After a long run with Just Sally, all things must come to a close. We had a nice Zero Day in Butte and enjoyed the finer things of life. A manicure and pedicure, some shopping and a wee bit of relaxing.

I made a big change out in gear. A new and improved backpack. The pack I’ve been using served me well for years but my body must be changing or I just can’t carry the excess weight of food and water like I used to. So we made a trip to REI and after trying a couple of packs, I landed on a Flash Ultralight Men’s Pack. I know, why would I get a men’s pack? Well a couple of reasons but mostly my shoulders are broad and women’s packs typically don’t fit well. So I tried it on, and after loading it with all my gear, I started crying. It fit so good and my shoulders weren’t hurting anymore! This is a game changer for me. I made a pack change out once before on the PCT and it made a world of difference!

Sally dropped Fearless and I off outside of Wisdom at Chief Joseph Trailhead. We are back on track and headed Sobo again. With the extra miles we put in on both the Anaconda and Butte routes, we are exactly where we should be. As soon as Sally drove off, a gal came over and introduced herself and gave us a mandarin. You have no idea how much we crave fruit. Fearless tucked it away in her pack and off we went.

The trail for the first five miles was a forest service road with big ups and downs. We met a Nobo gal named Diva and she asked us about the trail ahead. Yep, continuous ups and downs until Anaconda, then you’ll get a short reprieve. She was grateful but we understood that there was no relief in sight for us!

We had two water sources today. Both springs that were off trail. First spring was an easy find about one-tenth mile off trail. We had lunch and headed down for water. I love spring water! It is the coldest water on trail and the tastiest!

After our first five miles, we broke off the road and headed onto the trail. It was a mixed bag of live forests with huge trees, some first generation cedars and then there was much dead fire-ridden trees from the recent Willow Fire last year. It’s so sad when you see the destruction and can only imagine what beauty was there prior to the fire.

Our climbs were significantly higher than weeks prior. We are well over 8000’ and my lungs are feeling it. With all the fires on the west coast and the lack of rain here, we are getting much of the smoke. My eyes and throat are taking the brunt of it all, that’s for sure!

At our second spring we ran into Mad Martigan and he gave us grim news. There is no spring to be found! That can’t be right. We are both down to less than a cup of water and the next spring is seven miles away. We looked at the comments in our FarOut App and everything we saw was there is a spring down the trail about quarter mile. I’m heading down. We both need water desperately and I am sure I will find this elusive spring.

So off I went with my daypack and five empty bottles that needed filling. The trail went down about 200’ , passing a primitive campsite. I knew it was passed the camping area so I kept going down. There was a zig-zag on the trail that led to a field of wildflowers and I arrived. There was a green garden hose that someone inserted near the spring to ease in the collection. Eureka, I found it!

After filling up all our bottles, I headed back rejoicing over life nourishing water. We headed to a shaded spot, made dinner and then continued a few more miles to camp. It’s a dry camp on a ridge line but we have our own supply of water. Then hunkered down for the night. Seems to me my prayers were answered today when I asked the Lord to show me this living water.

“Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”” John‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So bittersweet. This is our last day of hiking with Just Sally. We have a short walk to rendezvous with our shuttle and Trail Angel Jocelyn. Another easy peasy day with no real elevation to speak of. When I woke up at my typical 5am, I made my Cafe Latte and walked to the meadow in search of big game.

As the sun rose, not a creature was steering, not even a mouse. I thought for sure I’d see some elk or deer, but no such luck. Just me sitting on a log, watching the sun rise and the flowers perk up. It was lovely on any account.

The girls were stirring and we slowly packed up in search of the trail. This section of CDT is quite allusive and it isn’t even mapped on my CalTopo. So many at home have not understood where in the world have we gone. But be assured we are truly on the trail heading Nobo towards Butte.

After a little hunting and pecking, we found a road that was in fact, our trail. We passed many open meadows, some beautiful red cedar trees and lodge poles, and odd looking mushrooms that were the size of dinner plates!

We found our one and only watering hole, SixMile Creek. Being we had carried so much water yesterday to camp, close to ten liters between the three of us, we didn’t need to fill up. We had brunch, white navy beans with fennel and rosemary. Sounds much better than it tasted, with some dried fruit. Then we talked about he steak, potatoes and salad we would be eating as soon as we got to town.

