PNT - Northport, WA to Sherman Pass (Republic, WA)

Day 20 - Northport to Elbow Lake  Daily Mileage: 15

I hit the road walking west out of Northport after a nice lunch.  The whole day today was spent on forest service roads (Big Sheep Creek Rd to be specific).  As it was a Friday, there was a fair amount of traffic, and lots of little camps set up along the creek.

I met two real nice guys, Perry and LJ (maybe?) who gave me my first trail magic!  On a hot afternoon, they came through with a cold beer, and we stopped to chat for a while.  I almost wanted to take a picture with my first trail magic, but figured it would be weird.  They invited me to come stay at their camp down the road.  They'd set up for the weekend and were doing a little gold panning and just hanging out.  Unfortunately, it was three miles back in the wrong direction.  Looking back, it would have been a blast.  Next time, I'm going to say "yes" even if it puts me back a few miles.

Anyway, I set up camp at Elbow Lake and spent an hour watching a helicopter fly over and pick up buckets of water, presumably to put out a forest fire.  Pretty cool to watch them fly in right in front of me, but fires are bad news for hiking.  Let's have a good rainstorm on my night in Republic!

Day 21 - Elbow Lake to Mystery Camp  Daily Mileage:  30+ ??

The only picture I was inspired to take in 3 days

Hit the trail by 6am and thought maybe I'd pull my first 9x9.  That's nine miles before 9am.  I don't think I quite made it, but I definitely got my 10x10.  Walked dirt roads all day long, so not much to report, other than that I'm sick of walking dirt roads.

Unfortunately, I missed a turn and ended up 6 miles down the wrong road.  The topography matched up exactly, except I was heading NW instead of WSW.  When I finally realized my mistake, I was already feeling down about the boring walking, and then to figure out that I had to backtrack 6 miles just hurt.  I turned around and walked two miles back the way I had come cursing the road, trees, streams, and any animals within earshot.  I set up camp right in the middle of a road, just because I knew that I was so far out no one would ever come this way.

At least I got my 30 mile day!

Day 22 - Mystery Camp to Neff Spring  Daily Mileage: 28.5

This must have been my first campsite of the trip that was exposed to the east, because I woke up at 6am to the sun in my face.  I packed up quickly, cursed the road, nearby forest, and campsite one last time, and then headed back down the way I had come.  As I had hoped, it was only about 4.5 miles back to where I took a wrong turn, and I started the boring climb up the correct road this time.

My first views in days...

I reached the end of the road walk and the start of the Kettle Crest trail around noon.  My celebratory granola in a dusty parking lot didn't really hit the spot, but it was pretty much all I had for food.  I started up the trail without a lot of fanfare, hoping that my spirits would improve.  It did help quite a bit to finally be on a trail that was a little more engaging, but after about three miles in, the path became choked with small alders that kept dumping bugs all over me.  Between patches of alders, spiderwebs crisscrossed the trail, all seemingly at eye-level.  It didn't take long before I was frustrated once again and questioning why the hell I was even out here.

View from my campsite

Luckily, the bad section only lasted about a mile or two, and I was finally treated to a decent view out to the west.  It was nearing 5:30pm by this point, and the sun was throwing some beautiful shadows over the rolling hills below.  I realized that this was the first time in almost 4 days that I'd had a reason to pull the camera out.  Neff Spring, almost 29 miles in was a welcome sight when I finally arrived around 7:30.  I plopped my tent down, used my cookpot to take a bucket-shower, and got some tea going.  I took my cup of tea and some strawberry cheesecake (made from a dry mix) out to watch the sun go down.  Life can be rough out here sometimes.

Oh!  Well hello there!

As I walked back from my spot on the hill, I started a moose who had set up between me and my tent.  He gave me an annoyed look and then sauntered on up the hill.  When he got a safe distance away, he turned around and watched me go about my business of tidying up camp before bed.  Better than a grizzly bear, I guess.




















Day 23 - Neff Spring to Sherman Pass  Daily Mileage: 15

I got a decently early start, even with a leisurely breakfast, and hit the trail by 7am.  Most of the walking today was along broad, grassy slopes with nice views out to the west.  I made good time, and covered the 15 miles to Hwy 20 in about 6 hours.  Though there was plenty of traffic, it took me an hour to get a ride into town.

My spirits were much higher on the walk today than they were yesterday.  Just having a few nice views and some interesting walking really makes all the difference in the world.  From now on, any official roadwalks will be hitched if possible.  I can't stand another gradual 8 mile climb on boring gravel!

Not much else to say...Republic seems nice, if a little overpriced.  I'll spend the evening relaxing and enjoying a beer or two somewhere in town.

