Anaconda to Chief Joseph Pass

Anaconda was a restful town. We stayed for two nights to recover from the road walk we had walking into town. The highlight of the town was definitely the large community slide (see pic). We slid down it over and over like little kids, it was fun. Anyway, from Anaconda we road walked along the highway in some, finally, hot weather. We had been blessed by sun in the forecast, which we must admit is nicer than being cold in high elevation thunder storms. The terrain in the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness (see pic) was vastly different from what we had seen before Anaconda. The wilderness was full of 9000 foot passes and beautiful peaks and alpine lakes. It was an area only second to Glacier National Park, in beauty. Our second day out we decided we would bust out a 24 mile day which included 8000 feet of elevation gain over the four passes we climbed that day. Our goal was make it to Warren Lake (see pic), which was described in our guide book as a "gem". We made it and didn't even have the energy to make dinner, but it felt so good to make the miles. With the weather being so hot, the mosquitoes were as blood thirsty as ever. Brian and I had to wear long sleeve shirts and pants through the burned forests in 85 degree heat, it was fun! The terrain mellowed out as we made our way out of the Anaconda Pintler area to the Beaverhead/Deer Lodge Forests. We eventually made it to the Idaho border at Chief Joseph Pass. We were blessed to run into a wonderful couple named, Jim and Rexine (see pic). They took us back to their camp where they were the camp hosts for the summer. We got to soak in the amazing hot springs (see pic) next to the camp and come back to a wonderful home cooked meal. They were truly tail angels! From the Idaho border we departed to Bozeman, MT for one of two weddings. Next we are off to Homer, AK for another wedding. We will return to the trail at the same location on August 6th when we will resume our hike and head out to Bannock Pass in Idaho.

Helena to Anaconda

This section took us through, prospect land, lodge pole forest and rolling hills. It was short but like the other sections it still offered its share of challenges. Weather continued to be a concern with daily thunder and lightning storms and rains that would turn the trails into rivers. The trip to Anaconda also included a jaunt across private land giving us the chance to get charged by an angry cow and to perfect the important skill of navigating through barbed wire fences. We even got to sleep in a ditch. So goes the CDT. From here we head off into the Anaconda Pintler wilderness; our last leg before we head off the trail to attend some wedding celebrations.

Rogers Pass to MacDonald Pass (Helena, MT)

This section can be summed up with one word, weather. The terrain was not that difficult but walking while it is pouring rain and blowing it in your face is hard, especially with lightening striking all around you. Basically our routine was to walk in the sun for the first few hours of the day and then at 1pm sharp a huge thunder head would start dumping on us. We also had our first couple days of 20 milers which were tough on the feet. At least our bodies are just now starting to get use to what we are doing to them. We also got our first opportunity to mingle with the local cattle population. Cows are actually really scary when you get up close to them, and they give really mean stares. Brian also got to see a bobcat on our last day in the section, too bad it was faster than our camera. When we finally made it to MacDonald Pass we were greeted by Uncle Wally who had Coke and ice cream waiting for us. Gosh he really knows the way to a thru hikers heart.

Benchmark to Roger's Pass (Lincoln, MT)

In this section we were trying to get through it as fast as possible to make it to our next town, Lincoln, MT. We had already been on the trail for 7 days from East Glacier, and we had 3 more days ahead of us. But of course, the weather had other plans for us. We hiked out of Benchmark in areas that were marked by fires from 1989. We wondered through matchstick forests over increasingly larger passes. We finally got our chance to camp/walk directly on the divide, which is so incredibly breathtaking. We were, however, held up one day when we found ourselves at 7000 feet in the middle of a huge lightening/thunder/hail/rain storm. We huddled in the small trees to try and escape the hail for ~30 minutes. Then we got smart and ran for cover about 200 feet downhill and set up our tent to wait out the storm and dry off. The storm didn't pass until late evening so we hoped for the best the next day. Turns out we got our sun and it was a very good thing because we still had 2000 feet of elevation to gain that day. We climbed our first major summit, Caribou Peak, reaching over 8900 feet. We also found that while the the views were beautiful from the divide, they lacked one thing, WATER! This issue of no water sources would prove to be a problem for miles to come.

East Glacier to Benchmark

First of all we wanted to go ahead and thank all of our family and friends for your continued support. All of your kind messages, conversations, and remarks are what help fuel us to continue hiking.

From East Glacier we set off on a journey into one of the most remote parts of our hike. This area is know offically as The Bob Marshall Wilderness, but we call it the "Bob". The Bob was 120 miles of probably some of the most challenging terrain we will see on the trail. It was to be described as pure bliss and brutality. We hiked out of East Glacier to just pass Highway 2. The northern part of the section was primarily a web of jeep roads and stream/river crossings. Can we say wet feet! The weather in the beginning was beautiful, we had several bluebird days that made for some pleasant hiking. We made our way South slowly. The terrain was very rugged especially as we approached the "gem" of the Bob, the "Chinese Wall". When traveling below the wall we spent about 6 miles post holing in snow and bushwacking through all of the avy debris that had rocked the area in the winter. We finally made it into horse country as we approached Benchmark, one of our resupply locations. We encountered many of Montana cowboys in this area. When we got into Benchmark we were a little turned around and a friendly cowgirl named Susan (see picture) befriended us. She drove us to the Benchmark Wilderness ranch to p/u our box of food and then took us back to her camp where she gave us a cold Coke (YUM!), and we got to meet her horse "Bronzy". Bronzy was a beautiful Tennesse Walker who liked nibble at the salt on our shirts (as seen in the picture). From Benchmark we headed down the trail a few miles and pitched camp for the night.

