- June 21, Day 0 – The First Day of Summer!It’s that time of year again! I’ve quit my job, packed all of my belongings into my girlfriend’s spare closet, and flown halfway across the country to live in the woods for 4+ months. I flew from Dallas, Texas to Kalispell, Montana this morning to start the Continental Divide Trail. …
- June 22, Day 00 – Adapt, Improvise, OvercomeThat’s right, we decided to take a zero on our first day! Who doesn’t need a good rest day before a few months of hiking? Unfortunately, this was not our plan. We woke up this morning, packed our things and did what most thru hikers do on town day at …
Continue reading June 22, Day 00 – Adapt, Improvise, Overcome
- June 23, Day 1 – Off to a great start!We woke up around 6 covered in condensation at Galena Gulch campground just off Interstate 15 then drove about 20 minutes to get to the start of the trail. Unfortunately it’s not a terminus like we wanted but we are happy to be getting on trail. The CDT is known …
- June 24, Day 2 – Taking the good with the badToday started pretty good. We woke up dry and a bear didn’t steal our food. That’s really all we wanted after our first night. The hiking was pretty good until about halfway through the day when we reached 5 miles of blowdowns, flooded trail and snow patches. I don’t think …
Continue reading June 24, Day 2 – Taking the good with the bad
- June 25, Day 3 – Finding our grooveWe were able to have a much more pleasant day today. The trail was pretty smooth other than some patches of blow downs, one of which required quite a few acrobatic moves. I had to be light and nimble on my feet, which is tough when I have 4 extra …
- June 26, Day 4 – First town day!We hustled into town this morning and made it in around noon. The hitch didn’t take too long to get and he dropped us off right at a grocery store next to a sandwich shop. We spent the next few hours eating and drying out our gear from condensation that …
- June 27, Day 5 – Our first bear encounterOur goal for today was just over 20 miles so we got started around 7. We had a climb first thing which got our legs warmed up but the rest of the day was gentle rolling hills through Montana cattle country. I think we saw at least 100 cows today. …
- June 28, Day 6 – I should have carried more waterThe hiking today was pretty great for the most part. Not too many blowdowns, the climbs weren’t too bad and the views were pretty good. The heat was pretty horrendous though. For some crazy reason, I thought I could make 2 liters of water last me the 18.8 miles we …
Continue reading June 28, Day 6 – I should have carried more water
- June 29, Day 7 – Hiking along the Continental DivideI woke up pretty excited for the day. We had heard that we would be hiking along ridges most of the day that present great views! We were not lied to. The hiking today was the most scenic day yet. However, with those ridges came 50+ mph winds. I almost …
Continue reading June 29, Day 7 – Hiking along the Continental Divide
- June 30, Day 8 – Fortunate flower bloomsWaking up in town was pretty nice. I laid in bed until 9, watched tv, ate some snacks and then showered again for no reason. After packing everything up I headed next door to get breakfast. This was hands down the best part of my day. They had cinnamon roll …
- July 1, Day 9 – New friends!I woke up to a lot of condensation on me so I laid in bed until after the sun came over the horizon. I then let everything dry out and didn’t leave camp until around 8. I thought I would still have no problem going 30 miles today even with …
- July 2, Day 10 – Luck is on my sideIt’s town day so I jumped out of bed quickly and tried to maintain a pretty good pace all the way into town. It was pretty flat and easy terrain so I was able to make it to the road into town by 11am. I walked onto the main road …
- July 3, Day 11 – A general store makes a town greatOn a zero day like today, we try to sleep in, eat as much as possible and walk as little as possible. I think I succeeded. We got our hotel room around noon and I spent a lot of time laying in bed. It was nice to be able to …
Continue reading July 3, Day 11 – A general store makes a town great
- July 4, Day 12 – Headed into the wildernessToday was a pretty easy day thankfully. I ended up having a rough night and only slept 3 hours. I had a lot on my mind and struggled to fall asleep. And I’m already in the habit of waking up at 6am so I was kind of groggy this morning. …
Continue reading July 4, Day 12 – Headed into the wilderness
- July 5, Day 13 – The Chinese Wall!I won’t be surprised if this is one of my longest posts this summer. I have a lot to write about. I woke up in a cold sweat at 4am from a bad dream and couldn’t fall back asleep. This has been happening a lot this trip. Maybe it’s nerves. …
- July 6, Day 14 – Fallen trees hurt my kneesToday’s hiking entertainment is brought to you by “The Blowdown Showdown featuring the squirrel playground, trees of terror and the floor is lava.” I knew there was going to be 4.5 miles of rough blow downs today. What I didn’t know was that it was actually 14 miles total of …
Continue reading July 6, Day 14 – Fallen trees hurt my knees
- July 7, Day 15 – The final push before GlacierI had a rough night of sleep again so I had a slow start. The motivation was low today. I slowly walked the first of stretch of trail and talked to a few other hikers. About halfway through the day, I got cell service and made some phone calls to …
Continue reading July 7, Day 15 – The final push before Glacier
- July 8, Day 16 – Thank you, Bob MarshallI woke up feeling pretty proud of myself. The Bob Marshall Wilderness had been taking some people 6-7 days and I was able to do it in 3.5. I did take a route that saved me 14 miles compared to most others but that 14 miles would have only taken …
- July 9, Day 17 – Hiking and resting in the same day!The four of us had all hitched into East Glacier from Marias Pass but the trail actually goes from Marias Pass into East Glacier. We did this so that we could “slack pack” this stretch. Approach and I walked over to the highway around 8, stuck out our thumbs and …
Continue reading July 9, Day 17 – Hiking and resting in the same day!