PNT - Metaline Falls, WA to Northport, WA

Day 17 - Metaline Falls

Not too much to report here today.  Took my first zero in the booming metropolis of Metaline Falls, a nice little town of about 250 people.  I had the day to let my feet rest and assess my condition.  I have 7 out of 10 toes bandaged, both heels covered in Leukotape, the ball of my right foot wrapped up, and my legs look like a got in a fight with a couple of very angry cats.  On the plus side, the gash in my forehead has almost healed, and my weight loss plan is coming along nicely.  No scales, but it looks like I'm probably down around 12 pounds since I started.

I'm thinking of patenting my program:  What if I told you that you can eat absolutely anything you want and still lose weight like crazy?  No expensive machines, no pills, and no funky diet plan.  All you have to do is change your lifestyle completely for two to five months!  You'll see the country and meet crazy ass people.  It's easy!

Day 18 - Metaline Falls to Silver Creek Camp  Daily Mileage: 23

Boy that zero day sure made all the difference in the world.  I felt light on my feet this morning and practically floated up Abercrombie mountain.  A car even stopped at the bottom of the 7.5 mile forest service road and asked if I'd like a ride to the trailhead.  I turned 'em down, just because I actually wanted to walk!  Amazing what the trail will do to you...

Abercrombie summit view

Anyway, it turned out to be a real boring walk up to the trailhead, but the Abercrombie Mountain trail was a pleasant climb.  About halfway up, I found a natural spring just off the trail, which lifted my spirits even more!  There's nothing better than ice cold water straight from the ground!  The view from the summit of Abercrombie was amazing, and I was tempted to quit early and spend the night up on top.  I wouldn't have water, but I'd definitely have a spectacular sunset and sunrise.  In the end, I decided to continue on...it was only 2pm, and I was feeling great on my feet.  The descent down the other side of the mountain was easy.  Almost too easy.  From the trail turnoff, it was only 2 miles as the crow flies, but due to excessive switchbacks, the total distance was 6 miles.  They must have been trying to make it wheelchair accessible or something, because they were dead flat.  I could see exactly where I needed to go, and I really try not to cut switchbacks (causes erosion, and it makes you a jackass), but sweet jesus man!  Maybe I was just getting tired, but the ridiculous trail design put me in kind of a bad mood. 

The Silver Creek Camp was empty except for one small group of nice old folks.  We chatted for a while before turning in to bed, and the old dude made sure to show me all four of the guns he carries with him in case I tried anything funny.  He said I was now in "God's Country".  I had a comment to make about the obscene number of guns in God's Country, but I kept it to myself.

Day 19 - Silver Creek Camp to Northport, WA  Daily Mileage: 19

The ground near Silver Creek must be extra soft, because I just couldn't pull myself out of bed this morning.  I slept in until almost 8, and then slowly got myself together.  The walk down into the valley went quickly, and I ran into the Fishers, who live about 3 miles down.  They've been doing trail maintenance on the PNT for years, and I had a nice conversation with them about the history of the trail.  They told me to make a point to tell folks on the trail to stop by and say hello if they'd like.  So here it is:  Stop by and say hello.  They're 3 miles down from Silver Creek Camp on the left side of the road.

Most of my 19 miles today was spent road walking, but my feet felt great and it was quite pleasant.  The climb along O'Hare Creek and up to the old Lind Ranch wasn't too bad, even in the heat of the afternoon.  Unfortunately, I did run through a patch of something that just caused my legs to itch like crazy.  I don't think it was poison ivy or poision oak...maybe just an allergic reaction, but good god it was miserable.  I tried my hardest not to scratch, but it was so bad that my whole body was shaking on the 2 mile descent down to Black Canyon Rd.  I finally found a small creek that I was able to sit down in and cool off.  That helped a bit, but my legs were still a bit irritated.  I think maybe the fact that the valleys have been hitting near 100 degrees probably doesn't help.  I'm managing the heat quite well, but my body just isn't used to temps like that.

Anyway, pulled into Northport around 4pm, and promptly grabbed a huge iced tea, a liter of chocolate milk, and some fruit from Tony's market.  I ended up staying at the Mattison House, owned by Bert and Jerry.  Incredibly nice folks, and I've spent the evening chatting with them.  A quick lasagna dinner and a few beers later, I'm feeling ready for bed.

No pictures from today, so I'll just add this one of Daphne playing with the largest log she could find that happened to be on my camera.  Crazy dog. 

