Miles Hiked: 26.3
Total Milage: 2414.5
This morning I woke up early without my alarm and decided to leave town. I packed up my things and went to breakfast at the campground. I sat with “Animal”, “Overdue”, and “Library” who were also all getting out on trail this morning. I was feeling a bit nervous as I ate my banana bread French toast with walnuts and syrup for breakfast. The Bob Marshal wilderness is notorious for its grizzly ʕ·ᴥ·ʔ activity. I’ve been told they re locate any bears that cause problems elsewhere to here. Fun! I really don’t want to camp or hike this section alone. I know I won’t be able to keep up with Animal and Library and Overdue are a couple and I don’t want to invade their space. The drive out to the trailhead felt so long. I looked at Guthook on the way and paid Frank $20 for the ride. He dropped us off where I got picked up around 8:50am.
The hike started out on a gravel road for about a mile until I reached a trail head. Once I got there, the trail was very wide with lots of horse poop and hoof prints for the next couple of miles. I walked over a long wooden bridge and got my picture taken by the wooden “Bob Marshal Wilderness “ sign. Although the trail was very wide for a while, there was lots of very tall brush on either side of the trail. I was nervous about bears. I was leap frogging with Animal, Library and Overdue for most of the day. We were all taking breaks at different times. I saw a lot of section hikers going the opposite direction as me. There were a handful of horse packers out as well.
Sometime after noon, I crossed a creek and a couple I’ve been trying to meet the whole trail were taking a lunch break with their friend “Machine” who I’ve met a couple times before. I was so happy to finally meet “Darwin” and “Legs” who share a mutual friend with me. I stopped to chat with them and hiked with them for the rest of the day. I talked to Legs quite a bit as we climbed all the way up to the Chinese Wall. We walked along the Wall for about 5 miles before camping at the end of it. It’s a place on the trail I’ve been looking forward to for quite a while. I camped with Darwin, Legs, Machine, and three weekend backpackers. I was so happy there were so many people around it made me feel safe. It got so cold around 7pm that I just hung out by myself in my sleeping bag. I meant to watch the sunset at the wall but I was asleep well before it happened. I was tired!
Happy Trails!
-Early Bird
Des Hikes Thru 