There’s two main times in the day you see wildlife, in the morning and at night. As I climbed up into the mountains I passed through some big pasture land and saw a huge elk herd. I could hear them bugling and then saw a dozen or so running through the woods. As I walked by the herd, they all jogged away. It was really neat.
I had from some sobos how pretty this section was and today really delivered. It started off by climbing right into the mountains where Hellroaring Creek cut through.
After that I climbed up to the divide and hiked along it for most of the day. The views were incredible and I could look over and see Idaho or Montana. There were even border markers every once in awhile to remind me that I was actually walking the border of the two states.
Yesterday I had about 71 miles to town, which would normally be a solid 2 days of hiking. The problem is that at the end of the second day I would be at the highway and it would be too late to even get to this small town. I could take it easy for 2 days and do a short 3rd day, but then I kinda lose a day of hiking.
What if I just hiked 41 miles today? Was that even possible? Around 1 or 2 pm it kinda seemed like it might be. Around 5 pm it definitely was. I would only need to hike until juuuuust after dark to make it to a campground with a bearbox and pit toilet.
Remember how I mentioned two times of the day you see wildlife? As I hiked into the evening I came out into a valley and saw a big bull moose eating some grass.
He wasn’t concerned with me so I continued on, looking back to make sure he still wasn’t interested.
I made it down to the campsite without having to use a headlamp and immediately set up my tent and got in. Most of the day the mosquitoes were fine, but the last 4 or 5 miles were horrible.
I have about 30 miles into town tomorrow. This shouldn’t be too hard but there’s a little catch. The town of Lima Montana is hard to hitchhike into because the road that accesses it is an interstate highway. There’s a guy in town that runs a shuttle for hikers, but the last time he picks up is 5:30 pm. Today I didn’t hit 30 miles until 6 pm.
With a little more urgency, I think I’ll be fine. Either way, it’ll be a fun challenge.