PNT - Bonner's Ferry, ID to Metaline Falls, WA

Day 13 - Bonner's Ferry to Parker Creek  Daily Mileage: 8

Hiker trash resupply mess outside the post office

It took a lot longer than I thought to get a ride back towards the trail from Bonner's Ferry.  Though it was a main highway with lots of traffic, no one wanted to stop.  I walked about three miles up the road looking for a good place to wait, and finally caught a ride with a friendly Canadian fellow headed north around 3pm.  From where he dropped m
e off, I still had an eight mile road walk on dirt farm roads.  There wasn't much traffic here, and I had to walk it all the way to the Parker Creek trailhead.  I had hoped to make about 10 miles up the hill today, instead of a few boring road miles, but I didn't get to the trailhead until about 6:30 and I decided to call it a night.

I'm planning on an early start tomorrow as I've got to cover some big miles, including a 6 mile bushwhack.  Onward to the ocean!

The mountains I'm tackling tomorrow!

Day 14 - Parker Creek to Ball Lakes  Daily Mileage: 20??

Looking back on the Kootenai River Valley

I had big plans to knock out 25+ miles today, but I just couldn't make it happen.  The first 11 miles out of the valley were all climbing.  Sometimes steeply, sometimes gently, but always up up up.  I reached Ball lakes around 3:15, and I knew that I had at least 3 or 4 more hours of hiking ahead of me until I hit my next camp spot.  Though it's light until 10pm, I just didn't want to be arriving in camp that late.

So it was a bit early, and I may not have hit my mileage goal, but oh well. It was a beautiful day and I'm on vacation damn it!  A sunny afternoon at a gorgeous mountain lake is just what I need.  I was going to reward myself with a Mac and cheese dinner, but I didn't quite feel like I deserved it.  I set up camp, went for a nice long swim, and then sat and watched the sun go down over the mountains.  The fish started jumping in the evening, and I enjoyed a beautiful, bug free night.

View of Upper Ball Lake from my campsite

Anyone for a swim?

Day 15 - Ball Lakes to Ruby Camp Daily mileage 22

Lower Ball Lake

From Ball lakes, I had to walk cross country along a ridge for a mile or so, and then descend steeply into a river valley and bushwhack along the river for a few miles until meeting up with the lion creek trail.  The climb up to the ridge wasn't too bad, and I passed what I'm pretty certain was a bear den on the way.  A small, bear sized cave filled with dead grasses on the side of a remote mountain hill.  Sweet! Never seen that before. Luckily no one was home.

I followed game trails here and there throughout the descent along lion creek, but much of the time was spent brush bashing.  I had some pretty frustrating moments, and was glad there was no one around for miles to hear me screaming at the bushes, swamps and nettles.  I eventually stumbled out on the Lion Creek trail, and found a nice spot along the river with a natural rock waterslide to relax and have lunch.  I went for a swim, rinsed out some clothes, and ate my granola bars for lunch.  Though this trail had been hard work so far, the occasional waterslide more than makes up for it.

Bear's house?

From Lion Creek, I passed the campground at the head of Priest Lake.  I had dreams of yogiing some food or a cold drink, but ended up passing everyone by.  Swimming in the lake sounded great, but I was ready to finish up a few more miles and call it a day.  I had some great, easy walking all along Upper Priest Lake, and my feet told me to stop after about 22 miles at a road crossing near Ruby Creek.  The mosquitoes were absolutely unbearable, and I was forced to cook quickly and eat my food in the tent.  Dinner was pesto pasta with sundried tomatoes and a tuna packet.  Yum!

Bushwhack down the hill and along the valley...

Waterslide!

Day 16 - Ruby Camp to Metaline Falls  Daily Mileage: ??

Tropical beach?  Nope...Upper Priest Lake

I left Ruby Camp nice and early and started walking north along some old, quite forest service roads.  My guidebook suggested that the trail ahead was not very well maintained, and could be a miserable, blowdown ridden climb & descent over Shedroof Mountain.  My feet were yelling at me to take a break from the moment I woke up, and we agreed that I'd skip a potentially brutal climb and meet up with the trail in a few miles.

I have no idea how far I walked, and it was a little nerve-wracking to be walking without a map or GPS and just following the directions in the book.  Luckily, the roads and trails were quite nice and flat, and it felt like I made great time.  An old forest service road turned into an amazingly soft trail past Hughes Meadow and back into the mountains.  Aside from a few short densely overgrown sections and some significant blowdowns, the trail was flat, easy to follow, and incredibly easy on my feet.  It meandered through a cedar forest with some beautiful, large, old trees and scarce undergrowth.  The morning sunlight filtering through the dense canopy was just perfect.

A few creek crossings later, I found myself standing at the steep climb up the mountain to meet the official PNT.  Halfway up, I plopped down for a little rest break, and found myself surrounded by huckleberries.  Jackpot!  I stuffed my face, and loudly apologized to any bears that might be nearby for stealing their food.  This seemed like a good spot to take a more extended break, and I broke out my granola for lunch.  Fresh huckleberry granola on a sunny mountainside just can't be beat!

