Day 145 - Continental Divide Trail - Red Eagle Lake to Reynolds Creek Campground

Day: 145

Date: Saturday, 28 September 2024

Start:  Red Eagle Lake 

Finish:  Reynolds Creek Campground

Daily Kilometres:  25.3

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

Total Kilometres:  4149.9

Weather:  Cold early then mild and mostly sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Protein bars/Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals

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

Highlight:  For much of the morning the trail ran alongside, but high above, Saint Mary Lake, through lovely forest with magnificent views across the pristine lake to the jagged mountains on the other side.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke at 6am and, on his way to the privy, Dave met a full-size moose on the trail which casually walked off and was later silhouetted by the dawn light grazing in the lake shallows.  Magic!

We were hiking by soon after 7am on a cool morning under clear skies, but the surrounding mountains prevented any sunlight from reaching us for another hour or two.  We followed the Red Eagle Creek downstream through long-burnt forest with the sun gradually illuminating the rocky escarpment to our left.

After crossing the creek, the trail took us along the shore of Saint Mary Lake and we had magnificent views (see above).  There was no wind today, which was a very welcome change.  It was a perfect day for hiking.  As we neared the western end of the lake there were some spectacular waterfalls and just after the falls at Virginia Creek we met, coming the other way, our friend, Rob.

Rob has kindly arranged to be in Glacier National Park to coincide with our finish of the CDT as part of a trip to the West Coast and will be at the Canadian border to pick us up when we finish the trail on Monday afternoon.  He hiked some of the Pacific Crest Trail with Dave in 2017 and also joined us for some days on the Appalachian Trail last year.  We were very pleased to see him and he is camped with us tonight.

We reached our campsite, along with Rob, around 3pm and had a lazy afternoon catching up on each other's news.

While we all had dinner, we had an interesting chat with the Swiss/Canadian CDT hikers we first met on the trail a few days ago.  Then, just as we were about to retire to our tents, another CDT hiker, Snazzy, arrived in camp.  He had started the CDT the same day as us back on the Mexican border nearly five months ago and we hadn't seen him since.  It was good to see he was still going and he seemed pleased to see us.  We didn't get time to catch up with him, but we'll probably be staying on the same campsite tomorrow night so will see him then.

Day 144 - Continental Divide Trail - Morning Star Lake to Red Eagle Lake

Day: 144

Date: Friday, 27 September 2024

Start:  Morning Star Lake

Finish:  Red Eagle Lake

Daily Kilometres:  23.2

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

Total Kilometres:  4149.9

Weather:  Cold to cool and partly sunny with a strong and blustery wind.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Protein bars/Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

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

Highlight:  The climb up and over Triple Divide Pass (7376’) on well-engineered trail that gave us dress-circle views of the precipitous mountain scenery was memorable. Below us were alpine lakes and we could see some spectacular waterfalls coming down from the heights.

Lowlight:  The gusty wind that had blown yesterday and all night continued today and, when we were above the treeline, made the hiking unpleasant.  For much of the climb up to the Triple Divide Pass, very strong wind gusts seemed to be determined to blow us off the trail and down the steep slope to our left.  We frequently had to stop and brace ourselves to avoid that fate.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We slept in, knowing we had a short day, and didn't start hiking until 7:45am.  The location of the backcountry campsites in Glacier National Park (GNP) and the distances between them have determined our itinerary through the Park.  After a long day yesterday, we have three relatively short days before a longer day on Monday to finish the trail.

Even though it was a short day today, Dave was still fatigued from yesterday's big day and this showed on the 2000’ climb to Triple Divide Pass, buffeted by strong winds the whole way.  So, progress was slow, but the views, which seemed to change around every bend, were breathtaking and well worth the slow climb.

Once we crossed the Pass and began our descent, the wind did not let up until we eventually dropped below the treeline.  Then it was just very windy!

The trail below the treeline was a little overgrown, but generally good quality and we made better time.  We passed more waterfalls along the way and the autumn foliage was beautiful.  Lower down we had to cross two rivers on suspension bridges, the second of which was very sketchy.