Many Gacier to East Glacier

From Many Glacier to East Glacier we had 3 large passes to hike over: Piegan, Triple Divide, and Pitamakan. Piegan essentially climbed right out of Many and proved to be a challenging day for my bilateral pinky toe blisters. Brian also battled with his blisters, which we blame on the snow and Gore-tex. The next day involved little elevation gain as we traveled around St. Mary's Lake for miles and miles. That night we were rewarded with a beautiful view right out our tent door. It sounded like a swamp monster but it turned out to just be a gigantic moose bounding through the lake waters (see picture). Triple Divide was amazing because we got to stand at the head waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Hudson Bay all at the same time. Our last day over Pitamakan was beautiful with Two Medicine Lake greeting us in the distance as we slowly hiked (or hobbled in my case) down through a beautiful glacier carved valley. We made it to East Glacier the next day with 100 trail miles under our feet. We picked up the gear that Brian's Dad had sent and also picked up a pair of overnighted, larger toe box, shoes for me. And now we head off into the Bob Marshall Wilderness for 10 days (170 miles of trail) with no cell reception till Lincoln, MT (hopefully to celebrate the 4th of July).

Goat Haunt to Many Glacier

Our first full day on the trail we hiked 18 miles and were immediately overwhelmed by the beauty and remoteness of Glacier National Park. Not 1 mile down the trail we were greated by a huge bull moose, but he didn't seem to have much interest in us. We came to our first pass, Stoney Indian (see picture), where we utilized our backcountry navigation skills. A majority of the trail was under the winter snow that day. We made it to our first backcountry camp (see picture) just after seeing a black bear and her cub on the trail. The next two days repeated themeselves in that we would hike from one valley, over a giant pass, and into the next valley, zig zagging our way through GNP due to trail closures. We made it to Many Glacier and camped among RVs and tourists. We got to take a well deserved shower and it felt amazing! We were also fortunate enough to befriend a group of other CDT hikers: Chance, Freefall, So Far, George, Luna, and Aaron. They instantly felt like family. From Many we also were able to get a hold of Brian's dad who saved us from our multiple gear failures. My pack

B and B forever, we're engaged!!

On June 14th, on the bank of Waterton Lake at the US/Canadian boarder Brian knelt down on one knee and proposed. Of course I said "YES", while crying. I was toltally shocked. That night we celebrated in style at Goat Haunt Port of Entry. One of the gracious rangers, Mark A., gave us a bottle of Meridian wine and a couple of retro cups so we could toast to our engagement. We sat and chated by the lake for awhile, it was wonderful. The next morning we awoke to have our passports stamped and headed down the trail into Glacier National Park.

Goodbye to the "normal" life

Well here is a picture of us and the Boise family (Corbin, Mom, AD, and G-ma) at our last get together before the hike. Tomorrow we will drive for 12 hours to East Glacier, MT. Since our last post we visited my Dad in Spokane and had a wonderful and relaxing stay on Coeur d'Alene Lake in Idaho and celebrated Brian's and my Grandpa's birthdays at my cousin's place. We then drove back to Seattle and took the ferry over to Bainbridge Island to spend a few days with Brian's parents. This time was crucial because it allowed us to finish up some much needed planning for our hike. The weather was beautiful and it made me sad that I was going to be missing a potentially beautiful Seattle summer, but then I got over it:) We then made a stop in Leavenworth, WA for a climbing festival called Rock Fest. Then a pleasant drive to Boise, our final driving destination. We had put 5000 miles on car-car (the very original name of our 85 Camry) in the last month and were happy to park it in the drive of my mom's house. It is hard to describe the excitement, stress, and anxiety that we are feeling right now, but all I know is that I am ready to start walking! On Sunday we will drive to Waterton Lake, Canada and say fairwell to the "normal" life. So, next time we post we'll have a few miles under our sore feet and will be back in the US somewhere in Glacier National Park.

Our Security Blankets new home, Our Pack

Well the time has come. This is the last view of what we considered security. Now we're jobless and homeless. With nothing but ten months of adventure ahead of us. OK that's not to bad I admit. We just finished the website and are pretty happy with the results. Hopefully you all enjoy it. But, be sure to let us know if your having any troubles with it or would like to see something else. We have a few more things to wrap up here in Seattle and it looks like it might even rain a little for us. It wouldn't be a proper send off without it. Next it's off to Spokane to spend some time with Brenda's dad. Should be a good time he's a man of many talents and I learn something new from him every time. Much like my own Dad. While I'm at it I would also like to thank all our family and friends for being so supportive as we prepared for our journey. We will try to update this page as often as we can so you can follow along with our adventures. Don't forget starting soon you will be able to follow us real time using the Where Are We Page. Have fun!!