CDT Day 34 — July 29
Darby to just south of Hwy 43
Curtis’s house to Where’d the Rain Come From Camp
Miles hiked: 6.5
Total miles: 535.3
Alright alright alright, not a whole lot happened today, so I won’t waste words or your time. Just a classic town to trail day.
We were up and out of Curtis’s house by 8am to allow him to go to work. We finished the toast and pasta with haste and left our notes in the guest book. Crunchberry, Rooster, SpiceRack, and I all moseyed down the street to the only place open on a Monday morning, a coffee shop bakery. Not a bad option.
I called REI about my broken filter, then sipped the excellent chai latte in my hand while writing and sitting. The others strategized about how to make it to a trail wedding in just over one week. It sounds complicated, but they’ll figure it out if it’s possible.
The morning hours drifted by. Tomatoes are not made to be mailed to hikers, bleach can work for water purification. Around 1pm, we felt it was time to leave the friendly shop in peace and return to the trail.
Spice caught a ride for all of us in no time. A cool dude in an old Tacoma. The packs went up front with the driver, the hikers went in the bed with the bike. It was a fine ride to the Lost Trail Pass rest area with a small detour to some hot springs that were closed, just like everything else in Montana on Mondays.
Though the weather was fine in Darby, it was unsettled up in the hills. A thunderstorm was threatening to blow through so none of us was eager to leave the shelter of the rest area picnic area. Fortunately, Spice had forgotten her external battery at the coffee shop, so I had a good excuse to hunker while she made the trip back to town. I really needed the time to catch up on writing too.
Crunch and Roost left after the rain. I ate nachos and wrote. Three hours later, Spice returned after her successful excursion. I was so happy to see her, and not just because she was carrying a cherry coke and dill pickle. We meditated and chilled a bit longer, then finally put our packs on to hike at 6pm.
One mile back up Hwy 43 to the trail. 5.5 easy miles on dirt road through the forest along a round ridge. The post-storm freshness was invigorating and my legs felt strong after the long recovery in town, the 30-mile day just a triumphant memory. The low sun threw horizontal gold between the trees as we casually made our miles to the next spring.
There was some zipper drama with the tent, but nothing so extreme that we couldn’t find a solution. Back on trail with no idea of what to expect in this next section except for tired feet and ramen for dinner. Nothing else is guaranteed.
Hike For Days 