We reached Red Eagle Lake and our campsite around 4:30pm, a very unusual and welcome early finish to a hiking day, and set up camp.  We are the only people staying here.  The GNP backcountry campsites have designated clearings for tents, and another clearing, perhaps with some logs for sitting, for cooking and eating away from the tent sites (in case bears pick up the dinner scent), and generally a privy (long-drop toilet).

We had an early dinner, after which, Julie went for a kilometre walk to another campsite at the other end of the lake where we knew another CDT northbound couple (one Swiss and one Canadian) we had met yesterday were camping, to have a chat and find out what their plans were for the next couple of days.

Then we had a welcome early night.

Day 143 - Continental Divide Trail - East Glacier Park to Morning Star Lake

Day: 143

Date: Thursday, 26 September 2024

Start:  East Glacier Park MT 

Finish:  Morning Star Lake

Daily Kilometres:  37.4

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

Total Kilometres:  4126.7

Weather:  Cold, with some light rain/hail in the morning then partly sunny and very windy all day, particularly in the morning.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Egg mayonnaise sandwiches

  Lunch:  Meat & cheese wraps

  Dinner:  Protein bars

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

Highlight:  The spectacular mountain scenery.  Almost all day we had clear views of the mountains of Glacier National Park which seem impossibly steep and jagged, towering over forested valleys and alpine lakes.

Lowlight:  The wind has made the day memorable.  In the morning, as we crossed over Two Medicine Pass (7411’), the wind was so strong it was literally blowing us off our feet.  At times we were clinging to the ground or cliffside to prevent being blown away.  When we did make progress, we looked like bizarre folk dancers, taking unplanned sideways or backwards steps in an effort to stay upright.  It was tiring and slow progress.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We left our motel at 6:15am and began hiking out of town on a bleak morning.  It had been raining and was still spitting a bit, and it was cold, dark and the wind was blowing hard.  We knew we had a long hard day in front of us and our motel room had been warm and dry.  Dave was ready for our journey to be over, but we still have five days to go.

Our mood didn't improve as we left the roads to follow overgrown and narrow wet trail by headlamp up to the boundary of Glacier National Park.  Soon Julie's feet were wet and cold.

The trail quality did improve in the Park and we climbed steadily and, occasionally, steeply towards our first pass of the day, Two Medicine (7411’).  The views were spectacular but the increasing strength of the wind as we gained height often made it too hard to stand still to admire the views or take photographs.  This was particularly true at the high point and as we followed a ridge northwards (see above).  We were very happy to start our switchbacking descent towards Two Medicine Lake though the wind still made it challenging.  On the way we met some longhorn sheep that did not seem too bothered by our presence.

Down at the Lake there were lots of tourists and some primary school groups.  We found a picnic table partly out of the wind and had lunch.

After lunch we hiked along nice trail following Dry Fork Creek upstream, mostly through pretty forest with the autumn foliage of some trees and undergrowth contrasting with the deep green of the evergreen pines.  On either side were the sheer sides of jagged mountains.

Eventually we crossed Pitamakan Pass (7631’) with more superb views then descended to Morning Star Lake where we camped at around 7:45pm.  It was getting dark and Dave was very tired (over 5500' of ascent today) so we didn't bother with a cooked dinner and had an early night.  We can hear some large unidentified (so far) animals moving through the forest around where we are camped.

Day 142 - Continental Divide Trail - East Glacier Park MT

Day: 142

Date: Wednesday, 25 September 2024

Start:  East Glacier Park MT

Finish:  East Glacier Park MT 

Daily Kilometres:  0.0

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

Total Kilometres:  4089.3

Weather:  Cool to mild, mostly sunny and breezy.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Omelette, hash browns, toast & jam/Scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns, choc chip pancake.

  Lunch:  Ham & salad rolls

  Dinner:  Cheeseburgers & fries, icecream 

Aches:  Nothing reported.

Highlight:  Not only did we get all of the backcountry campsites we wanted when Dave went to the Glacier National Park (GNP) Office in St Mary this morning but, while midway through the booking process, GNP management decided that the famous Ptarmigan Tunnel (for hikers), which was scheduled to close tomorrow (a couple of days before we would get there) would now.remain open for a further week.