The last two miles was the newest of all the trails that we had to navigate. It went through a Fish and Game area that would not allow trails to be built on their land. So instead of following a trail or road, there were CDT Markers on fence posts, trees and odd places along the way. We basically cut trail through grasslands. All I could think of was “snake in the grass” or “ticks.” My biggest fear on trail.

After meandering in the field of dreams, we made it to an old outpost. I’m sure in its hay day it was something special. All the buildings were in disrepair and definitely not inhabitable. We made it to the roadway and Fearless constructed us a shade awning that was quite remarkable. We sat underneath it and watched as the drivers dodged the Free Range Cows that decided the grass was, literally greener on the other side!

Jocelyn arrived and whisked us away to Anaconda where a resupply box was waiting for us. Then drove us to her home in Butte where Sally’s truck was parked. This is such a beautiful part of the trail, in the fact, that complete strangers help shuttle weary and stinky hikers from trail to town. It truly is one of the best parts of hiking to and fro. The people who out of the kindness of their hearts rearrange their schedules just so they can be a part of this process. We couldn’t do it without their help and sacrifice. Thank you Jocelyn!

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Last night was a Spa Treatment. We were camped by Sullivan Creek and it was only appropriate to treat ourselves to some pampering. Just Sally brought us multi-colored, gel filled eye masks that were quite soothing after all the hard work we have done in the past week. We drank hot tea and indulged in a little bit of spiced flavored libation. I think we all needed it.

The morning was cold, a little over 40 degrees. Being in the canyon must’ve contributed to the coolness. We all had jackets on when we hit the trail. That lasted for five minutes as we started our climb.

If I was a geologist, I think I would’ve lived in Montana. I don’t know much about geology, but I sure know a good rock when I see one. The mountains are so colorful with tons of different minerals. The rock formations are varied, as you turn one corner to the next. Today when we headed out of Sullivan Creek, we climbed up to a ridge line. I think it was a little over 8.000’. There was a massive rock slide in front of us, and a towering red mountain to the south. Each direction had different topography with forest covered peaks, sandy slopes, multi-colored mountain tops and a variety of pines, cedars, and tons of non-edible mushrooms. It really is incredibly diverse in this region.

Our plan is to setup for a ride back to Butte tomorrow. Sally is headed home, but don’t be too sad because as soon as she returns, she leaves for the Bahamas. Tough life she lives! We only needed to hike a little over ten miles so we stopped for lunch at Twelvemile Creek. Pretty leisurely day today.

Our only problem is once we left the creek, we would not have water for another ten miles. No point of rushing to the next water source so everyone filled up bladders and cameled up! That’s a term we use for drinking as much water as humanly possible and holding it like a camel. It actually works. Sally and I drank a liter each and refilled our bottles. Then continued walking to our future home for the night.

We scouted for awhile and found nothing too exciting. I wanted to find a nice spot for Sally’s last night and so Fearless and I dropped our packs and continued up the trail till we found utopia. It truly is a gorgeous place with meadows, trees and I’m thinking elk! It’s a perfect ground for them to graze and make elk-like sounds. We rushed back and apprised Sally of our choice and with packs loaded with gallons of water, we arrived to our final destination, Elk Meadow.

As we were building our homes, we realized it wasn’t elks that we were invading but wasps. Oh no! After a couple of close calls, Sally killed one and they all retreated. Now we can pitch our tents without pesty little boogers biting us. I’m gonna miss my bug slaying friend.

Fearless and I were talking about how much we are going to miss having Just Sally around. She has been such a wonderful addition to our hiking regiment. Who else is going to bring spa treatments, kill unnecessary bugs and have the endless bladder of clean drinking water? She’s gonna be a hard one to replace. That’s for sure!

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Oh boy, what a day. If some of you are confused as to where I am, you are not alone. I am headed Sobo from Canada to Mexico but due to our recent visit from Sally, we are trying to get her back to Butte. This allowed us to make a directional change after climbing Storm Pass and Goat Flat yesterday. Instead of heading south to Wisdom, we are now traveling Nobo towards Butte. All dots on the trail will be connected. And Fearless and I will resume our Sobo travel in a few days.

We are taking it a bit more leisurely with a reduction in miles and enjoying the amazing scenery. We broke camp after 7am and left ahead of the Llama Pack. Around 830am, they caught up and we decided to let them pass. Fearless was videotaping the creatures as they passed and the lead llama must have mistaken her camera for food because he put his face directly up to her IPhone. The Mama Llama said she must’ve thought it was edible. I guess it looks like oats!

