Twig Adventures

July 26th, 2019 Mm 902 to mm 17 of Mac’s Inn alternate, Island Park, ID Distance in miles: 18.5 0615-1230 Another town day but this one is special. I get to meet up with a group of hiking friends that have come all the way from Florida to see me! Not really, they already had a trip to Idaho planned and just so happen to be in the neighborhood. Still, they’re driving a few hours to meet up and it will be great to see them.  But first we have to get to town. I call my saved route “Day Off” with the hopes that it will be pretty easy…and it is, save for all the miles we still have[…]

July 25th, 2019 Mm 870 to mm 902 Distance in miles: 32 0600-1830 Today is our last full day in Montana. We cross back and forth between the two states all day long and I just call it Montanaho. I haven’t a clue which state I’ve been in for the past few weeks, in fact. But tomorrow we will be in Montana for a few miles and then cross into Idaho for the remainder until Wyoming. I will be so glad to be done with both of them, as it has been a long and tiring hike. But also incredibly scenic, remote, and diverse.Today is more crappy, bumpy, overgrown, buggy, and almost non-existent trail. But it’s still fun! There are[…]

July 24th, 2019 Mm 850 to mm 870.2 Distance in miles: 20.2 1200-1900 I can’t believe that I’ve been walking SOBO for a month already. The time does fly by. For the first time in awhile, I have the luxury of rolling around in bed and sleeping in…until 0630 am. I’m hungry as soon as I wake up and head to the one restaurant again. Good thing the food and service is good. I am not usually into having a big breakfast but today I am. My order comes out on two plates, there is so much food: 2 eggs, 2 pieces of french toast, and a giant slab of ham. I eat every last bit. Yum. Just before taking[…]

July 23rd, 2019 Mm 834.2 to I-15 mm 850 then ride to Lima, MT Distance in miles: 15.8 0530-1000 I sleep very good until around 4 am, when the wind starts blasting my tent. I hear Relentless moving around, as one of his stakes has pulled out. Since we’re both up, I propose just packing and getting an early start. But there are flashes all about and I worry that a thunderstorm is approaching. It starts to sprinkle. We pack in the dark anyways and are atop the ridge by 0530 am. A red glow to the east greets us, followed by more ups and downs. At least the weather is cooperating. It’s overcast but the storms have moved away.[…]

July 22nd, 2019 Mm 805.7 to mm 834.2 Distance in miles: 28.5 0600-1800 What to say about today? Well, it was another tough day, mostly because of all the short, steep climbs at the end. But overall it was pretty good. We are treated to a great sunrise as we walk along the open sagebrush prairie in the morning. Then we begin climbing up towards a pass on the south side of Garfield Mountain. Samson camped a little down the trail from us last night but we join up with him for the morning. We all have lunch at the pass, admiring the Red Conglomerate Peaks. We try to escape the flies as best we can by sitting high in[…]

July 21st, 2019 Morrison Lake mm 772 to mm 805.7 Distance in miles: 29 0625-1900 I wake overnight to views of the moon reflecting on the lake and the sound of owls training each other the proper sequence of hooting. It’s so peaceful. But then my mind wonders to what kind of owls they might be. They sound like great horned owls but could be anything all the way up here. Perhaps my new favorite, the Great Grey Owl. We linger a bit longer than normal in the morning, reluctant to say goodby to the lake. Then we’re winding in and out valleys, up and over saddles, through high alpine meadows with elk, straight up over giant green hills, sidling[…]

July 20th, 2019 Bannock Pass/HWY 29 mm 747 to Morrison Lake mm 772 Distance in miles: 25 1015-1930 Somehow I feel ok in the morning, despite not a lot of sleep and a questionable diet. I sit on the porch typing on my phone, pondering how it is that I have all my layers on in the middle of July. It has to at least be in the low 40s. Sam’s thermometer reads high 30s but I think it’s broken. It’s cold, period. After awhile, Sam brings out a thermos of coffee, which is so nice. Then the sun rises over the mountains and all is well. Relentless and I go for breakfast at the store. I get some hot[…]

July 19th, 2019 Mm 732 to Bannock Pass/HWY 29 mm 747, then ride to Leadore Distance in miles: 15 0615-1100 I mosey on down the trail in the morning, excited to end this long segment and eat a ton of food in town. But I worry about where Relentless is, coordinating a ride from the pass, and all the other logistics. My plan is just to get to the pass and see what happens. Is that even a plan? I run into a NOBO, Bearbait, early on. We have the usual chat about water sources, who is ahead and behind, etc. He has not seen Relentless ahead, so I conclude he must be behind. The trail winds through a bunch[…]

July 18th, 2019 Goldstone Pass mm 700.7 to mm 732 Distance in miles: 31.3 0605-1830 We hope for another big day to make the following day a shorter distance into town. It was cold overnight but thankfully did not rain. All my stuff is bone-dry in the morning and easy to pack. A steep climb greets us within minutes and I am happy for the warmth it brings. But then we are on an exposed ridge for awhile and the cold wind forces me to put layers back on. The sunrise is nice, the rays filtering through the clouds. It stays overcast, windy and cool all morning. This is a good thing since we walk through some burn areas that[…]

July 17th, 2019 Mm 668.5 to Goldstone Pass mm 700.7 Distance in miles: 32.2 0605-1900 What a better day than yesterday! My quads are sore from descending the steep slope but otherwise I feel recovered in the morning. We hope to do a big day and get at it nice and early. It’s cold and everything is damp, but a big climb warms me right away. I greet the sun and views of alpine lakes and peaks. It looks a lot like the Sierras up here, with all the rock and scraggly trees. We descend into a valley and stay low through forests, meadows and even some sage brush most of the rest of the day. We catch up to[…]