CDT JOY: First Solo Hitchhike

Day 17: 14.8 miles 

Highlights: Straight Creek Alternate.

My alarm went off at 6am and I woke up feeling very refreshed. This was my first real bed and indoor stay since starting the trail over 2 weeks ago.

Since I had the time I went through every item in my pack and questioned its usefulness. In the hiker box I added hand warmers, extra quart ziplock bags, half of a 2oz bottle of sriracha, face towelettes, and half of the box on bandaids I picked up from the general store. I was pleased that I was able to dial in my kit a bit more for this next stretch.

Next I took another look at my food. In my resupply box I sent enough calories to get me to Helena in 5.5 days. If I ate double protein bars and double dessert I would be at about 3 days of food with an emergency set of snacks if I gave away 2 dinners. This helped me feel good about my decision to go to Lincoln in 3 days to eat another town meal, charge up my electronics, and top off my food resupply from what I will carry out.

After repacking my pack I checked out of the hotel room and had breakfast at the attached restaurant of coffee and a cinnamon roll. Then, the camp host shuttled us hikers back to trail.

From the trailhead I took the Straight Creek alternate back to the CDT redline. Today’s terrain was cruisy, but after the redline it was a burn zone with some slow and steady uphill. I took a few breaks to filter and drink water and have a snack. Today I packed out leftover pizza, but wasn’t hungry at lunch for it, and after smelling it all day in my pack I wasn’t interested in eating it at dinner time.

Instead for dinner I had a boogie resupply meal of couscous with salami, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, oil, and Parmesan cheese. It was amazing and was glad to not carry the extra weight of all the special ingredients.

After dinner, I had about an hour of time to relax in my tent before heading to bed for then night.

Day 18: 19.9 miles

Highlights: Ridgeline views. Exposed climbing.

I woke up this morning and was feeling fresh. For breakfast I ate leftover pizza that I had packed out from town. I could smell it as I was hiking yesterday, but wasn’t hungry at lunchtime for it. After 8 hours of hiking and smelling pizza it just didn’t sound good anymore and I had couscous instead. This morning, though, it had to get eaten or risk carrying the extra weight in my pack.

The morning was cool and shaded by the mountain and I put in my wind gloves to keep my hands warm. I took my first break around 9am and did some stretches and filtered water. I again filtered water before the start of a long and exposed climb. Today the water sources were more spaced out and I had to be mindful to check the app and the comments as some of the water sources listed on the map were dry.

The start of the climb was in a burn area and then went above tree line for a very exposed climb. I took it slow and steady being mindful of my propensity to get heat headaches and heat rashes if I push myself too hard. I stopped for lunch after the biggest climb was over with and took a 45 minute break in the shade.

After lunch there was a 5 mile water carry down the a lake. The trail climbed and again was exposed, but this time with 360 degree views of the mountains. On the descent to the lake I finished the last of my water and was ready for a break by the lake.

 

I arrived at the lake around 4:30om and I realized that the next source of water would be 12 miles from here, with the next good camping listed in the FarOut app being another 6 miles. I had already hiked 20 miles in the heat and the thought of dry camping somewhere up to six miles away was daunting. The bugs at this break were also getting to me and my sound judgement.

I decided the best thing for me to do would be to set up my tent and do the research I needed from the shelter away from bugs. It was the right decision and I will wake up early tomorrow before the heat to make up any miles I need to. Lincoln is 18 miles away from here.

I also took the time to plan out potential camping options. If I didn’t go into Lincoln in would again be stuck with either a 19 or 26 mile day and even more elevation gain than today. Water also will be challenging the next few days. It reminds me that this trail is really out to challenge me.. weather, remoteness, lack of water at times, and long days to find suitable ground for camping are all par for the course.

At 6pm I took a break from research and ate dinner. I found another hiker camped there and at dinner he helped ease my mind about hitching and going into town tomorrow. 

Day 19: 18.2 miles 

Highlights: Morning Zoomies, Hitch into Lincoln.

I woke up at 5 am ready to hike. I had 18 miles to town and wanted to get to the road crossing as early as possible to give myself time to do my first hitch. The hiker Blink camped near me and hikes much faster than me so I hoped by leaving early we would get to the trailhead about the same time and he could provide moral support and help make this hitchhiking thing less stressful.

On my previous trails I would either walk to town (bonus miles), skip town altogether (big food carries), or arrange a shuttle to pick up from trail at a certain time. I never realized that this was done out of fear for leaving things out of my hands to see what kind person would be willing to give a stinky hiker a ride to town. This is a fear I hope to overcome on this trail and it starts today.

The morning began with a long climb up and away from the lake I was camping and the trail continued on ridge lines for most of the day. I got to see a 360 degree sunrise and stopped in my tracks as I rounded the final turn of switchbacks and the clouds and colors just bloomed. I was so grateful to be doing this climb in the morning with cooler temperatures and renewed energy from overnight. Also, because the terrain was mostly ridgeline I did not see evidence of good camping for most of the way on the trail today. 

I hiked over 10 miles by 10 am for the first time on trail. The sunrise fueled me and I challenged myself to see what miles I could pull out this morning. At 10am I took a break in the shade as it was already starting to heat up for the day. I switched my morning snack trash for fresh lunch snacks of ritz crackers with cheese, a Luna bar, a rice krispy treat, and watermelon sour patch kids.

I made it to Rogers Pass at 1pm. I put away my trekking pole, took off my hat and sunglasses and stood near the road with a shoulder just behind me with plenty of room to pull over. I stuck out my thumb and waited. First car, no stopping, second car.. nope. Over 20 cars passed with no luck. In my brain I started to think.. am I doing this wrong? Is there a better place to stand? 

About 20 minutes after I started hitching an ATV came down a dirt road across the highway. He made his way down the highway past me, then crossed the highway and turned around to come my way. He asked if I was going to Lincoln and offered a ride to meet him at the trailhead while he loaded his ATV onto his truck. I said yes and had a pleasant and easy drive into town. 

Once in town I made my way to the scapegoat for lunch. Blink was already inside having taken an alternate this morning that saved significant elevation and dropped out just a short walk from town. I ate an enormous fried chicken sandwich with tots and couldn’t finish all of it. From there, I made my way to the wagon wheel bar and asked permission to pitch my tent on their lawn outside. I got the treat of taking a shower at the RV park and buddied up to do a load of laundry. I looked at my food bag and had enough food for Helena, so I planned to only pick up one treat/ snack in town.

Lincoln’s hardware store was out of fuel cans and a comment in FarOut mentioned they didn’t plan to get anymore for the season. I have the same fuel cans from day 1 and it likely has only 1-2 more boils in it so I will plan to cold soak couscous my third dinner and get a new can in Helena.

After errands in town and catching up with Ghost Pepper and family it was already after 6pm and time to eat again. At the bar I ate the appetizer sampler, had a beer, and socialized with hiker friends. At the end of dinner we were all on our phones to route plan the next section. There are a few alternates that save elevation, distance, give you more access to water, and alpacas! 

I used the FarOut comments at the junctions to create a route in my Gaia app to give distance estimates and directions. I downloaded the route for offline use and will do campsite planning in the morning. The forecast shows rain overnight and the next morning with a high in the 50s instead of the 90s like today, so I plan to choose mileage and campsites based on the weather tomorrow.

Note: the daily distances at the total miles actually hiked including alternates , side quests, and bonus miles. The mileage summary is based on the CDT redline in FarOut  and may not align to my mileage total.