After lunch, I gained a nice ridge and followed the PNT down to Gypsy Meadows (yes...a second Gypsy Meadows).  At the trailhead, I noticed a sign that the Sullivan Ridge trail was closed to the public.  I had a 4 mile bushwhack ahead of me up Leola Creek, and then a few more miles on Sullivan Ridge.  I'm not sure how you close a trail, but that combined with a bushwhack described as "the worst 4 miles of hiking anywhere in the country" and my ever aching feet convinced me to detour around.  I walked for about 8 miles down the Sullivan Creek road before finally accepting a ride from a guy who informed me that I had a looong way to go before reaching the end of the road.

Though I had previously planned to stop at Sullivan Lake for the night, I gave in to his offer to take me all the way into Metaline Falls (I would have just hitched a ride tomorrow morning anyway).  I needed a good rest, and planned to take a full zero day in Metaline Falls.  He dropped me at the Circle Hotel, 2 miles outside of town and I passed out fairly early.  I felt a little bad about having to miss out on ~15 miles of trail today, but I'm here to enjoy myself.  I need a rest after 14 straight days of walking.  I'm 300 miles in, and though I'm bandaged and tired, I'm feeling great!

PNT - Eureka, MT to Bonner's Ferry, ID

Day 8 - Eureka to Gypsy Meadows  Daily Mileage: 19

I caught a ride out of Eureka with the same guy who had given me a ride 2 days earlier near Theriault Lakes while I was lost.  Small world.  He dropped me off at the Koocanusa bridge and I started walking.  Half a mile later, I was on the quiet side of the lake, and zoomed through a few miles of road walking before starting the climb up Webb mountain.  The first two miles of the climb were a bit brutal, as I was exposed to the sun, but after that the grade lessened slightly and the final three weren't so bad.  I had some lunch and managed blisters on my feet at the lookout tower on top.

The trails from Webb mountain to my campsite for the night were relatively easy to follow, except for an insane number of blowdowns across the trail.  Just as I'd finish picking my way through one, I'd look up to see the next waiting for me 50 yards down the trail.  I missed my turnoff and went 1.5 miles down the wrong trail.  Navigating the blowdowns wasn't any more fun the second time around.  I made camp near the marshy Gypsy Meadows and spend about an hour after dinner watching frogs do their thing in the creek.  I'm not sure if these frogs are a good representation, but if so, frogs lead fairly boring lives.  Watching the salamander soap opera in Porcupine Lake on the PCT with Joe and Guire was much more entertaining.

In other news, it seems like the thru-hiker hunger has finally started to set in.  Even after eating huge meals, I'm pretty much always hungry.  This means future town stops are going to be a total pigout!  Sweet!

Day 9 - Gypsy Meadows to Yaak River  Daily Mileage: 20

Is there really a trail here?

So in the middle of the night, I woke up to the sound of a distant splash.  Something had just jumped into the opposite end of the marsh, about 100 yards away.  I could hear something very large sloshing its way through the waist high water right towards me.  My mind started racing...would a bear do that in the middle of the night?  Are there moose out here?  Was swamp thing real, or just a movie?  I tried peering out of the tent, but couldn't see anything.  Whatever it was got within about 50 feet of me before I let out a loud whistle and turned on the headlamp.  The footsteps stopped and I didn't hear anything for two agonizing minutes.  Suddenly, another big splash and the thing took off back in the direction it had come from.

The sky was starting to lighten (or so I thought), and I was relieved that it was almost morning and I could get the hell out of there soon.  I looked at my watch only to see that I'd only been asleep for about two hours, and what I thought was dawn, was actually fading twilight.  I had the entire night ahead of me to lay there shivering in fear.  Strangely, I fell asleep within about 30 minutes of my midnight encounter, and actually slept pretty well.

Breakfast of champions

I got up the next morning looking for signs of whatever it was last night, but couldn't find anything.  I hit the trail around 7am, and made it to the top of Mt Henry by 10.  I had a late granola breakfast and enjoyed the view from the abandoned lookout tower.  The trail down to the fish lakes valley was fairly easy to follow, except for another series of blowdowns.  They weren't too hard to get through or around, but they slowed me down considerably and took a lot of energy to deal with.  I stopped at upper Fish Lake for a midday break and a swim.  The lake was a bit shallow and muddy, but warm enough for a great swim.  It felt great to finally find a place to swim that allowed for more than just a quick dip before freezing to death.  I rinsed some clothes out and spent 30 minutes enjoying the sun as they dried.

