Day 133: Big storms leaving Helena

Miles Hiked: 19

Total Milage: 2290.7

Today I woke up around 6am at the hotel. I went to get a bagel and some tea down the street before taking one last bath. 12 pack and I planned on leaving town with Melon today but I didn’t hear from him all morning. By 10am I finally went to knock on his hotel door to see if he was awake. He was and was almost ready to leave. We left the hotel around 11am. Those two got some food before leaving town and we all hitched out together. A nice man drove us up to the pass. There are a lot of homeless people in Helena and I’m sure everyone driving by also thought we were homeless. I’m glad this guy recognized us as hikers. I will say that I’ve never seen a homeless person trying to hitch hike anywhere.

We got dropped off at the pass around noon. The day started out by walking on some dirt roads. It was sunny although the weather predicted storms. The prediction quickly came true. Right as we hit an actual trail the sky was looking very dark and it started thundering. Lightning and rain came just as the trail dipped into some trees. It was a big and scary storm but I could tell it was moving fast so I didn’t want to set up my tent. We were also surrounded by lots and lots of trees so I felt safe. I was right, the storm blew over in less than an hour and it stopped raining. It was perfect timing because we entered a wide open field again. The day ended with lots of road walking as well. I hiked around Melon and 12 pack today but my legs move a little slower so I was dragging behind at a couple spots. We stopped to make dinner on the side of the road. A man hiking south passed us and stopped to chat. He is hiking the great western loop and seems like he is on great pace to finish it before getting caught in crazy snow. He has to hike about 50 miles a day for a bit and I think he can do it. I can only imagine how sore his feet must get.

Right before camp it started to get very dark and cloudy again. Thunder rumbled and we set up our tents just as it started to hail very hard. I was so glad to be at camp. Getting cold and soaked isn’t fun especially two times in one day.