Day 129 - Continental Divide Trail - Hwy 12 to Marysville

Day: 129

Date: Thursday, 12 September 2024

Start:  Hwy 12 (but staying in Helena MT)

Finish:  Marysville

Daily Kilometres:  35.4

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

Total Kilometres:  3760.3

Weather:  Steady rain early then mostly overcast and cold, but very cold when exposed to the wind.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Microwaved breakfast plate

  Lunch:  Ham, cheese & salad wraps

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals

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

Highlight:  Around 6:30pm, we had passed by the pub in the tiny hamlet of Marysville, when were called back by a local who insisted he buy us a drink.  We accepted the offer and spent a very convivial 45 minutes in the small bar chatting with drink-buyer and his wife along with a few other patrons at the bar.

Lowlight:  When exposed to the wind today, which was often, it was very cold.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

The cold front that had brought the thunderstorm and heavy rain last evening also brought much lower temperatures and it was raining steadily when our Uber arrived at the motel soon after 8am.  It promised to be a miserable day for hiking, with more rain forecast but, by the time the driver dropped us back where we were to resume hiking, the rain has stopped.  It seemed miraculous and, in fact, it did not really rain again until we were halfway through setting up camp after 8pm.  We have been fortunate with the weather for this trip (so far!).

We were still following the alternate route we had been on before our day off in Helena, and our first couple of hours hiking today was following a little-used forest road back up to the CDT at Priest Pass (6000’), a climb of 1500’ which Dave found very taxing with a fully-loaded pack (5-6 days of food).

It was much colder at the Pass and for the next 16km as we followed the Continental Divide northwards.  Although there were small patches of pine forest here and there, we mostly hiked through very exposed grassland and the wind was bitterly cold.

After the 16km along the CDT, at around 5pm, we detoured off the trail to follow the route we had worked out to get around the next wildfire trail closure about 15km ahead.  Our detour took us down the east side of the mountain on forest roads and through the tiny hamlet of Marysville.

We knew there was a bar/restaurant there from Google, but hadn't planned to stop because it was pricey, according to Google.  Instead, we had stopped by the trail earlier and had our dinner.  However, as we passed by we were called in for a drink (see above) and realised it would have been a good place to stop in for dinner.  Next time!

By the time we left the bar, it was nearly 7:30pm and starting to get dark.  We walked for another 30 minutes up out of the valley and found ourselves a place to camp beside the forest road.  It began raining lightly while we set up camp.

Day 128 - Continental Divide Trail - Helena

Day: 128

Date: Wednesday, 11 September 2024

Start:  Hwy 12 (but staying in Helena MT

Finish:  Hwy 12 (but staying in Helena MT

Daily Kilometres:  0.0

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

Total Kilometres:  3724.9

Weather:  Cold early then mild and partly sunny with a thunderstorm and some heavy rain in the evening.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Huevos Rancheros, toast & jam/Breakfast burrito 

  Lunch: Mexicali subs

  Dinner:  Pizza, icecream

Aches:  Nothing reported

Highlight:  Nothing in particular 

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular 

Pictures: No pictures today

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Julie went for a run before breakfast which we had at a nearby cafe.  The morning was then devoted to shopping.  After Helena, we have two more resupply stops, both in very small towns - Augusta and East Glacier Park - before we reach the Canadian border and the finish of our hike in just under three weeks.  Given the small towns have very limited resupply options, we decided to mail ahead our food to post offices at both places.  This meant buying food for 15-17 days today and the nearest supermarket was 1.5km away while Walmart was 3km away.

We divided the shopping list and Julie went to Walmart while Dave went to the supermarket with both of us carrying large loads back to our motel.

In the afternoon, we sorted out all the food and mailed off two food packages from the post office which was conveniently next door to our motel (unlike the supermarkets!).

Helena seems a very pleasant small town and we did get to see a bit of it as we walked around.  A nice pedestrian mall in downtown and attractive wooden houses in the suburbs nearby.

We had other chores and planning to do today at this, our last major stop, so it turned out to be quite a busy day.  Some of the planning related to mapping a way around yet another wildfire trail closure about 80km ahead.  It looks like we will be doing some more road walking.

Other planning related to getting from the Canadian border back to Australia and we think we now have that sorted.

Poor Julie got caught in torrential rain and hail while running her last errand for the day (cancelling her phone plan).  Later we got takeout for dinner then packed for a moderately early departure back to the trail tomorrow morning.

Day 127 - Continental Divide Trail - Bison Blackfoot Trail Jct to Hwy 12

Day: 127

Date: Tuesday, 10 September 2024

Start:  Bison Blackfoot Trail Jct

Finish:  Hwy 12 (but staying in Helena)

Daily Kilometres:  44.3

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

Total Kilometres:  3724.9

Weather:  Very cold early, then warm with hazy sunshine.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix

  Dinner:  Cheeseburgers & fries potatoes, icecream.

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

Highlight:  During the afternoon, our route took us through the historic mining village of Rimini.  There were many old wooden buildings and, as we passed by, a local working in his garden gave us a brief history of the area and town.  His own house dated back to 19th century.

Lowlight:  The last 10km today, which involved walking along a flat sealed road after many kilometres, and a very early start, seemed to go on forever, made worse by having prominent mile markers counting down our progress to the end.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We decided to get up at 4am to give us more time to hike the 40km+ to Highway 12, and our hitch to Helena, We were on the trail before 5am, hiking by headlamp through quiet pine forest until dawn at 6:30am.

At 7am, we had a decision to make.  We already knew the CDT was closed 15km ahead for the summer because of a prescribed burn and there was a suggested alternate which we planned to take.  However, we had learned during the last few days through our crowd-sourced navigation app that the alternate was no longer viable because the forest road was closed to all comers.  Instead, there were now a number of suggested alternates from hikers ahead of us, some ambiguous and others confusing.

We chose a suggested alternate that claimed to be easy to follow and shorter.  It turned out to be easier to follow, but was actually longer.  It started with a long forest road walk, during the first part of which the temperature dropped markedly.  It was freezing.  The road passed near some old mines that were being environmentally cleaned up and we were passed by some early morning dump trucks.  Later, we learned that the original alternate route road was closed for the same reason.

We tried to maintain a good pace through mostly pine forest, some of which had been logged, as the road climbed over the shoulder (8000’) of Old Baldy Mt.  Near the crest, we met a southbound CDT thru-hiker, the first we had seen for more than a week.  He was a nice guy and keen for a chat, but the encounter left us feeling sorry for him.  He was finding it hard, he was lonely, and he knew he was a long way behind most other southbound hikers and unlikely to catch them.

From the crest,.which we reached around 10am, the rest of our day was spent descending or on the flat.  Along the way we passed through the atmospheric old mining town of Rimini (see above), though there were now quite a few vacation cabins along the road as well.

Finally, soon after 5pm, we reached Hwy 12 and booked an Uber to come.and collect us and.take us to our booked motel in the centre of the large town of Helena, the capital of Montana, where we arrived around 6pm.  Julie quickly showered and went out to buy some takeout dinner and we ate while watching the Trump-Harris debate.  Perfect timing!

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.