Day 136 - Continental Divide Trail - Straight Creek/Benchmark Trailhead to Burnt Creek

Day: 136

Date: Thursday, 19 September 2024

Start:  Straight Creek/Benchmark Trailhead (but staying in Augusta MT)

Finish:  Burnt Creek

Daily Kilometres:  30.0

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

Total Kilometres:  3939.0

Weather:  Cool to mild and partly sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Microwaved breakfast burritos

  Lunch:  Meat & cheese rolls

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals.

Aches:  Dave - the usual niggles with his chronic left ankle being particularly sore today for some reason; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  As we walked the mile through town to the Benchmark Road junction at dawn, we worried about how long it would take to hitch-hike back to the Benchmark Trailhead along the rough dead-end forest road.  We reached the turnoff and had begun walking along the forest road, when a pickup towing a large horse trailer passed us, then stopped 50m up the road.  The passenger walked back to us and said if we were willing to sit in the tray of the pickup, they could take us to the trailhead.  Then he (Dave) and the driver (Bill) reconsidered and moved everything (saddles, etc) from the back seat of their dual cab into the tray of the pickup so we could sit in the back seat.  We then had a very interesting drive out to the trailhead learning about the two weeks they, who were from Wisconsin, were to be working as volunteers for the Forest Service in the Bob Marshall Wilderness repairing corrals, gates, etc.  In the trailer were their two horses and two pack mules. They delivered us to the trailhead around 9am, the earliest we could have hoped for when we left the motel.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We left the motel around 7am, walked through Augusta, and managed, against expectations, to quickly get a ride back to the Benchmark Trailhead (see above).

We were hiking by 9am and soon in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and following the Sun River upstream which turned out to be what we did for the entire day until we camped.  The trail was well-used and somewhat muddy not helped, judging by the evidence, by frequent horse use.  We passed through occasional meadows, but were mostly in lovely pine forest, with high mountains rising on both sides.  It was a very clear day and the views were fantastic.  Along the way we saw some very large bear tracks and some bear scat, but no bears.  We did see a few hikers.

Dave was struggling with a sore ankle and the usual post-town heavy pack, so our pace was not fast, but we managed to get done what we had hoped and found somewhere to camp around 7:15pm.

Day 135 - Continental Divide Trail - Augusta

Day: 135

Date: Wednesday, 18 September 2024

Start:  Straight Creek/Benchmark Trailhead (but staying in Augusta MT)

Finish:  Straight Creek/Benchmark Trailhead (but staying in Augusta MT)

Daily Kilometres:  0.0

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

Total Kilometres:  3909.0

Weather:  Cool, overcast and breezy.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Denver Omelette & hash browns, toast & jam.

  Lunch:  Meat & cheese rolls

  Dinner:  Cheeseburgers & fries, 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:

Another decadent day off in Augusta for us.  Breakfast at the motel's cafe after Julie went for a run, then planning, admin and some chores while watching the TV in the background.

We chatted with two CDT hikers who were hitchhiking back to the trail this morning, one of whom was an Australian we met way back in New Mexico nearly four months ago.  Every time we think we may be the last of this season's northbound CDT hikers, some more appear from behind us.

We had an early dinner at the same bar in town followed by an early night.  The next, and penultimate, leg of our hike will be 5-6 days through the famous Bob Marshall Wilderness (“the Bob”), which reportedly has superb and wild scenery along with a healthy population of grizzlies.

We have to hitch-hike from Augusta back to the trailhead in the morning and are a little apprehensive about how easy that will be.  Fingers crossed!

Day 134 - Continental Divide Trail - Augusta

Day: 134

Date: Tuesday, 17 September 2024

Start:  Straight Creek/Benchmark Trailhead (but staying in Augusta MT)

Finish:  Straight Creek/Benchmark Trailhead (but staying in Augusta MT)

Daily Kilometres:  0.0

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

Total Kilometres:  3909.0

Weather:  Cold early then mild and mostly overcast with some light rain in the afternoon.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Western omelette, hash browns, toast & jam.

  Lunch:  Ham & cheese rolls.

  Dinner:  Chicken dinner/Steak strips, 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:

Not much to report for today.  We both had a.good night's sleep and enjoyed the motel's breakfast after Julie had been for a run around the very small town.  

Augusta is a neat and tidy little Western town set in flat grazing land with the mountains to the west.  The locals are very friendly and we are immediately identified as CDT hikers.

For the rest of the day, Dave hung out in the motel room watching the TV and doing some admin chores while Julie spent time sitting outside on the verandah or looking around town, including asking whether anybody knew of anybody who could drive us back to the trail on Thursday morning.  No luck so far, so we think we will be hitchhiking.

We ventured back to the same bar as last night for dinner then had another quiet night.  A few other hikers have turned up at the motel.

