Day 92: 25 Miles
After sleeping in a little and having breakfast, the motel owner gave us a ride back to the trail, and we were hiking by about 10:00. It was an 8 mile gravel road walk, then uphill and walking on the ridge that divides Idaho and Montana for the rest of the day.
It was windy and monotonous terrain, but we spent the day hiking with another thru-hiker named Yoda, (You can check out her blog here) so it really helped pass the time to have someone new to talk to.
We saw a couple more Southbound hikers, who are always super eager to see and chat with other hikers. We also found ourselves leapfrogging with the other hikers who left the motel this morning, making it a pretty busy day by CDT standards. Despite the windy weather, it was overcast and hazy today, a relief since there were few trees to provide shade. At the end of the day we dropped off the ridge and got a break from the wind. It seems like it’s going to be a nice warm night tonight.
Day 93: 32 Miles
Today was a similar day to yesterday, with lots of ups and downs, crossing fields of sagebrush, some old dirt roads, and hazy/cloudy skies.
It was muggy out and we had several bursts of rain that always stopped shortly after we put on our rain jackets. Except for one, when we hit a saddle and the rain came down hard with 50+ mph winds. It stung and was freezing, but fortunately short lived. We hiked with Yoda again all day today, and it’s been really nice to hike with a woman for a few days.
Sometimes we females have long stretches on this trail without seeing each other! We saw one more Southbound hiker today, and just one Northbound. Lots of cows though.
Day 94: 28 Miles
Today was a tough day. We followed the ridge separating Idaho and Montana, up and down and up and down and up and down.
Strong winds that knocked me off balance persisted all afternoon. With sparse trees and views ahead for miles as we followed dirt roads, it felt a little like the basin, only it was not flat.
Piñata, Yoda and I talked about food all day. Lasagna with garlic bread and red wine, rotisserie chicken, fried chicken, patty melts, ice cream, eggs and hash browns. We can’t carry or eat enough food these days. It’s a town day tomorrow though! We found a spot to camp sheltered by trees but definitely frequented by cows, and fortunately by bedtime the wind has mostly died down.