They continued down the trail and within a few minutes, we noticed three horses coming up the trail. The Mama Llama, she’s the owner, name unknown, moved all three llamas off the trail. I guess some horses don’t like llamas and she wanted to give the riders a clear path. This is when everything went south!

The lead rider, Mr. Buster an older gentleman on an older horse, got spooked. The horse saw the llamas and started going backwards, then spun around in circles, raised its front legs up, not once but twice as Buster was holding on. I was quite impressed with his horsemanship until the horse misstepped and rolled off the trail trapping the rider underneath the horse. Oh crap, this is bad! I ran over as Mr. Buster was trying his best to get untangled from the horse and stirrups. He wiggled his way out as his daughter and granddaughter got off their horses. It gets worse!

Now Mom Madeleine is off her horse, and her teenage daughter has the other two horses on leads. We access Mr. Buster and attempt to figure out how to get the horse off the ground. The horse seems dazed and confused! It’s lying on its right side with the saddle and all its gear still attached. The horses legs are up hill which makes it quite difficult to upright. Mr. Buster is trying his best to get the horse to stand up. The Llama Mama and her llamas are making a quiet escape from this entire ordeal.

Finally after a few minutes of, “should we take the saddle off the horse” or “should we just let the horse rollover so it can stand”, the horse somehow, someway, uprights itself and takes off running down the trail riderless. And if that’s not bad enough, the other two horses, drag Maddy to the ground, as they follow suit. I know, you can’t make this stuff up!

Now teenage Maddy is down with abrasions and a possible busted ankle. Me and the gang all head over and access Maddy as the Mom and Grandpa are in need of finding their runaway horses! I take over as lead Medic and the girls find all things first aid. Madeleine and Mr. Buster see that Maddy is in capable hands and tell us they’ll be back once they retrieve the horses.

About half an hour later after Maddy is all bandaged up, Mom and Grandpa return. We haven’t seen the llamas, they are long gone but the horses appear to be fine. And that’s the gist of our day on the trail.

So in Montana, you get Grizzly Bears, Rocky Mountain Goats, Elks, Deer, Badgers but what is the scariest thing on the trail is evidently, a llama or worse, three llamas. So next time you’re out in Montana, be very weary of the docile and adorable llamas. They are truly the bad news bears!

Prior to us leaving this morning, we asked the Lord for protection and strength. I know He was aware of what was coming this day, yet amoung all the chaos, he protected us and the ones nearby.

“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes; with your right hand you save me. The Lord will vindicate me; your love, Lord, endures forever— do not abandon the works of your hands.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭138‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Up early and back on trail. There are many ways to get back to the CDT, but most take Anaconda Alternate. We were debating where to go as Sally needs to get back to Butte by mid-week so she can head home to Idaho. Me and Fearless need to get some miles on the trail and after much contemplating, we decided to take the alternate. Then head north to Butte. A bit off track but it works.

We hit the trail early and headed to Storm Lake. With the massive thunder, lightning and hail we experienced last night, this seemed like an appropriate place to start. It was, by far, the most incredibly beautiful place I’ve hiked yet, on the CDT to date. The lake was pristine, clear water like Lake Tahoe Blue, and was surrounded by huge peaks and rock walls. The shoreline had dark green pine trees, with moss and liking everywhere.

The trail headed up over 2500’ in elevation with switchbacks that were properly spaced and just the right amount of steepness. I felt so strong today until I didn’t. We climbed for a little over an hour until we hit Storm Pass. The wind was blowing wickedly and then I saw the trail. It was on the side of a rocked wall cliff with some sleet, loose rock and an extremely narrow trail. I do not like heights and this was way out of my comfort zone! After taking many breaths, praying for God to give me courage and solid feet, I slowly made it along the shelf! This was the scariest moment of my hiking career. Well, at least on this trail! I had one point when I was on my hands and knees just trying to get around rockfall. Needless to say, I made it with a bit of coaching from Sally and a some talking me literally, off the cliff. Thank you Jesus for keeping me and my crew safe and sound while we negotiated this precipice. I won’t be back.

Once on solid ground on Goat Flat, which is nothing close to flat, we walked over the mountain and made it down to a valley. I thought I was going to loose my lunch, but being I hadn’t eaten, it was time to take a break and fill our belly’s. And for me to truly stop shaking and compose myself! Did I tell you that I am deathly afraid of heights?!?! This was way beyond my expectations of the CDT. And to think, I haven’t even made it out of the first state.