From Fish Lake it was a decent climb for a few miles, and then the final descent into the Yaak valley was tough.  I lost the trail in a huge tangle of blowdowns, and tried to bushwhack it due west in hopes of meeting up with a forest service road a mile or two down.  It took me almost an hour to go about a quarter mile, and luckily I happened upon the trail again.  It took a lot out of me, and I realized there was no way I would make it to my planned camp for the night.  I had to stop at the first crossing of the Yaak river and hobo camped it under a bridge.  I had a great swim and a bug free evening.

Yaak river campsite

Day 10 - Yaak River to Winkum Creek  Daily Mileage: 24

Got a bit of a late start this morning, and didn't begin walking until 8:45.  I had misplaced my spork, and spent almost an hour looking this morning, and of course, finally found it after I had given up and started to walk out to the road (must have fell out of my pocket while I was resting in the sun on top the bridge).  I'd seen a decent amount of traffic on the road the evening before, and was hopeful that I could catch a ride at least partway up the 12 mile roadwalk I had ahead of me.  No luck.  Not a single car.  From the road's end, I hiked up past Garver mountain and down to Pete Creek camp.  The forest had a unique feel to it, and I enjoyed the quiet, bug free afternoon.

From Pete Creek Camp, I had another 7 miles of road walk, and had to do it all by foot as well.  When you don't have to pay so much attention to where you're putting your feet, your mind starts to wander.  I made the mistake of thinking about those tacos I had in Mexico City a few weeks ago.  Ooooh man they were amazing.  About 5 blocks west of the Zocalo on the pedestrian street, there's a little square of food stalls that opens up for a few hours in the morning, and sweet Jesus they have some killer food.  Haven't been able to get 'em out of my head since.

Luckily, I happened to cook up my most fantastic dinner of the trip so far.  Standard mac & cheese, but I added a bunch of dehydrated broccoli (dehydrates super easily, and is definitely going to be a backpacking staple from now on) and a bit of my dehydrated homemade salsa.  Wow!  Totally hit the spot after a long mileage day.  I sure hope I have another bag of that in my resupply box at Bonners Ferry.

As I was laying in bed around 8pm, going over maps for the next day, I heard something making a lot of noise coming down the road.  It didn't sound quite like a deer or elk, and turned out to be a crazy mountain man!  He carried 3 big tins of lard for food, and had slept outside 340 nights a year for the past 4 years.  We sat in the middle of the road and discussed naturopathic medicine (of which I know nothing about) until out of nowhere, he dropped the bomb:

"Would you like to do some Chi-Gung?"

Um...what?  I nervously said I would, and found out it was like tai-chi.  I'd never done it before, but he insisted that an hour of meditative poses would be good for me.  We stood facing each other, four feet apart, and spent 30 minutes doing exercises in the middle of nowhere in silence.  Now this is what I'm out here for!  As darkness started to set in, a van came down the road, and the guy took advantage to hitch a ride down into the valley.  Never even caught his name...

Day 11 - Winkum Creek to Moyie River  Daily Mileage: 26

NW Peak lookout tower

Got up at a comfortable 6am and hit the trail by 7.  I felt great, possibly due to my Chi-Gung extravaganza the night before.  The 3 mile road walk went by quickly, and I was soon on the trail up to Northwest Peak.  I made it to the lookout by 8:30 and was treated to some spectacular views of the surrounding peaks and the upcoming ridge walk I'd be tackling.  I had a leisurely breakfast and enjoyed the solitude.  Solitude except for the bees, that is.  Not sure why there were so many at a summit with nothing but rocks.  Seems like the bees should have some business elsewhere.  Oh well.

Toilet with a view...

Anyway, I started the cross-country ridge walk towards Davis Peak and my eventual meetup with the official PNT trail.  The first hour went well enough, with epic views and fantastic trailless walking.  I couldn't help but think, "Wow...now this is why I hike!"  Unfortunately, as I started climbing Davis Peak, I pulled myself up over a rock ledge and stood up right into an overhanging alpine snag.  I hit it hard enough that it stunned me, and I had to sit down for a few minutes.  Of course, as soon as I got my thoughts together, I noticed the blood dripping down off my face.  I'd got a nice 2 inch gash in my forehead that probably looks real nice.  The problem is that it's right where my hat sits, so I'll have to figure out some kind of bandage situation.

My upcoming ridge walk

I made the decision to try and contour around the peaks, instead of going up and over them, and found myself on some dangerously loose rock slopes.  Large boulders shifted uncomfortably under my weight, and I was mentally and physically drained after an hour of this traverse.  Multiple rockslides had banged me up pretty good, and I was almost on the verge of tears because of the stress of some questionable rock climbing moves I'd had to make.  I was relieved to finally make it to the ridge on the other side, but quickly realized that I'd gone about a half mile out of my way in the wrong direction.