Lowlight:  Although the weather forecast for GNP for the next week is good for hiking and sightseeing, tonight and tomorrow have a very strong wind warning.  The ranger who made our booking warned that wind speeds could reach 100kph (60mph) tomorrow in two of the high passes we have to cross.  Not looking forward to that.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Dave's 7am shuttle driver to the GNP Office at St Mary, 50km away, didn't arrive until nearly 7:30am, but he drove fast.  He was a member of the Blackfeet Tribe and a good conversationalist so the journey to and from the GNP Office was very pleasant with the bonus of magnificent scenery on a fantastically clear morning.

At the GNP Office, Dave was able to book the campsites we wanted in the park (see above), despite GNP IT system failures which ended with him paying in cash and getting a hand-written permit.

While Dave was getting the permits, Julie went out for a longer run than usual, carrying bear spray.  Grizzly bears are prevalent in GNP with one of our preferred campsites closed because of bear activity and a hiker attacked by a grizzly in the park last week.  It was driven off by his hiking companions with bear spray.  Apparently grizzlies are very active at present as part of their pre-hibernation “feeding frenzy”!

Anyway, Julie survived her run and we had a late breakfast at the same cafe as yesterday after Dave returned from St Mary.

The rest of the day was spent packing for our last five days hiking and on laundry as well as relaxing in front of the TV (Dave) or reading or dozing (Julie).

We likely have a long and tough day tomorrow to reach our booked backcountry campsite in GNP, so ate early at another nearby restaurant and had an early night.

Day 141 - Continental Divide Trail - East Glacier Park

Day: 141

Date: Tuesday, 24 September 2024

Start:  East Glacier MT

Finish:  East Glacier MT

Daily Kilometres:  0.0

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

Total Kilometres:  4089.3

Weather:  Cool early then mild and mostly sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Omelette, hash browns, toast & jam/Scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, blueberry pancakes.

  Lunch:  Meat & cheese subs.

  Dinner:  Nachos, icecream 

Aches:  Nothing reported.

Highlight:  Lazy relaxing day.

Lowlight:  Dave tried six different possible shuttle drivers/companies to organise an early ride to the Glacier National Park Visitor Center in St Mary, 50km away, tomorrow morning to book our backcountry campsites for the next leg of our journey.  It opens at 7:30am.  Campsites are allocated on a first-come first-served basis on the day of, or the day before, you enter the park, so it is desirable to be there early.

The response of the companies/drivers contacted varied - some didn't respond, some weren't available and some were outrageously priced.  Finally, one offered to do it at a less outrageous price.  Hopefully they turn up at 7am as.promised.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Julie went for a dawn run and then we both walked to a nearby cafe for a nice American breakfast.

For much of the rest of the day, Dave hung out in the motel room doing planning and admin while Julie looked around town and went for a walk in the afternoon.

East Glacier apparently originated as a railway town, but is now more of a tourist stop for visitors to Glacier National Park.  A large percentage of the population are Native Americans of the Blackfeet Tribe.  It is a good place for hikers as there are various eateries and the town is compact.

Last night, Julie accepted an invitation (to both of us) to join some of the other CDT hikers for a drink back at the Mexican restaurant where we had earlier had dinner.  Dave opted out.  Tonight we joined some of the same hikers back there for a very convivial dinner.  Everybody is proud of what they have done and savoured the experience, but looking forward to their last days on the trail and moving on to the next thing in their lives. 

Day 140 - Continental Divide Trail - North Badger Creek to East Glacier Park MT

Day: 140

Date: Monday, 23 September 2024

Start:  North Badger Creek 

Finish:  East Glacier Park , MT

Daily Kilometres:  39.7

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

Total Kilometres:  4089.3

Weather:  Cool all day.  Overcast in the morning and mostly sunny in the afternoon with a strong wind.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Pop tarts/Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Nachos, icecream.

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

Highlight:  Reaching East Glacier Park, our last resupply town on the trail before we reach Canada.  A bonus was getting here a day early so that we have two days off before our last five days on the trail.

Lowlight:  Nothing in particular.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

The alarm went off at 3am and we were hiking by 4am on a cool dry morning, quite a contrast to yesterday's cold and frost.  Our tent was dry when we packed up and the creeks we had to cross were rock-hoppable, at least until the sun rose.