We had lunch and finished our second half of the day. Once at the junction of CDT, we headed down towards Upper Seymour Lake. Once again there were countless switchbacks and the trail was quite narrow. Fearless took the lead and Sally occupied my thoughts with memories of past, present and future trips. This really helped calm my nerves and before I knew it, we were off the mountain and back on flatter ground.

Upper Seymour Lake was just as pretty as Storm Lake. But it was tucked away from any roads and was a true gem of Montana. Nestled in the Anaconda and Pintler Range, there are majestic mountains enveloping the lake. We met a group of gals who had Llamas that they use to pack all their worldly possessions. These were the sweetest pack animals and seemed to be quite content in the mountains.

Fearless and I headed to the lake and after coercing her, we both got into the water. It was, by far, the most relaxing part of the day. I cooled down and just let all the tension of the day drift away. After reflecting on my thoughts today, I decided it truly was a picture perfect day. Minus the hands and knees crawl!

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV

Lucky for us, no cars, trucks, ATV’s or hunters drove down our abandoned roadway last night. Being the road was blocked with trees and large berms, probably had much to do with the lack of vehicles. There wasn’t much scenic value but it was one of the flattest site selections that I’ve had, to this point. That was a big plus.

We were on trail later than usual as our driver Dave wasn’t going to arrive until 10am. Sleeping in is such a luxury and we took advantage of it. We moussed down the trail and still arrived a half an hour early. There was a truck that pulled up and I grabbed my pack to meet up with our driver. Ended up they were another crew from AmeriCorp in St. Louis. They were one of five crews assigned to cleanup the CDT. The crew leader shared that in one months time, the five crews have cleared over 15,000 trees off the trail! That’s incredible and once again, so impressed and thankful for their hard work.

Dave showed up and we jumped in his Jeep and headed to Anaconda. He was born and raised in this very small town of 7,500 folks and loves the outdoors. He skis, hikes, fishes and is one heck of a tennis player. He has graduated from work and is now retired, as he states. And spends much of his summers volunteering as a Trail Angel. The trek to pick us up is close to an hour on dirt roads that most people would never even know about. He took us to Pintler’s Hostel but we were not able to gain access until 3pm. So Dave took us to the Anaconda Gear Shop where Sally scored a new pair of shoes, and Fearless stocked up on some dehydrated meals and a pair of toe socks. Then we all walked to the Bar & Grill for lunch. Hiker Hunger has finally kicked in.

Once we finished off our lunch and beers, we headed to the post office to mail a purchase that Sally made, home. Jeans will not be needed on the trail, but they sure looked good on her.

Around 3pm, we gained our right to get inside the hostel. Pintlers is by far the nicest, cleanest and well thought out Hostel I have ever seen. We had a private room, with two sets of Bunk beds equipped with towels, sheets and duvets. The showers were spotless and the common area downstairs was huge. We gathered our stinky clothes, did laundry and waited. We had resupply boxes shipped there and picked them up. Now it was time for dinner. Sally and I went to the pizza place but they ran out of pizza. That’s odd so we went back to the Bar & Grill and had salad with loaded baked potatoes. I think that ended up being much better than any slice of pizza.

We waddled back to our bunkhouse, opened our resupply boxes, sorted our food and by 10pm, we finished our day. I tell you, being a thru-hiker is hard-work. I’m pooped just writing about today! And I need a good nights rest.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭

When Sally decided to bless me with her presence, I was a bit worried. I knew nothing of the scenic value of this section. Nobody writes about the trails of Helena or Butte. But today was stunning and I felt redeemed.

Me and Fearless hit the trail a bit after 6am and Sally took off at 7am. She’s a young buck and can catch us in no time. Within a couple of miles, we were down in the Thunderbolt Meadow and it was so tranquil. Typically you’ll have an open meadow to your left or right, but this was panoramic in all directions. It really was something remarkable.

We had our first climb and even as we headed up to Electric Peak, there were plateaus of meadows. All the creeks and springs were flowing, and the temperature was much cooler today. We made our first five miles and as soon as we sat down, Sally showed up. She’s truly is a gazelle on two legs!

