Day 120: Straight Shot to Canada

Miles Hiked: 7.7

Total Milage: 2047.6

This morning I still woke up early even though I didn’t have to hike out first thing in the morning. 12 pack and I walked to town to get breakfast around 7:30am. After that I looked at the map and did the math to see how much farther we have to hike. I figured out that we are way closer than I realized. Just shy of 600 miles left! I also realized that we could make it to Canada by our goal date without trying too hard. It’s relieving to know that we will make it there in time and get lots of rest if and when we need it without having to worry about it to much. We are going to almost every town between here and the border just so we don’t have to carry as much food and we can take some zeros! I’m excited for the last month. After finding that out, I was in no rush to leave town. I completely finished all my blog work because I did not want to have to worry about it at all once we are back on the trail. I also figured out where we will be staying in the next couple of towns. We went back to the general store to get snacks one more time before heading out. I got all my stuff packed up and we left around noon.

Our plan was to walk from the campground back up to the trail but if we were able to get a ride as close to the trail as we could that we would take it. Once again we got incredibly lucky because a couple drove us 15 miles down the dirt road to a campground where we could hike back up to the trail where it was open again from! On the drive there we saw the wildfire and new smoke forming from it. I was surprised by how close to us it was! I don’t think I’ve ever been that close to an active fire before.

At the campground we ran into Exxon. We all hiked the 6 mile trail back to the CDT together. The wind was blowing hard and it was raining a little bit as we gained the elevation back up to the continental divide. On the way we saw a moose in the lake and it was so cool! After we got back to the red line it was 3:30 and we all took a really long break together. The weather wasn’t looking great and it was getting cold so we hiked two more miles before setting up camp even though it was really early. 12 pack and I’s only goal for the day was to get back on trail which we already accomplished. We set up our tents and cooked dinner away from camp. I had a breakfast skillet mountain house for dinner which was so yummy on a cold and foggy day! I loved where we got to camp tonight. The forest was beautiful and my tent was surrounded by huckleberry bushes. It was nice to hang out with Exxon too who is super nice! He is taking a different route to the border than us and trying to finish as the beginning of September so it’s very unlikely we see him again. I also forgot to mention that we are now in the Anaconda Pintler mountain range now!

Happy Trails!

-Early Bird