Later in the morning, as we followed Two Medicine River downstream on a trail that crossed it multiple times, the rock-hoppability became more challenging though, Dave, who has Goretex boots, managed to keep his feet dry …. unlike Julie .... not amused.

The reason for the early start today was to cover the 40km to East Glacier Park, where we had a motel booked, by a reasonable time.  Despite hiking in the dark by headlamp for the first three hours, we made good time, covering 12km, and had breakfast as dawn broke.

Between breakfast and lunch we covered another 12km, mostly following Two Medicine River through a lovely valley populated with many autumnal deciduous trees backed by partially pine-forested mountains.

We had our lunch break at a trailhead on Highway 2 across.from the jagged peaks of Glacier National Park.  It was windy and cold, despite the sun and we didn't dally.

Our last 16km of the day was a roadwalk down Hwy 2, which was quite busy, but the mountain scenery was good.  We arrived in the tiny town of East Glacier.Park, with its impressive Amtrak station on the elevated railway through town, around 3:15pm and.checked into the motel.  Dave was very tired, but happy to have made it, especially with the prospect of two days off now before our last five days on the trail.

In town, we met some other CDT hikers we had last seen in Augusta who are planning to leave tomorrow.  Suddenly, there seem to be more hikers around.

Later, we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant around the corner and will have an early night.

Day 139 - Continental Divide Trail - Strawberry Creek to North Badger Creek

Day: 139

Date: Sunday, 22 September 2024

Start:  Strawberry Creek

Finish:  North Badger Creek 

Daily Kilometres:  37.7

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

Total Kilometres:  4049.6

Weather:  Very cold early then cool and mostly overcast.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts/Muesli

  Lunch:  Protein bars/Trail mix 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

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

Highlight:  We passed the 2500 mile mark of our trek today.

Lowlight:  We woke at 5am to a tent with frozen condensation on the inside and ice on the outside.  Packing it up in the dark was miserably cold.  Then, because we had to ford a creek to continue on the trail, we crossed it in our sandals then put our boots/shoes on.  It was bitterly cold and we both had frozen feet for the first hour or so, not to mention frozen hands.  This may have been the lowlight of the whole trip!

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke at 5am, packed up our frozen tent and forded the adjacent stream (see above).  We were both miserably cold for the first hour or so and that encouraged fast hiking by headlamp in an effort to warm up.

For most of the morning we were passing through a burnt out forest with lots of fallen trees and other dead trees still standing like forlorn sentinels.  On either side of the Strawberry Creek valley, along which we were hiking, were stoney mountains.  The trail, which must get quite a lot of horse traffic, was cut up and very boggy, though not as bad as it might have been had the ground not been partially frozen.  We could understand why some hikers call the Bob Marshall Wilderness the Bog Marsh Wilderness.

It was a very autumnal day, cool and overcast, with much of the deciduous foliage yellow or orange.

Around noon, we crossed the low Muskrat Pass (5987’) and left the Bob Marshall Wilderness.  The Chinese Wall had been the highlight, but there were other spectacular escarpments and lovely forest in between, though it was sad to see such extensive burnt areas.

Outside the Wilderness, the trail continued to be boggy for some kilometres then became firmer underfoot but very overgrown with wirey scratchy undergrowth.  Seemed like we had to have bogs or undergrowth.

Later in the afternoon, we descended to North Badger Creek and the trail became better, passing through cool damp pine forest.

Around 6:45pm, we reached our target creek, where there was reputedly Verizon phone reception, and camped.  The reason for wanting phone reception was that, with a 40km+ day tomorrow, we will reach our last town and resupply point, East Glacier Park, and be able to have an extra day off.  That would be helpful because while in town, we will have to spend time getting to another town, St Mary, 50km away where there is a Glacier National Park Visitor Centre, to obtain our backcountry and camping permits for the last five days of our journey.  You can only get these in person on the day of, or the day before, you enter the park.

We did manage to get an additional night at our already booked motel in East Glacier Park and will make a very early start tomorrow in order to arrive at a reasonable time tomorrow evening.