We had our breakfast and planned to meet for lunch at the spring some six miles down the trail. We all have our own rhythm on the trail and it’s works well. Typically Fearless takes off, then me and Sally behind. I turned on my tunes today and just listened to music and my devotions by Francis Chan and Joyce Meyers.

We arrived at the spring which is more like a cow basin with a piped in water. Fearless secured us a spot under a bunch of pine trees and we waited. And waited, and waited. This was unlike Sally as she is usually on my tail. I turned on my phone and she had missed the turnoff and took the trail to Leadville. When she started hearing cars, she knew she was not on the right trail. Oops, bonus miles on a long day is never fun so she collected an extra two miles and got back on the CDT. We all met an hour later, had lunch, commiserated over the extra miles and headed out to finish up the day.

The last six miles was a combo of road walking and trail. I found the road walking was much easier on my feet. My shoes are shot. No tread, the cushion is next to non-existent and they have holes in them. I blame it all on the Bob as they were never dry and the constant beating on the Lincoln Logs added insult to injury. My hubby George mailed me a new pair of shoes which I will pick up tomorrow in Anaconda. Yeah for me and my feet! I will be burning my old pair.

After another long day, we finally found camp on abandoned dirt road. Not too scenic but after 6pm, just about anything will do. We had a day of firsts. Fearless ran into a badger, I scared a bunch of cows over the hill and Sally was beat tired. That never happens! So we all got situated in our cozy little homes for the night, ate dinner and called it a day. Tomorrow we are headed to town. That’ll be over fifty miles in three days. I think we are ready for a shower, new shoes and beer!

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What an introduction to the trail for Sally. We have a good plan to hike 5 mile increments and split the day up. It actually works well. Second breakfast by 9, lunch by 1230 and snack in the afternoon. It takes lots of food to fuel this threesome! But it seems to be serving us well.

We had our typical ups and downs, a few more ups today. A few things were standouts. Before our second breakfast we went through a mile or two of huge stretches of rocks. They were piled up next to the trail which someone did for us long, long ago. There were old pine trees that became part of the rock piles and it truly was a work of art.

The other big standout for the first ten miles was the fact that the trail was groomed and cleared of fallen trees. There were recent signs of trees being cut and moved off the trail. And then, to our surprise, we met the crew who has been working so hard. They are from St. Louis AmeriCores. They are a five-person crew that are assigned to clearing the CDT section from Helena to Butte. They plan to spend one month here and have done an incredible amount of work! We thanked them immensely for all they have done to clear our trail.

We had lunch just north of the section they have cleared. After lunch, we started seeing all the work that they still have to do. Fallen trees from last winter. Talk about Job Security! There’s no drones or AI that will be able to do what these capable young people have accomplished.

We had one more rest stop at the top of Thunderbolt Mountain. And then we beat feet to our nice camp spot in the meadow near a piped spring. No one around, just me, Fearless and Sally. Such a great day of hiking with much more to come.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.” Psalms‬ ‭19‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It’s been overdue. A proper rest day without any chores. Fearless and I arrived in Helena and proceeded to attend to our check list of all things neglected. A proper shower, a bath – in that order, a dip in the very hot pool, laundry, post office, Walmart and really food! It takes two days just to get our chores done. So when Sunday came, it was a full on day of rest and relaxation. We watched Bayside online, my church service and connected with some family and friends. But what was the icing on the cake is Sally, aka Salamander surprised me with her presence. She had some unexpected time off, drove from Idaho and is hiking for the next ten days with us. And now there were three!

One special event, well actually two incredible things happened in Helena. First, we arrived Friday afternoon just in time for the Art Walk in Downtown Helena. We made a stop at “The Base Camp” which has been described as the best outdoor store on the entire CDT. Fearless was in desperate need of new shoes and I was bound to find something. Roy and Kyle took care of her, fitting, refitting, sizing and designing inserts before she left the store. This place is all about customer service, and I literally cried watching them make sure that Fearless was going to walk to Mexico in the best fitting shoes this side of the Rockies.

Another awesome and incredibly stroke of luck, the 22nd Annual “Symphony Under the Stars” was held at Carrol University in Helena. Over 15,000 people show up with blankets on the grass and listened to the Symphony play a tribute to Pop-Culture Music from Neil Diamond, Earth, Wind & Fire, James Brown, you name it, they played it. With incredible vocal talent and a great mixture of stringed instruments, trombones , saxophones and percussionists, it was a treat. For the finale, they had a fireworks show and being both me and Fearless were hiking the Bob Wilderness, this was extra special for us. Needless to say we had a spectacular evening.

