Twig Adventures

July 3rd, 2019 Benchmark mm 234.2 to Dearborn River mm 263.4 Distance in miles: 29.5 0630-1800 It was a tough day of some more hard rain but finished in bright sunshine. The weather is crazy here. Overnight I slept so hard, only waking once or twice to fret about all the rain. I sweated inside my quilt and wake up feeling cold and clammy, thinking I am somehow getting wet. But no, my tent is mostly dry. It’s so dark, it’s hard to tell. I pass out again until morning. As usual, everything is damp from condensation. It’s hard to get moving but at least the rain has stopped in the morning. We start out together and for a brief[…]

July 2nd, 2019 My Lake mm 206.4 to Benchmark mm 234.2 Distance in miles: 31 0640-2000 No one is moving early in the morning but me. My companions usually wake to the sounds I make packing but no one stirs. We had a hard day the day before and we are all very tired still. I just work quietly on my blog and listen to Relentless snore. I really don’t mind their sounds. We have circled the wagons again, so to speak, pitching our camo cuben fiber shelters in a circle. We did this the night before too and I find the odd combination funny. We have Salty’s ultralight tarp, my single tent, and Relentless’s double tent…all matching, what were[…]

July 1st, 2019 Strawberry Creek mm 158.7 to My Lake mm 206.4 Distance in miles: 31.5 0610-1930 Oh what a day, way better than the previous day. Light came early on the little island where we were camping and soon we were on the march again. I am much slower at getting ready in the morning, even though I am always the first to wake up, so I was lagging behind. We ran into a NOBO, Tic Tac, early on. Then a couple that were camped near a ranger station. We signed the registry there, the first I had seen since going south. There were heaps of people signed in just 2 days ahead of us…like 19. A bubble as[…]

June 30th, 2019 South Fork Two Medicine River mm 125.5 to Strawberry Creek mm 158.7 Distance in miles: 29 0620-1800 There wasn’t a whole lot to say about today. It was a long walk through mostly burned forests. The trail started off wide with lots of horse and mule prints. We shortly arrived at what was titled a guard station, which was actually a forest service cabin with 2 rangers getting set to do trail work. They had loaded up a mule and horse, while 3 more equines waited in the corral. We discussed the virtues of mules and horses while I petted the mule’s ears. I am so fascinated by their big ears. The ranger spoke of how the[…]

June 29th, 2019 East Glacier mm 99.5 to South Fork Two Medicine River mm 125.5 Distance in miles: 26 I sleep in until almost 6 am! Then Relentless made us all his signature omelet with the leftover veggies from the night before. It was so good. We took it easy and finally hit the trail by 9 a.m. I was in no rush but we had a pretty long 120 plus mile section ahead of us, mostly through the Bob Marshall wilderness. It’s said to be rough, especially compared to the cruisey trails in GNP. I was carrying a lot food, some to last me all 7 days to Lincoln and the rest for 5 days to Benchmark, a resort[…]

June 28th, 2019 Two Medicine Campground mm 89.2 to East Glacier mm 99.5 Distance in miles: 10.3 Our final day in the park included a nice climb over a smaller pass and an easy glide into town for a nero. We got an early start but took it kind of relaxed. The pass was very exposed and cold but good for spotting animals. On the way up we walked right past a mountain goat and then a herd of 30+ bighorn sheep on the way down. We also got cell phone reception for the first time, so my focus shifted towards town early. The park is one the most spectacular places I have hiked and I hope to go back[…]

June 27th, 2019 Red Eagle Lake mm 63.4 to Two Medicine Campground mm 89.2 Distance in miles: 25.8 We survived a wet night, with a little more rain. I didn’t sleep as well as the first night but I did feel refreshed after the previous big day. We only had less than 26 miles to do today but had to go up and over 2 passes. Plus, the partly cloudy morning had already turned gloomy and misty by the time we were hiking. At 9 am, it started to drizzle and then we heard thunder too. Not good. We began passing hail that hadn’t melted from the night before. And some big moose tracks. Then we came upon said moose,[…]

June 26th, 2019 Many Glacier campground, 1 mile from CDT mm 35 to Red Eagle Lake mm 63.4 Distance in miles: 29 I woke on my own 5 minutes before 5 am. It was the first time I had woken all night, I was so out of it. It was already light, which is great since I had no headlamp (left it with a bag in East Glacier by accident). I got up to grab my food bag from the bear box and was shocked to find the door to the box laying wide open. Someone had come overnight and placed a box of food inside, then I guess didn’t bother with the obvious step of shutting and locking the[…]

June 25th, 2019 Chief Mountain, Canadian Border mm 0 to Many Glacier campground, 1 mile from CDT mm 35 Distance in miles: 28 0800-1900 What a journey it has been. Due to my long hiatus, I don’t know what to call this start? Re-start? Day 1? I’m going with that. It was a fantastic start, perhaps the best first day ever. I’ve loved every first day though and it’s hard to compare them. Today saw us getting up at 5:30 am after a rather restless night. I was too excited to sleep, plus it was light out until 11 pm, then light again by 4:30 am. It had been a long day of travel the day before, first to Kalispell[…]

So, it’s been some time, hasn’t it? The roller-coaster of life manifested in a way other than the ups and downs of the trail. It happens. Be forewarned, this is a long one! When last I posted, I’d been having a rough go of the trail, at least weather-wise. It had rained steady all night and Relentless and I woke to a sodden, cold day. We hiked out through the lovely field from the day before, only it had since turned into a mud pit…the kind that balls up on your shoes and even trekking pole tips, making everything it touches instantly weigh 10 lbs more. I’d already had it with this day by the time we got back to[…]