Day 133 - Continental Divide Trail - Dearborn River to Straight Creek/Benchmark Trailhead

Day: 133

Date: Monday, 16 September 2024

Start:  Dearborn River

Finish:  Straight Creek/Benchmark Trailhead (but staying in Augusta)

Daily Kilometres:  30.4

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

Total Kilometres:  3909.0

Weather:  Cold early, then mostly sunny and warm.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Bacon cheeseburger & fries, icecream

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

Highlight:  Getting picked up near the Benchmark Trailhead by three lady hikers and two dogs in two packed vehicles, who went out of their way to squeeze us and our packs into their vehicles, and then drove us the 50km over a very rough road to Augusta and our motel.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

It rained overnight, and our tent was a bit damp, but the sky was clear when our unwelcome alarm went off at 3am.  We packed up as quickly as we could, including wiping down the tent, and were on our way soon after 4am with our goal, the Straight Creek/Benchmark Trailhead, 26km away.

After initially messing around for a few minutes trying to find the trail where it crossed a creek, we made good progress along the reasonable trail.  It was dark for the first 2.5 hours, but we could sense the creek below and the rocky mountains on either side.

We didn't stop for our breakfast break until around 8:30am when we reached a trail junction where we were to leave the CDT and head towards the trailhead.

After breakfast, we followed a good trail that was somewhat marred by horse use, and.made even better time, reaching the trailhead around 11:45am.  From there we walked another 3km down the road towards Augusta, seeking the best place to hitchhike which would capture any traffic from campgrounds and a guest ranch.

We prepared for a long stay by the roadside and only saw one vehicle, going the wrong way, in the first two hours.  However, around 2pm, two vehicles going out way came along and, after some discussion, the drivers worked out that they could fit us in, one of us in each vehicle (see above).  Julie went in the car, and Dave travelled sitting on a bed in the back of the camper.

We were delivered to our motel a little under an hour later, and checked in.  Two other CDT hikers are already staying here and we later had a good chat.  They will be leaving tomorrow, but we are having two days off.

We are here a day earlier than intended when we left Helena, but have already made arrangements - flights, rental car, meeting friend, Rob, in Glacier National Park,.finishing our hike on September 30th - that we do not want to change.  And Dave won't complain about an extra day off.

Later, we had dinner at a nearby bar in this very small and friendly Western town, then went to bed early to catch up on some sleep.

Day 132 - Continental Divide Trail - East Fork Falls Creek to Dearborn River

Day: 132

Date: Sunday, 15 September 2024

Start:  East Fork Falls Creek

Finish:  Dearborn River

Daily Kilometres:  41.8

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

Total Kilometres:  3878.6

Weather:  Cold early, then mild and partly sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals

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

Highlight:  As dawn was breaking, we were hiking along a high ridge with layers of mountain ranges silhouetted against the faint orange sky.  Spectacular!

Lowlight:  Our booked shuttle driver to Augusta tomorrow cancelled (see below).

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Knowing that we needed to cover a lot of kilometres today in rugged country, we woke at 4am and were hiking by 5am on a cold morning.  Currently, the sun is rising around 7am, so we were hiking by headlamp for the first hour and a half.  The wind of yesterday was gone, and it was both peaceful and spectacular as we hiked along the high ridge at around 8000’ as the sun rose (see above).

It turned out to be a day or two halves, with the first half mostly above the treeline with great views and some solid climbing.  The second half, which started with a long descent of nearly 2000’ to the Dearborn River, was through forest where the undergrowth and some deciduous trees were starting to look very autumnal in shades of yellow, orange and red.

Once we crossed the river, we followed it upstream, mostly along trail high above the river, for the remainder of the day.  The mountains rising from the river on both sides were rocky and spectacular.

We began looking for somewhere to camp around 8pm, and found a spot about 8:15pm, by which time it was quite dark.  This will be our life for the next two weeks, starting and finishing in the dark.

During the day, when we briefly had internet reception, we confirmed our pickup time tomorrow with the shuttle driver (third one we tried) only to be told she was now unavailable.  We were not happy, as the trailhead from which we access our resupply town of Augusta (50km from the trail), is at the end of a dead-end forestry road with no through traffic.  The chances of getting a lift on a Monday, after the summer vacation has finished, did not seem good.  We had heard of one couple who had taken 16 hours to get a ride.

With this in mind, we decided that the earlier we could get to the trailhead tomorrow, the better. So, despite our early start and long day today, we decided to get up at 3am in the hope of hiking the remaining 26km to the trailhead tomorrow by around noon, giving us the afternoon to hitch-hike into Augusta..