It took another hour of bushwhacking to get back to the main trail, and I was pretty much done for.  I sat and collected my thoughts, and prepared for the remaining 12 miles of hiking.  Of course, a brief storm moved in a dumped enough rain to thoroughly soak me, and then my expect water sources turned out to be dry.  I stopped and cursed the sky, clouds, trees, and nature in general for a few minutes.  Luckily, I found a nicely flowing stream within a few miles, and refilled on some much needed water.

I set up a stealth camp near Kreist Creek in the Moyie River valley and am taking stock of my injuries.  I'm not in too bad of condition, and some bandaids, neosporin, and a good nights sleep should have me feeling better tomorrow.

Day 12 - Moyie River to Bonner's Ferry, ID  Daily Mileage: 19

Nature's bounty

Considering I'd put in 26 miles the day before, I felt pretty good climbing out of the Moyie River valley this morning.  It helped that I found a bunch of huckleberries and wild strawberries growing on the side of Bussard mountain (yes...bussard with an s).  I stopped for a nice morning break and pigged out on strawberries, blueberries, and what looked like 3 different varieties of huckleberries.

I crossed over the mountains in to the Ferry River valley and stopped for a swim in Brush Lake.  I was in no hurry, as I knew I'd make it to the road to Bonner's Ferry in time, so I enjoyed about an hour of swimming and laying in the sun at the lake.  A quick hike out and a 15 minute wait for a hitch took me into town, where I got set up in the Carriage House Inn.  Within an hour of arriving I got into a 40 minute conversation with a crazy looking guy who called himself the "Huckleberry Guru of Idaho".   He totally looked and acted like an over-the-top Woody Harrelson character dressed up in grubby clothes.  His hands were stained purple and he told me all about his history of picking, berry picking rivalries, funny stories from the mountains, secret swimming hole locations, and recent technological improvements in the berry picking industry.

The Ferry River valley

Unfortunately, he's getting old (looked to be around 45), and is thinking it's time to get out of the game.  Time to let someone else wear the crown.  In his heyday, he was pulling in 13 gallons a day, but his numbers are dropping, and it's time for a new generation to take over.  A few good meals here and I'll be on my way into the Selkirk mountains for another 5 days until I reach Metaline Falls, WA.  I think I'm about 250 miles in, and am feeling great.  Pacific ocean...here I come!

PNT - Polebridge, MT to Eureka, MT

Day 4 - Polebridge to Hay Lake  Daily Mileage: 16

Road, road, and more road!

As expected, I got a late start.  It was made even later by my running into a woman who was visiting small towns across the country to get inspiration for a book she was writing.  We chatted a while, as I polished off a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich from the bakery, and then she came to visit the hostel and joined me and several other hikers for breakfast #2 (turkey bacon, eggs, & potatoes).  Awesome!

I can't say enough good things about Polebridge, but I knew that I had to leave.  I walked out of town and headed south on the road for about a mile until turning off to the west on what I thought was Hay Creek Rd.  This would turn out to be my first among many times getting lost on the trail.  I spent about 30 minutes wandering down an ever fading road before deciding that there's no way it would lead me 16 miles back into the mountains.  I walked back out to the main street and in another tenth of a mile or so, found the obviously correct road.  The road was in great condition, and I secretly hoped to get a ride at least part way.  Of course, no cars came, but after a nice break in Polebridge, my feet felt great.  Probably the beer that did it.  Nature's cure.

I set up camp at the outlet of Hay Lake and called it an early day.  I want to make a good number of miles tomorrow and I'm hoping for an early start.

Day 5 - Hay Lake to Blue Sky Creek  Daily Mileage: 21

Nice ridge walking

I woke up around 6 to cloudy skies and began packing up my gear.  Just as I was stuffing everything into my pack, it started sprinkling, and I set off up the hill.  The rain was light, and a nice warm wind was blowing, so I just stayed in a t-shirt and shorts.  After about a mile, the road finally turned into an actual trail, which made walking much more enjoyable.  I had a 16 mile stretch without water, but hardly noticed due to some great high country scenery.  The second half of my day was spent up on ridgetops with nice views in all directions, with a pleasant breeze keeping the bugs off during my rest breaks.

The trail was quite faint in a lot of places, and I sometimes would stop and realize that I couldn't really find any noticeable trail.  It seemed like I was walking in a place that a trail should be, or maybe was once, but it didn't quite exist now.  Though I spent a few minutes lost at one point, it was kind of nice to keep my mind occupied with following what seemed to be a ghost of a trail.

