CDT + GDT: Helena To Benchmark Ranch – Every hour counts now

Requirement 27 | Helena, Mt A Benchmark Ranch

Day 103, 3.9 miles.

I walked less than four Miles from Helena today, so it was basically a zero. I had to take care of so many tasks: exchanges of equipment and replacements, washing and cleaning things, sewing torn clothes, a mail trip, exchanging another pair of damn hard, replenishing, opting, stretching. And I was very busy eating pickle banana bread. It was very nice to be lodged through hikers. Both have risen to the PCT, so they may seem functional members of society, but they have been instilled in a secret society that lives on land and will continue for hours telling stories of paths about people whose names make sense and what they did in such dark mountain cities. Once a long path has walked, it will be like a break that never exceeded. You cannot stop talking about that because everything reminds you of this life that you lived for five months and you are still trying to process what everything meant. Subeone Might Casually Mountion that their phone is about die and suddenly you’ll be reminded of that time all snacks Double Dip Ran Back to see if they’d loan her a cable and thrn it tour Valley, where he really won the Pancake Challenge, but then was so full that he could not walk and had to take a zero to lose it there. What a legend. Anyway. The Pickle and Pin cushion took me back to the road, we collected another hiker along the way and joined me for a mile. It was the first time I walked with someone from the slide.

Day 104, 34.2 miles.

I took an alternative today on a dirt road in the Valley to reach a large alpaca farm that mainly houses bicycles on the Great Divide mountain bicycle route. This is the cycling route with which people often confuse the great path of division when I tell you what two paths I am combining. The bicycle route follows the continental division in the United States, while the big divide trail extends the CDT to Canada. In the valley many people passed me in ATV. A family stopped me to ask me if I had a gun for the Grizzlies. «No,» I said, «I have bear spray.» «You need a gun,» they insisted. But I prefer not to climb to weapons that could kill a bear. I am the guest who invades at home. And there is no way to load a heavy gun without being able to send it easily if I decide that it is not worth it. I could not caress with alpacas, but I took a good nap in the room chairs and checked the adorable accommodation and filled my water and ate at a table like a civilized person before leaving to make more miles. Some days I feel that the CDT should walk again just to be able to take it easy and participate in all things on the way instead of having to leave again and again.

Day 105, 30.8 miles.

This morning I woke up with a forest fire in the sky. I think it was of the ongoing fires in Idaho. It was too distant to smell a forest fire, but made the sky seem to dawn, so I thought it was too early and ended up too asleep and did not start until 8 am I felt that I was two hours ago all day. The rule to make 30 miles is generally to make 10 miles at 10 am, 20 miles at 2 pm and 30 miles at 6 pm was not reaching those reference points. I also stopped to choose raspberries, so that did not help at my pace. I found a path with a box of bears. Out of curiosity, I opened the bears box only to verify in case someone had left any magic of trails there and yes, in fact, there was drinking water and a refrigerator with shakes and protein bars and even bagels with cream cheese and a small garbage boat. What a beautiful stop. The only thing missing was a notebook, so I could write a gratitude. I heard that in Benchmark Ranch, where he had sent a box to a path, charging a device cost $ 5 per hour, except that it could only be charged if the staff were there to light the generator, but their hours were erratic. Hooking Augusta from the beginning of the path was apparently almost impossible, except on weekends when tourists were at the beginning of the path. So it seems that I could have to stretch the battery to the East Glacier, since I can’t count on the ranch. I found an unlocked yurt that hikers were allowed to use, but none of the ports was working and perhaps the solar load was not activated. We will only have to deal with that as it comes.

Day 106, 33.8 miles.

A one -day hiker I spent today said: Are you through hiking? Yes, I said. Where are you from? Seattle. Wow, you are Asian. Out loud, I just said it, but in my head I thought, God, thank you for telling me, I would never have known. I hope that eventually there is so much outdoor diversity that it is not so remarkable. Today I contacted Benchmark Ranch when I had service and confirmed that no one will be there tomorrow. So, when I pick up my box there, nobody will be there to light the generator so that I can load my energy banks. I will have to stretch my batteries in the next four days and limit the use of my phone and how much I can say about each day. All I will say about today is that there was quite above and down in La Ridgeline, almost 5000 ‘profit within the first 14 miles, and then I got into a good valley when I sprinkled for several hours, but at least it allowed me to try a new rain team, I am finally trying a frog rain jacket and pants. I walked through many areas of burns that made it difficult to decide where to camp because you need to camp between living trees that will not fall and will kill you overnight.

Day 107, 15.4 Miles in Benchmark Ranch, 18.9 miles outside. 34.3 miles in total.

I arrived at the ranch today. It is about 3 miles along the way from the beginning of the path and there were not many cars, so I had to walk three additional miles, not on the CDT to get there. When I was becoming the ranch to grab my box, it passed a truck and offered me a return trip to the beginning of the path. «Are you going north or south?» asked. «North,» I said. He nodded. «I can say it.» Excellent. I ran to grab my box, but then I realized that there was no place for me to throw garbage once I left the ranch, since there were no garbage cans at the beginning of the path. So I unpacked frantically and tried to pack my box again, then I gave up and quickly left. When I arrived at the beginning of the path, I organized my food and gave my garbage to the family in the truck. A CDT hiker and his friend who had joined him for that section were trying to hook in Augusta. They lent me some battery since they headed to the city. But when I packed to go, I realized that I had left my hat in the ranch when I ran. So I returned to the ranch again and I had to walk the three additional miles back. I am so close to my deadline to get to Canada now to do those additional hours of walking feels very expensive and I prefer to spend all my miles advancing north. One of my hooks asked me how I was driving the elevation. I was really confused. «What elevation?» «We are at 5000 feet,» he said. «Oh,» I said. I have been walking through the spine of North America, so I have been living mostly at more than 8000 ‘and in Colorado it was almost always above 1000’ at least. 5000 ‘feels like a low valley. Today I entered the Bob Marshall desert. There were many horses of horses. I also saw my fifth bear on the road. I was hiding from me. I am a bit disappointed to be so close to the end of the CDT without a really good sighting of bears. I will have to wait for Canada.

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