West Fork Sun River to Welcome Pass 24 mi :: 1522 mi :: Foggy, sunny afternoon The morning is foggy. It gives the river mysterious aire, and everything smells damp. Mushrooms are popping up all over the place. By the time I reach Benchmark and find the car, the sky is clear. A camper tells…

Spotted Bear River to West Fork Sun River 24 mi :: 1498 mi :: Rainy Morning rain rolls in again today. I try waiting it out while I eat breakfast, but it just comes down harder. The climb to Spotted Bear Pass is muddy with bushes taller than me overgrowing the trail. It’s like hiking…

Grizzly Park to Spotted Bear River 24 mi :: 1474 mi :: Cloudy, some sprinkles We wake up to a clear sky, but a cloud rolls in and sprinkles on us during breakfast. I have coffee when I camp with Ann, but I don’t try to make it on the trail otherwise. The cycles of…

Beaver Lake to Grizzly Park 17 mi :: 1450 mi :: Sunny, warm It’s wet, chilly morning. I linger in bed for a while because Ann is meeting me today, and I don’t have too far to go. After two more meadowy divide crossings I start following Strawberry Creek into the Bob Marshall Wilderness. It…

Marias Pass to Beaver Lake 27 mi :: 1433 mi :: Sunny, warm On the way to the trailhead another camper stops us to ask if I’m hiking the CDT. Jim has hiked the PCT, and is itching to do this trail too. He says he delivers books to Old Faithful on Tuesdays – he…

East Glacier to Marias Pass 15 mi :: 1406 mi :: Sunny, warm Having Ann to support me in the car has made hiking easier and more fun in many ways. Today we discuss a possibility I haven’t capitalized on yet – hiking with just a day pack while Ann hauls my overnight gear in…

Morning Star Lake to East Glacier 24 mi :: 1391 mi :: Sunny, warm When I look up after stuffing my pack this morning there is a moose staring at me. It’s a cow, and she’s not too close for comfort, so I take her picture. I’m glad it’s not the bull I saw across…

Red Eagle Lake to Morning Star Lake 14 mi :: 1367 mi :: Sunny, warm Sleeping until 6:30 feels like sleeping in. I have a leisurely breakfast followed by hot cocoa, and start up the trail around 8:30, feeling luxuriously lazy. I still make it up Triple Divide Pass by noon. I have lunch there…

Many Glacier to Red Eagle Lake 30 mi :: 1353 mi :: Cloudy I’m underway at 6 am, the only person stirring in the giant campground. There is, however, a black bear snuffing around the quiet RVs. He looks at me for a second before shuffling off behind a bush. I’m in the salad again…

Fifty Mountain to Many Glacier 19 mi :: 1323 mi :: Sunny, breezy I make breakfast at the campground, and get on the trail around 8. It climbs to the divide, providing the best views yet of the array of icy peaks to the west. I wish I could name them, but they are just…