Night hiking in the Grizzly country is not fun

This morning I wanted to get up and move early. But today, the sun does not rise until around 6:30 am and hiking at night makes me as nervous as the night of walking in the dark. Especially after yesterday morning. The motivated and motivated person within me shouts me simultaneously to make it more brave. I need to endure, wake up early and walk in the dark. Even if it scares me. But it has been difficult if I’m honest.

I was walking just at 6:30 am when the sun risen. I still needed a lighthouse briefly, but I definitely felt more comfortable than I would have done in the dark. However, I played my music aloud during the first two hours of the day. And I tried to talk to myself as much as I could. This morning I had about 16 remaining miles from the alternative stained bear. Then I would connect with the CDT and go around the Chinese wall. A fairly famous part of the path that follows along the huge cliffs. The last time I was here, the weather was terrible and had almost no visibility. This time I hope it is different.

Once again, it rained for an hour or so. So, when I left this morning, everything was soaked. I wore my rain jacket to try to keep all the humidity. And it is better that you think I took off my shorts throughout the first part of the day! A rainy jacket was enough to keep me dry. And there was no need to wet my shorts without reason.

Those first 16 miles of the day were a bit miserable if I am honest. The path was so incredibly covered that I was constantly soaking me with water. With the rain jacket on I could say quite comfortable. But the branches frequently hit my face and neck. It was impossible to stay dry. In addition, this type of land only has a tendency to delay a little.

It was not my favorite part of the CDT, that’s safe. But I just tried to remain patient and let the time pass as quickly as I could. I ate a lot of food and took full advantage of everything. And fortunately, the further I went, the path finally began to dry. It was at some point after 11 in the morning when I finally connected to the CDT and I finished the stained bear alternative.

Some of the views as I approached the Chinese wall area.

I remember vividly coming to this path last year. My friend just in case he went to the forest to use the bathroom next to the crossing. And a brown bear solved him as he dug his cat hole! He came running, white like a ghost. And then he had to finish the work in another place in the forest. Which was probably terrifying.

When I arrived at the crossing today, I sat for a minute or two to eat something. Then he moved some snacks so that they were easy to access in the next few hours. I had a brief climb on the CDT leaving the crossing. Then, in general, it would only be at a higher height near the Chinese wall. And they would only be short of the rest of the day. Of course, however, the weather began to turn right at the time I approached the Chinese wall.

When I wasn’t raining, it was a fairly beautiful day! It would be good to add an experience of a point in the Bob Marshall desert without bad weather.

At the time I approached me, it began to rain lightly and visibility became a bit bad. The last time I was here, the visibility was terrible and we were trapped in the frozen frost. Fortunately, this time I felt very comfortable with my umbrella. That thing kept me super dry, and I didn’t mind walking in the rain. It rained all the time I went through the Chinese wall. But then the path continues along a large rock wall and uploads a mountain pass. Visibility improved a little better than I was. So, although I could not have obtained the best views in the world, I obtained some views. Certainly it was better than my experience the last time I was here.

Around the Chinese wall area I ended up seeing four hikers north. That was a big surprise and it is definitely not something to expect. They were not all walking together, which made it even more fun. I would see one or two and then spend an hour before encountering another hiker. And at this point of the day, I was approaching the reference area. There is a camp area and a parking lot nearby. So I knew that the later arrived on the day, more likely it would be to see more hikers.

The Chinese wall!

I met a north hiker, with whom I ended up talking for a while. Most of the people I have seen know exactly what I am doing or are quite confused by my existence. With the late that is in the year, one could only assume that a person who goes south is doing a triple crown of the calendar year or for an FKT. Some of the people I have found recognize me from social networks. Others listen that I go south and I am absolutely surprised my time. You would have to assume that I am a complete lunatic without experience or know exactly what I am doing. This guy was a little surprised until I explained the logistics of everything.

Actually, there is a path that passes over the wall. That would probably be very good.

As the day continued, I saw more and more through hikers. Check out tue4r5f. Honestly it was becoming the game! I started telling them and I was curious to know how many I would see before the day came to an end. I have heard that the northern bubble is basically here. So my expectation was to see many hikers north, at least until I got into the big sky.

As I approached at the end of the day, I went through a really pleasant tent site where there were three hikers. The girl recognized me about social networks, and I went and talked to them a bit. All were very pleasant and it was really incredible to socialize briefly. Especially towards the end of my day. It would have been a great time to prepare my store and stop smoking for the day. But I’m trying to stay scheduled, so I knew I had to walk for another hour or so. What meant eventually said goodbye and continued. Those would be the last northern hikers I saw for the day. Making total hikers to the north for day 9!

Visibility was definitely not great, but it was much better than when I was here last year.

Because I was so close to Benchmark and was seeing so many hikers and sections hikers, I felt a little security. You could say due to population density that there was less bear activity. The last days I saw a ton of bear poop. Today I just saw nothing once I began to approach Benchmark. So I thought that if there was ever a time to do a night hiking, today it was probably the day.

I went through a couple of other fields while the sun falls. However, it seemed that all camps were section hikers mainly on horseback. And finally darkened and kept walking. Doing everything possible to be brave. I obtained water and was basically prepared to establish the camp in the next good place. I just told myself that I would try to go as far away from the day as I could. That way in a couple of days when I get to Lincoln, there is the possibility that I can go to the city and outside the city, all in one day.

Originally, I would plan to spend the night in Lincoln. But I also started looking in my gay application and found an alternative route that looks like a solid option. I am planning to do the Big Sky alternative, which cuts through Idaho. I did not do it last year intentionally because I knew I would probably have to do it this year due to the weather. The Big Sky Alternate starts around Butte. But there are some fires near Big Sky’s alternative and possibly near Helena. So, as a backup plan, I ended up verifying to see if there were other routes to take.

The sky began to rejoice as sunset. I would be doing some night hiking tonight.

I ended up finding a route that goes from a path to the south of Lincoln to Helena. A city in which I was not planning to stop. This route would actually be guided by the city and then cut me towards West Yellowstone. That’s where Big Sky Alternate returns to the CDT. So, if I enter and leave Lincoln instead of spending the night there, it seems that the night could spend the next night. I know it must sound a bit confusing. But it was something I was investigating tonight.

Because of that, I wanted to walk later at night and get more miles. Just to keep my options open for the next few days. I listened to music and sang to me to feel a little better when walking in the dark country and Grizzly. But nothing really makes you feel better. After a while, I started looking for tent spots for the night. I expected it not as mediocre as last night.

Finally, I found a flat place literally right next to the path. However, at least it was level, and it was not lumpy like the place last night. So I decided to leave it and locate to spend the night. The place was really solid compared to my site yesterday. I stood and got comfortable inside my store. I was quite tired, so I really didn’t get awake doing a lot on my phone. I just turned it over and I called it tonight. This was my first night walking towards darkness in the Grizzly country. And although it made me incredibly uncomfortable, I was very happy to have done it.

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