15 Goodbye to Montana and Idaho

Drifting Thoughts

Hundreds of grey flat bottom cumulus pass above the cowboy landscape like a great caravan of wagons. Their cargo, water to quench my thirst and ease my sore throat and thoughts of the past days.

My throat has become increasingly sore.

Swallowing is painful and talking, or articulation, is something I try to avoid. This makes chatting with Sally impossible and frustrating for both of us. The rarified air at this altitude dries out membranes and replaces them with sandpaper. I manage ‘Hey Bears’ by making a noise with my diaphragm but they come out in a John Merrick Elephant Man fashion. And when I try to chat with Sally I sound like Vito Corleone ‘Sarry, tik a lk at tht mntn’. I begin to relieve the pain by holding water in my mouth, breath through my nose, gargling; suck on a Sour Patch Kid (SPK), snorting, making gross hacking sounds and occasionally with great relief removing an offending globule of blood and phlegm.

In true hiker trash style I proudly show offending items to Sally, justifying this gross act by talking with perfect diction, for a while.

The clouds pass as I lay in a meadow of a million flowers, lilacs, reds, blues and whites change hues as the shadows pass and the lowing of the cattle drifts up the valley with the gentle breeze. I drift into a doze as Sally boils the water for today’s main meal. 125 grams of chickpea pasta and a Lipton’s soup. Boiling takes longer at this height and those extra minutes take me back to Leadore, Idaho and the car journey back to the trailhead with the town’s teacher Jen.

Leadore

Jen moved with her family from the city to the town of Leadore with its population of 105 and was passionate about making Leadore work. This is probably why she spends free time running CDT hikers the ten miles into the town. The only Idaho trail town close to the CDT. Her energy matched that of the Inn, Store and Diner owners. Every dollar counted and ravenous hikers emptied their pockets for subs, chips, pizza, a shower and rest.

Before Jen and her family arrived the population was just 100 and without a school teacher, and in our twenty minute journey back to the trailhead she told us about school. Her smallest class numbered two and her largest eight. Those children were rancher children. They would drive pickups (without accelerator) ahead of the round up herd from the age of three, with accelerator at the age of four and at the age of five would be able to ride their horse alone until dusk through the hills of Idaho knowing that if lost, down the valleys, to a main road and then to known landmarks would take them home. In the classroom the confines were tricky and learning at home where the parents worked the cattle seemed unnecessary. Jen taught the alphabet by brands. The cattle letters showing ownership showed the children the relevance of learning and how much they had already learned.

They were encouraged to whittle a stick into a writing tool and teach their barn stock by writing in the dirt. The parents were asked to carry books in their tractors so that their children could read aloud as the ranch was worked. Leadore passed by as a cloud. And I began to think of my night thoughts.

Sesame St. brought to you by the letters O and V

Night Worries

Earlier in the hike, again a condition of altitude, dreams would be vivid and strange, but so would extended worry. One night I lost sleep to the worry that my shoes would die during the next two hundred miles; and days would be given away to endless hitches to distant cities and stores stocking Brooks Trail 9.5 US 2E wides. Another, I was so scared about the speed at which I was losing weight that I just couldn’t eat enough when in towns to balance out the loss. But the dawn would always bring a complete change of perspective.

Perspective that would get both of us to Mexico.

Sun rise always brings excitement

Now, twenty one days since our last ZERO, we’re in the town of Island Park our last few miles before entering Wyoming, our third state of five and the gateway to Yellowstone. The hotel has a jacuzzi and is next to a supermarket. We have eaten so much our untrained stomachs have reflux and at just 10 am sleep calls.

Interstate 15, Montana

The hotel manager is going to the post office and will collect our on-line orders. A new pair of shoes for me and marmite. Marmite is not just a luxury it’s an essential. We mix it with peanut butter. It removes, kind of dissolves, the sticky texture which makes swallowing large quantities tricky. As an essential part of the ration mix these little pots of black gold will contribute greatly to balancing the calorie deficit. As will SPK which come in 1 lb bags!

I have yet to convince Special Agent Sally to carry a bag but I am working on a calorie / weight formula to justify the load!

Definitions

You too can be a thru-hiker! Here are some terms to help you speak the language of the trail.

Nobo - Hikers travelling in a northbound direction.

They are not to be trusted. More in next weeks blog.

Sobo - Covered last week. Southbound hikers, like SAS and I.

Flip Flop - Hikers that are doing a mixture of Nobo, Sobo and sections due to weather, personal commitments, ease of route.

Section Hiker - Hikers that may just walk the interesting parts of the CDT or take several years to complete the trail due to other commitments.

Purist / EFIer - A hiker that will follow the Far Out Red Line. Every F***ing Inch.

Triple Crowner - someone who has hiked the Apalacian Trail, the Pacific Creat Trail and completing with the Continental Divide. They complete the last few miles wearing a Burger King cardboard crown that has been bejazzeled. They can be Nobo or Sobo.

The Bubble - where due to weather or trail conditions groups of hikers collect. Such as at Anaconda or Helena. At the moment Sally and I are ahead of most of the bubble but Care Bear, Freighter, Weatherman, Zen Commando, Rocket, and Numbers are ahead.

AYCE - All you can eat.

Hiker Trash - You look and smell like shit. A derogatory badge of honour.

Trail Magic - Ripe, juicy, vitamin c rich huckleberries when you’re so hungry that it seems like your stomach is eating itself.

Trail Angel - someone who turns around on Interstate 15 to give you a lift into Lima

Zero - a whole complete day off, usually requiring two nights off.

Nero - a day where less that 15 (debatable) miles are walked and involves an overnight stay in a town.

Hero - Hitch in, Eat, Resupply, Out

Vortex - when you enter a town and can’t leave.

Vitamin I - Ibuprofen

Banana Blaze - when a female hiker has a romantic interest in a male hiker and no matter the pace follows said male. (SAS is not a Banana Blaze). But I have included this in case a developing story between Matcha and Freighter becomes newsworthy.

Statistics

Hiking time 306 hours 12 minutes

1,318.4 kilometres (819.22 miles) hiked

47,073 metres (154,438 feet) ascent

Sharts - SAS 46, Jug 1,318

We are approaching 27% of this odyssey.

Here’s our location! 📍

Island Park near the Wyoming border

Magic Moments?

Millions!! Best one? Seeing a moose and a moosette 🫎 or maybe the herd of Elk stampeding across mountainsides or that stag at sunset that stood at a summit watching us pitch the tent in a saddle as we sipped our sleepy teas.