I put in my longest day yet at 21 miles, and my feet were telling me to quit after about 18.  I was relieved to find a nice campsite by the river with no bugs.  No longer would I have to jump in my tent at 8pm to escape the damn bloodsuckers!  Dinner was mac & cheese with tapatio sauce.  Always delicious!  I also had a Payday bar to celebrate my first 20+ mile day.

Day 6 - Blue Sky Creek to Paradise Lake  Daily Mileage: ??

Paradise Lake

Got a late start this morning walking up the forest service road along Grave Creek.  A border patrol agent stopped to chat for a minute and he would be the first person I'd talked to in 3 days.  Again, had some great ridgeline walking for the first half of the day and passed the 100 mile mark!  1/12th of the way finished!  Celebrated with a Snickers.

On the descent towards the main road to Theriault Lakes, I somehow missed a turn and though I ended up on the correct road, I was about 2 miles off track.  I grabbed a hitch in the back of a pickup that dropped me off at what we thought was my next turn (FS road 7090).  I walked down a half mile and came to a deadend at the river.  I thought about fording it and bushwhacking up the hill to meet my trail, but decided against it at the last minute.  Good thing too, because I later realized I was about 2 miles away from where I thought I was.  Who knows where I would have ended up...

Stream

I went back out to the main road and just caught a hitch up to the campground at Little Theriault Lake.  I knew for sure that I could take a trail from there to meet up with the highline trail that I needed to be on.  Unfortunately, this meant that I would miss about 6 miles of spectacular trail in the 10 lakes scenic area.  Oh well...there were be more epic trail to come, I'm sure.  At least I got to meet a bunch of happy dogs in both of my rides.

I camped out at Paradise Lake, which turned out to be a pretty nice little spot.  Spent the evening exploring the area, and went for a little dip before bed.

Day 7 - Paradise Lake to Eureka, MT  Daily Mileage: 14

Paradise Lake in the morning

It was a very chilly night and morning.  I was warm enough in my long underwear and 40 degree bag, but I was definitely in a hurry to get moving.  I packed my stuff up quickly, and pulled some granola bars for breakfast on the road.  I hit the trail by 6am, and had a beautiful few hours of hiking as the sun came up over the mountains.  Not sure what it is, but there's something magical about hiking in the real early morning.  Even though there's no hum of cars during the day, the morning somehow seems quieter.

Anyway, it was a fairly quick hike down towards the town of Eureka.  Before I made it out to the main road, I had a 1 mile bushwhack to deal with that turned out to be surprisingly easy and painless.  Got a quick ride into town, and set up in a cheapish hotel for the night.  As I drove through the center of town, I saw that there was a "chicken jamboree" planned for that evening in the park.  I'm always up for a good jamboree, and if you throw chicken into the mix!?  Forget about it.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be two guys grilling chicken in the park with some of the worst folk music singing I've ever heard.  No one seemed to mind, but man it was painful.  This coming from a guy who likes bad folk music more than most.

I took a quick walk through town in hopes of finding a computer with internet so I could offload some pictures and get this journal going.  No luck, but I did walk past a store that claimed to offer a rock shop/massage/animal communicator.  Nice.  Trying to minimize the time spent on my feet, I had dinner at the casino next door to my hotel and watched the George Zimmerman verdict as I ate.  I was a bit surprised at the verdict, but I've been out of the news for a while, and really didn't know anything about the case.  I have nothing to say about the FOX news coverage.  Luckily, I did get to see a commercial for OnlyFarmers.com, which is an online dating site for farmers.  The volume was turned down, and the closed captioning wasn't perfect, but it mostly seemed to be pictures of farm animals.  Awesome!

Just outside Eureka.  Is that Sudden Valley!?

PNT - Trail Start to Polebridge, MT

Day 1 - Chief Mtn customs to Mokowanis camp junction.  Daily mileage: 14

Chief Mountain - Trail start

After spending the morning before my train left puttering around my house and almost shaking with nerves, I condensed my life for the next two months into 17 pounds in a mid-sized backpack. I hopped the train in Edmonds, and 15 hours later, departed in the town of East Glacier around 10:00am. It took about 4 hours and 5 different hitches, but I made it to the St Mary's visitor center for permits, and then out to the trailhead at the Chief Mountain customs station.  I waited for a ride in the town of Babb for two hours. The girl working at the cafe said I looked pathetic and gave me a free drink. Score one for the pathetic guy! 

I finally got a ride with a neuroscientist from Butte, MT heading to Calgary. I asked if he knew the Orizottis (Tyler is a friend from college), and of course he did. Everyone from Butte knows the Orizottis. Anyway Tyler, Rob Bartoletti says "hi".  He was nice enough to take the long route home and drop me right at the trailhead. I took a picture to commemorate the start of my adventure, and headed west around 3:45pm.