Day 131 - Canyon Creek to East Fork Falls Creek

Day: 131

Date: Saturday, 14 September 2024

Start:  Canyon Creek

Finish:  East Fork Falls Creek

Daily Kilometres:  35.5

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

Total Kilometres:  3836.8

Weather:  Cold all day with a strong wind and partly sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli 

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

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

Highlight:  About when we wanted to have a lunch break, after labouring in the very cold wind all morning (see below), we reached a yurt (hut) that was open for hikers and provided excellent shelter, complete with chairs and a table.  Ideal for lunch.  It was set up with stretchers, solar power, a gas stove and fire, so would have been good for camping.

Lowlight:  The wind today was relentless, strong and cold from about an hour after we started hiking until the evening.  Since, for much of the day, we were on treeless ridges and mountains, we were very exposed.  The constant roar in our ears and buffeting as it caught our packs and clothing was very tedious.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke at 5:30am to find out tent very wet with condensation from a cold damp night.  The surrounding vegetation was covered in frost.  Maybe for that reason, we were slower to get going and didn't start hiking until 6:45am under cloudy skies.  Before long a cold strong wind arrived and stayed with us for most of the day.  We were wearing many layers to keep warm.

Last evening we had worked out that, because our roadwalk yesterday to get around the CDT wildfire closure had shaved some distance from the kilometres to our next resupply at Augusta, we might actually be able to get there in three more days rather than the planned four.  It would mean three long days, but would give us two days off in Augusta instead of one.

At our breakfast break, where we had internet reception, Dave lined up the extra night in the motel (got the last room), and arranged a shuttle pickup from the remote Benchmark trailhead.  It's a long story but finding a shuttle driver was not easy and the latest they can pick us up on Monday is 5pm.  This means that Monday will have to be a shorter hiking day and, therefore, today and Sunday would have to be big days.

This seemed like a good plan at the time but, as the day passed with us being buffeted by the wind (see above) and the ascents becoming more challenging, we began to second-guess our decision.

Despite the wind and climbs, it was actually a great day scenery-wise.  The smoke haze was gone and we were above the treeline most of the time following the spine of the Continental Divide, giving us superb views of mountain ranges and valleys and far distant plains.  We could see far behind from whence we had come and far ahead to where we were going.

However, the steep ascents and descents, more than +/- 5000’ in total, kept our (Dave's) pace slow and we didn't get as far as we would have liked.

Around 8pm, as it got dark, we found a partly protected sloping tent site in a saddle and set up camp.  Looks like being an early start tomorrow if we are to do the necessary kilometres to meet our shuttle on Monday.

Day 130 - Continental Divide Trail - Marysville to Canyon Creek

Day: 130

Date: Friday, 13 September 2024

Start: Marysville 

Finish:  Canyon Creek

Daily Kilometres:  41.0

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

Total Kilometres:  3801.3

Weather:  Cold and overcast most of the day with a strong cold wind.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Microwaved fruit pies & pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Snacks/Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals

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

Highlight:  Nothing in particular.

Lowlight:  In the early afternoon, one of several dogs on a farm that came out to bark at us, jumped the fence, struck up an instant rapport with Julie, and followed us for the next 10km of our road walk.  No amount of threats and yelling would make it turn back and it had several close calls with passing cars.  Eventually, a driver who must live locally, stopped and got the dog into his car.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We delayed getting up until 6am and started hiking at 7am, with the intention of arriving at a country store we could see on Google, close to our planned route, at 9am when it opened.  We didn't know what food would be available there, but figured they would have something different to our usual on-trail fare.

The two-hour walk to the store was quite pleasant, following a traffic-free dirt road mostly downhill through attractive partly-forested grazing land.  Towards the end of this walk we reached the valley floor where there were farms and also a compound with multiple small dwellings and RVs and various flags flying, including the Confederate flag.

The store turned out to be very small, so we bought a few things then sat on the rocking chair on their porch while we had our breakfast.  It was a very cold morning with a cold wind blowing, but at least the porch offered a little protection.  The store also had a trash can and pit toilet, both bonuses for thru-hikers.

From the store, we had a 26km road walk along Hwy 279 up to Flesher Pass (6150’).  The road initially passed through farmland, irrigated by huge sprinkler systems, then climbed through a picturesque ravine carved by Canyon Creek before reaching a narrow valley with more farms and cabins.  After a lunch stop we passed a farm where there were dogs and one of them decided to join us on our hike for 10km (see above).

Eventually, we reached Flesher Pass around 4:30pm where we rejoined the official CDT, north of the wildfire closure, which we had skirted.

It was nice to get back onto single-track trail, even if it did climb steeply away from the pass.  Our last 5km for the day was quite hilly with good views, enhanced by the emergence of the setting sun, illuminating the clouds, and a bright moon rising on the east.

Around 7:50pm, we found a protected tent site on a cold windy ridge and set up camp.  It was good to get in our cosy tent and sleeping bags.