- July 10, Day 18 – Our first steps in Glacier National ParkWe had the same opportunity today as we did yesterday. The 4 of us hiked the 10.9 miles from East Glacier to Two Medicine in the early morning and we hoped to be able to hitch back fairly easily. We also needed to get our permits for the next few …
Continue reading July 10, Day 18 – Our first steps in Glacier National Park
- July 11, Day 19 – Triple Divide PassWe got an early ride out of town from Matt, Approach’s boyfriend. He dropped us off at Two Medicine, where we had hiked to yesterday. The next 3 days we will be spending in Glacier National Park, camping in backcountry sites. Each day would be around 25 miles with around …
- July 12, Day 20 – Risking it for the BiscuitWe are always coming up with crazy plans out here. Today was no different. We had the idea that we could do bigger miles today and make it all the way to Many Glacier campground with the hope that the walk-in site there would be available. This meant we would …
Continue reading July 12, Day 20 – Risking it for the Biscuit
- July 13, Day 21 – Canada!It feels weird writing “Canada!” on Day 21 and not on Day 1 but it sure does feel good. We only had 1 pass to climb today and it was a fairly easy one except for the first mile in which we climbed straight up the side of the mountain …
- July 14, Day 22 – July 19, Day 27 – Visiting HomeI spent 7 days in Austin and Dallas visiting my family and Colleen. It was nice to have a long break as the trail had been beating me up but I was starting to miss it by the end. I’m flying back to trail tomorrow morning and meeting back up …
Continue reading July 14, Day 22 – July 19, Day 27 – Visiting Home
- July 20, Day 28 – Back where I belongI woke up, packed up, ate a bunch of leftovers and was at the airport by 10:30. 4 hours later I was walking down the road from the Bozeman airport with my thumb out. Luckily, it only took me about 3 minutes to get a hitch all the way to …
- July 21, Day 29 – Reunited and it feels so goodIt was pretty nice waking up on a strangers porch, especially since they had a cute dog who was very excited to see me. Waking up to a dog wagging its tail and trying to lick me put a smile on my face. I hung around for a few hours …
Continue reading July 21, Day 29 – Reunited and it feels so good
- July 22, Day 30 – The Sky Rim TrailI found Approach sitting next to the Yellowstone National Park boundary sign a mile into my day and we spent the rest of the morning hiking together. It was pretty slow going. The first 7.1 miles of our day consisted of constant ups and down without any regard for the …
- July 23, Day 31 – The Skyline TrailWe got moving pretty early this morning and had a hitch in about 10 minutes. Since we were going to be going back through West Yellowstone this evening we decided to leave most of our gear at the hotel and only carried our food, water and bear protection. These light …
- July 24, Day 32 – Idaho!There’s not much to write about today. We walked on dirt roads for the first 22 miles and there were very few views and overall it was a pretty boring day. I listened to A Thousand Splendid Suns and Harry Potter on audiobook all day. The one exciting thing was …
- July 25, Day 33 – Wyoming and Old FaithfulThis was some of the easiest trail I’ve ever hiked. It was flat or slightly downhill all the way into Old Faithful from the border of the park and I was eating hot food by 12:30! The last few miles before reaching Old Faithful Village took us by some beautiful …
- July 26, Day 34 – Enjoying the amenities of a National ParkI got out of bed pretty quickly this morning and for good reason. There’s a $15 breakfast buffet at Old Faithful Inn that starts at 6:30am. The road was pretty desolate this morning so I was worried about how long it would take to get a hitch but it only …
Continue reading July 26, Day 34 – Enjoying the amenities of a National Park
- July 27, Day 35 – Trail Magic!The first 20 miles of today was along a river in Yellowstone Park and was filled with lots of hot springs and thermal pools. It was really fun hiking and while the views weren’t vast they were filled with interesting features. Once out of the park, the majority of the …