I could only get a permit for the campsite at Mokowanis junction, which meant I had to cover 14 miles before dark.  I hiked hard, and surprised myself by getting to camp around 8:00.  I was exhausted, but still managed to put away a 4 cheese pasta with vegetable medley and tuna. Not nearly as gourmet as it sounds.  Trust me.  I topped it off with an expired payday bar that I took from Craig's leftover pile. Booyah!  I quickly set up camp and am writing this now as the light fades. I'm feeling much better about this trip already, and I think it's going to be quite the epic journey.

Day 2 - Mokowanis camp to Lake Francis. Daily mileage: 19.5

Trail up to Stony Indian Pass

I woke up around 5am to the roar of birdcalls. I think they might have been louder than any birds I heard in the jungles of Central America.  I took my time getting moving and didn't hit the trail until 7:30. The trail up Stony Indian Pass was beautiful and nicely graded. I saw some bear prints in the soft mud near the pass, and the view down from the pass over Stony Indian Lake was stunning!  Glacier National Park certainly has some epic views.

Stony Indian Lake

It was a long, brushy descent down to Waterton Lake, but I was feeling pretty good when I rolled into the beach at the south end. I took a few minute break and refilled on water before starting off toward Lake Francis.  Of course, just as I got about 2 miles from comfortable looking shelters at Waterton camp, the rain started in. I huddled under a tree for about 30 minutes hoping to wait it out. I began moving during a brief break and bumped into another hiker named Andrew.  We got to talking, and spent the rest of the day walking and waiting out rain showers under the trees. He joined me at Lake Francis along with another nice guy named Giles. He was spending the weekend hiking to escape a family reunion. Now that sounds like a guy I can relate to!

Waterton Lake

After we all had some dinner, the rain and hail started up again, now stronger than ever. The water came rushing down the trail and funneled right into the site where Andrew and I had set up. Luckily, we used his ice ax to dig some emergency trenches and diverted most of the water before everything got swept away. I spent the next hour standing under a tree with my arms folded feeling bad for myself at having such hard rain so early in the trip.  Of course, the storm passed and the sun came out for a beautiful sunset before it was bedtime. We all walked down to the beach and watched the light fade on the mountaintops towering above us.

Day 3 - Lake Francis to Polebridge. Daily mileage: 16 miles

A chilly, wet ascent

I awoke to clear skies and a beautiful rainbow in the waterfall coming off the cliffs above us.  Andrew and I got hiking around 8, and were immediately soaked from the waist down by the overgrown trail that was still wet from last night's rain.  After a short easy climb, we reached Brown Pass, where I had planned to stop and dry out my wet gear.  Unfortunately, the mosquitoes were so bad that you could barely breathe without sucking a few in.  This was Andrew's stop for the night, as he was planning on climbing some of the nearby peaks, so we said a quick goodbye and exchanged contact info.  Hurray for my first hiking friend!

The rest of the hike down and our to Polebridge was fairly uneventful. I found a nice sunny spot at a river crossing to dry my clothes and take off my shoes for a while. More waist high brush ensured that my pants and shoes were soaked through, but thanks to my dirty girl gaiters, I was able to keep all the dirt and leaves out of my shoes.  I can't remember who recommended these to me, but they've been worth every penny of the $15 I spent on them.  My only regret is that I got skulls instead of the batman symbol.  What was I thinking!? They're incredibly dorky looking, but also super convenient.  It's like wearing fanny packs on your feet!

OK. Anyway, after 16 miles of hiking, I stumbled out into the Bowman Lake campground, and waited about 15 minutes to get a ride the 7 miles down to Polebridge.  As luck would have it, I got my second ride of the trip from a super cute girl. Haley was really sweet and I'm hoping that I might have convinced her to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Haley - here's the plan: work until next summer and then quit to hike the PCT.  When you finish in September, come down to Seattle and we can get married or something. Deal? Deal! Good. Done.

Anyway, Polebridge should be a classic hiker heaven.  It consists of a general store, a bakery, a bar, and a funky little hostel. If it wasn't only 50 miles from the trailhead, I would have definitely taken a full zero day. I met a nice couple on their honeymoon, and then played volleyball with the town baker, a raft guide, and the mercantile workers.  After stuffing myself with 3 different pastries, a pork cutlet dinner, 5 different local beers, a monstrous bacon breakfast sandwich, and a second breakfast provided by some new friends at the hostel, I finally had to move on.

Yes, I just proposed to a stranger on the internet.

Bowman Lake