While there, Dave messaged the (unmanned) motel where we were booked to stay tonight to see if we could possibly get an early check-in and they responded immediately that our room was ready.  Another win!

We walked another 1.5km to the motel, detouring via the adjacent supermarket for snacks, and were checked in by 9:30am.

Today will be a “Nero” (near Zero = less than 10 miles) in thru-hiker parlance and we will be hiking again early tomorrow, but the early check-in gave us most of the day to do our usual chores and to relax.

Day 123 - Continental Divide Trail - Rainbow Mountain to Lime Spur Road

Day: 123

Date: Friday, 06 September 2024

Start:  Rainbow Mountain

Finish:  Lime Spur Road

Daily Kilometres:  38.7

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

Total Kilometres:  3582.7

Weather:  Cool early then warm and sunny with some haze 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:  The stretch of trail from Goat Flat at 9337’ (no goats and not flat!) to Storm Lake Pass (9148’) followed a narrow path traversing a very steep slope that gave superb views of the surrounding treeless mountain peaks and the valley far below (when we weren't making sure we didn't put a foot wrong).

Lowlight:  Biting flies are back.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Our hiking day started at 6:30am with a steady climb to the top of Rainbow Mountain (9264’) where we paused in the early morning light to do some internet admin with the first good phone signal for a while.

We then continued on, including a huge descent followed by a huge switch-backing and steep ascent, until we had a late breakfast around 10am on a high treeless saddle (9214’) amidst fantastic alpine scenery in absolutely balmy conditions - mild, sunny, clear and no wind.  Perfect!

That was more than 2000’ of climbing before breakfast but, to Dave’s delight, that was almost the last climbing of the day.  We left the CDT here to follow the Anaconda Cut-Off Alternate which would take us through the town of Anaconda where we planned to resupply, and also reduce the distance we still had to hike.

The Alternate started with the traverse from Goat Flat (see above) then descended steadily to the scenic and crystal clear Storm Lake.  On the way, we met the first people, day hikers (one with a pistol on his hip), we had seen in 48 hours.

From the lake the rest of our day's hiking was along roads.  Firstly along a forest road with little traffic, then along Highway 1, which was quite busy, or along the old Highway 1, which was parallel and very quiet.

After dinner in a picnic area with the luxury of a picnic table and toilet, we kept walking until a little after 7:30pm when we found a place to camp just off the old Highway 1.

We only have about 12km to walk tomorrow morning to reach Anaconda so are looking forward to a nice cooked breakfast, an easy day, and a night in a motel.

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.