On 7/19 I did 9.9 miles after resupplying in Leadore, ID and camping just North of Elk Mountain. On 7/20 I did 22.1 miles to Tex Creek. On 7/21 I did 30 miles past Dead Man Lake. On 7/22 I did 32.4 miles to a ridge above Modoc Creek.
Listen to “Do you realize??” by the Flamming Lips. The song is self explanatory.
This last stretch from Leaore, ID to Lima, MT has been awesome, maybe my favorite section of trail ever. That's a pretty hefty statement given some of the amazing places that I have been fortunate to walk through on my different hikes but it's been so much fun everyday. The ridges I have been walking are straddling the MT/ID border and are pretty remote, steep climbs, and amazing views. After I left Chief Joseph pass I saw a few hikers the first day out but then hadn't seen a soul until I got to Leadore. When I got back on trail I didn't see a person until the day before Lima where I met Twig and Relentless. I've been hiking a week without seeing anyone on trail and its given me a lot of time to enjoy the mountains and it's like being on a week long silent retreat except there is a ton of chocolate to eat and it's totally okay to talk to yourself.
I have reread some of my blog posts and noticed a lot of them talk about the hardship and misfortunes of the trip. This is usually done as comical relief to talk about all of the type 2 fun I am having but also because its much easier to explain a hard and rough situation than a chill and pleasing situation. I can usually convey how I was feeling and get my point across when things don't go exactly to plan. It's a lot harder to explain how awesome things are or tell a story that doesn't involve something going awry. Maybe my vocabulary sucks, maybe it's our negativity bias as humans or maybe positive feelings are actually harder to describe than negative ones. Regardless, this entire trip so far has been mindblowing and this last section has been everything I wanted the CDT to be: Hard, Remote, Beautiful, Tranquil and Epic.
The trail between Leadore and Lima has been a mixture of jeep roads and overland travel where you get to choose your own adventure. Often you see a ridgeline or creek you need to get to and just figure out the best way to get there. On one of my routes I crested a small ridge and came upon a herd of elk. I counted 75 and decided to sneak up on them. I dropped my pack and crawled to about 75 yards of them. I was doing pretty good following small ruts in the terrain and staying very low until I accidentally kicked a rock down the side of the hill at which time 150 eyes were staring at me and a mass exodus shortly followed. That turned out to be a small herd compared to a 200+ herd of elk I saw as I was crossing a ridge the next day and spotted the huge numbers down in the valley. One of the advantages of getting up early and hiking late besides the amazing sunsets and sunrises is the animal activity. I usually end up spooking a small band of mule deer and prong horn sheep every morning and evening. One thing that cracks me up everytime I see it, is how mule deer run. Unlike white tale deer that run in a full stride like a horse, mule deer prance and jump all 4 legs off the ground at the same time and kind of spring away. They look like ballerinas running across the plains and I cannot take them serious.
One of the passes I went over on the divide is Lemhi pass. This is really cool because this is the pass Lewis and Clark went over when looking for an easy portage between the Missouri and Columbia river (at the time they left for the expedition they thought the Rockies were the size of the Appalachians...ooops). After going upstream on the Missouri river for over 2,500 miles they finally made their portage over Lemhi (it wasnt easy). There was a small spring on the eastern side of Lemhi Pass where one of the expedition soldiers straddled it and thanked god he had survived and conquered the Missouri. That spring is still flowing and I gathered water from it which I think is super cool.
The night before I hit Lima I was woken up at 3am by lightning outside my tent. This was a big deal because I camped on an exposed ridgeline. As I woke up I threw open my fly in a haste to find the storm about 4 ridgelines away and of no threat. I spent the next 30 minutes watching the pitch black sky light up. Some of the bolts never hit ground and curled back up to the clouds which I had never seen. Western storms are really powerful and awesome to see as long as they aren't over you. Since I was already wide awake I decided to pack up at 430am and push for town since there was a beer with my name on it.
Sunset after leaving Leadore, ID right before Elk Mountain
It's late morning and I’m still catching the moon
These markers are every quarter to half mile marking the border between Montana and Idaho
Sunrise over the mountains as the mule deer and prong horn run away from me
Columbines are everywhere
The only people I saw for 5 days were Twig and Relentless who were a blast to hike around
Catching some cool cloud formations on the ridge
Fred doing what Fred does best… posing for the camera
Contemplating the important life question like should I live in a yurt or a straw bale house?
Sun is going down but I still have another hour of light