Finding Nemo – The Journey

June 12. Centennial Trail Day 6.

It’s an absolutely beautiful morning, very different from yesterday, which actually turned into a windy and downright cold day for this time of year. We’re not in a big rush this morning as we only have another 10 miles to go today. Renee is checking her resupply this morning and thinks she has too much food for this stretch, so she orders a bunch to put in the hiker box at camp. We also shared a breakfast meal from Everyday Dal that they had in their restock. So my breakfast consisted of half of that: peanut butter and jelly bites, and a Mt Dew diet. Breakfast of champions!

Sharing the path

We left camp at a leisurely pace this morning, around 9:30. The first three miles of the trail from the campground are the most pleasant and easiest so far. Shortly we arrived at the Pilot Knob Trailhead where we filtered some water from Jim Creek. I’ve ridden UTVs in this area a couple of times and know this is where we’ll start sharing the road with OHVs. I warn Renee that the trail could get dusty as they pass, and we both put on gloves or bandanas to avoid breathing it in. The YouTube videos of the Centennial Trail show a lot of scaremongering about the state of the trail around here, but it honestly wasn’t bad at all. Sure, it was a little rocky and uneven, but not much worse than what we’ve seen so far. And, being Friday, we don’t have to move too often to pass the cyclists.

Shared sections of the Centennial Trail are labeled Trail 8089.

This shared trail runs through forests and meadows. It’s pretty well marked and we see a handful of motorcyclists, ATVs, UTVs, and even a hiker. We removed a mother turkey and her little babies (aka «poults», we had to look for them) from the tall grass. Approaching town, we crossed Boxelder Creek on a nice, narrow bridge, barely wide enough for UTVs. On this bridge I see my first snake on this trail, a cute little guy.

Nemo from South Dakota

Before we know it, we’re at the South Boxelder Trailhead outside the town of Nemo and walking another mile on gravel roads from there into town for lunch. A restaurant called Brandin’ Iron is the closest place to eat, so that will do! We left our backpacks on the picnic tables outside and headed to dinner. We confidently left our backpacks outside and ate inside, not worrying about our backpacks at all. Only a brave fool with no sense of smell would mess with them.

A little steep, a little rocky. Great fun on a UTV

Since we’re done walking for the day, we might as well order some beers! Renee orders a beer and a burger and I opt for a Twisted Tea and a chicken Caesar salad. I’m feeling the greens today. We also ordered fried pickles as an appetizer (hey, they’re green too) and they were freaking amazing! Our ride is coming up in an hour, so we had another drink, ordered a six-pack to take back to the cabin, and headed out to wait. Without a doubt, our packages are still there.

DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!

Cozy Creekside Cabin

Richard, our host and vehicle, arrives and takes us back to his “cabin”, which is actually more like a beautiful house right next to Boxelder Creek. It’s amazing! Rich makes sure we’re settled in, showing us the hiker box, the TV, and the gardens. There is a small detached house, next to the creek, with large windows and a bed where Renee decides to take up residence. The main guest cabin is set up studio style, with a full kitchen and bathroom and a large bed. The shower has a stone floor from the stream. I even soak my feet in the stream a little before taking a shower. This has to be the most pampered I’ve been on a trail before!

10 miles of trail today, with additional mileage to return to the trail at Deer Creek TH and hike to Nemo. Renee and I have decided that instead of doing a zero (a full day with no miles) on this trail, tomorrow we will do a near-o slack-pack (a “city” day with only a few miles, and you end up somewhere that isn’t your tent). Rain is forecast for tomorrow, so a temperature near 0 will be excellent. If it rains, we can warm up and dry off in our creekside palace at the end of the day.

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