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Day 125, I End My Through Hike
Wisdom, MT to Salmon, ID When I wake up my indecision is gone. My attempt at a through hike of the CDT is over, but our honeymoon on the continental divide is not. While many CDT hikes end suddenly with injuries, impassable snow, bankruptcy, or other knockout punches, this decision was difficult because our circumstances…
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Day 124, I Consider Stopping
Tie Meadow to Hogan Cabin 6 mi :: 1834 mi :: Sunny, warm I think I’m up early, but it’s already 6:30 am. The sun is not coming up quite as early these days. It’s moist and chilly by the wet meadows. I pack up and get moving to warm myself. The roads and trails…
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Day 123
Oreamnos Lake to Tie Meadow 28 mi :: 1828 mi :: Rainy, foggy, cloudy Today the rain hasn�t stopped by 7 am, so I break camp in the drizzle. It�s wet, but I hope for the best and start up my cross-country route. The route is nice. There is one steep, wet, grassy hill above…
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Day 122
Flower Lake to Oreamnos Lake 25 mi :: 1825 mi :: Cloudy, evening storms I don�t venture out of the tent until it stops raining at about 7 am. I climb over a very green, misty pass before breakfast. I can smell lots of plants, but an especially strong one smells like fresh apples. At…
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Day 121
Mule ranch, hwy 274 to Flower Lake 25 mi :: 1800 mi :: Overcast, rainy I walk a few miles on the highway this morning. A green truck with a sticker in the back window that says “Real Men Love Jesus” keeps passing me. It passed our camp a few times at breakfast too, I…
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Day 120
I-15 Feely exit to Mule Ranch, Hwy 274 26 mi :: 1775 mi :: Overcast Ann drops me off back at I-15 in the morning. I walk a few miles of road to a trailhead, where two ATVs are just starting up the Rocky Ridge trail. I expect to encounter more, but find only mile…
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Day 119
Pipestone Pass to Feely exit on I-15 24 mi :: 1749 mi :: Sunny, warm In the morning I get to sample some trail that’s actually been built. Very nice, but I can’t resist taking off through the bush when I get the chance, following survey stakes. Today’s bushwhack is tougher than yesterday’s. The forest…
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Day 118
Delmoe Lake to Pipestone Pass 17 mi :: 1725 mi :: Sunny, warm I feel better today, despite having nine miles of dusty road to walk in the morning. Ann meets me at Homestake Pass, where we have lunch at a nice spot by the lake. From Homestake I try to find my way along…
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Day 117
Lowland Campground to Delmoe Lake 23 mi :: 1708 mi :: Sunny, hot I spend the morning on roads, even a few miles of pavement. This includes my first crossing of I-15. It�s strange to imagine this ribbon of pavement running south through Las Vegas to Cajon Pass, where I crossed it hiking the Pacific…
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Day 116
Thunderbolt Mountain to Lowland Campground 30 mi :: 1685 mi :: Sunny, warm I get a stiff hip from sleeping in a bumpy spot, but the cold, clear night under the stars is worth it. Looking at my maps, I realize that my enthusiastic excursion up Thunderbolt Peak will cost me a few extra miles,…