But it was time to get back on trail, and Erin, a friend that Fearless met in Glacier gave us a ride back to the trail. There’s been hundreds of fires in Canada’s and we are starting to get some of the residual smoke from there. But it started to cool and the slight breeze, sent us off in fashion. We hit the trail at 7am and off the three of us went.

We are up on a low ridge line with nice views of the valley below. Yet what truly struck us was the amount of work that has been done on the trail. We talked with a local, Mark who was walking his dog, and he told us that there was an enormous forest fire last year. The volunteers have been cutting trees, stacking dead wood in huge piles and wood chipping! Wood chipping miles of trees. I’ve never seen this done in the forest before. They must have mulched or used some machinery to spread out wood chips onto the forest floor. It’s remarkable what they have done to clear this forest and renew it, all at the same time.

Our hike was fairly flattish, little ups with little downs, but a great way to introduce Sally to the trail. We have been hiking together for twenty plus years. We’ve been all over the US from the Tetons, Unita Wilderness, Wonderland and Tahoe Rim Trail and even climbed Mt. Rainier together. Yep, pretty incredible lady, super athlete and best friend. We are back for more!

The toughest part about today’s hike was the fact that there was no water till we got to camp. Each of us carried close to three liters and we were all out of water by the time we arrived at the spring. FarOut has been pretty much spot-on in the water reports, so we were well informed of the dry day ahead. Once we found our water source, we scouted a spot to camp. Sally found us a secluded place off the trail and up onto a flatter plateau. It’s ideal and no one can see us from below. Unless we announce ourselves.

So this is day one with Sally and day one camping with Fearless. And a huge celebration for Fearless. It’s her one month anniversary of being on trail. If I had a cake or a bottle of champagne, we would’ve had a party. Instead we all ate our dehydrated meals and sang “Happy Anniversary.” So another day, another month of trail dancing and looking forward to this trio bonding and enjoying early morning sunrises together.

“In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” Psalms‬ ‭5‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV

Michelle picked us up bright and early this morning. She works in Helena and has been shuttling me to the trailheads these past three days. What a wonderful lady who has a heart of gold. When Fearless and I were hitching to Roger’s Pass, she said she never picks up hitchhikers. But some little voice inside her head told her to stop. Thank you Lord. I have no doubt that was you.

We were dropped off at Stemple Pass and headed out towards the Alpaca Ranch. My hiking friends Coyote and Radio recommended getting off the Red-Line and taking Marsh Creek Alternate. Here we go again! It is a dirt road that led up towards Granite Butte. There were tons of side trails so using my trusty CalTopo was vital.

When we made it to the first fork in the road, there was a stream of bicyclists that were touring with Adventure Cycling. Even equipped with maps, the riders seemed to be going different ways. Some turned left, some climbed to Granite Butte and some asked us for directions. We were headed to the Alpaca Ranch and honestly had no idea where they were supposed to go. It was a cluster of riders and each read their map differently. Hope they all made it back in time for dinner!

We continued down Marsh Creek Road and had a nice little saunter in our step. Not much climbing, little downhill and easy trekking for the most part. Marsh Creek was lush with green grasses and the sound of water surrounded us.

We saw many bikers today, enduro riders and one couple who were driving dirt roads all the way to Mexico. Montana has many backroads and plenty of ways to get lost in the woods, which honestly, can be a good thing.

As Fearless and I got closer, we put away our umbrellas. Just as we were ready to head into the ranch, a motorcyclist lost control and straightened out the curve, so to speak. He layed his bike down and started moaning. This isn’t good. We both ran up to help him and it appeared when his motorcycle crashed, he twisted his knee underneath the weight of the bike, ouch! He managed to get up, thank goodness and we helped him upright his bike. Boy, that Husqvarna was heavy with the loaded saddle bags. Once we got it up, he sat back down and took inventory of his injuries. I had just been talking to Fearless about how much protective gear these guys use and how hot it must be. Thank God he was fully encapsulated from head to toe!

So our hike to the Alpaca Ranch was filled with much happenings today. My Goodness, this hiking is more involved than just heading down the trail. I prayed over our injured motorcyclist and we headed to the ranch. The Alpaca Farm is run by Barbara and her hubby John, but he says it’s all Barbara. She does this all for free. No donations accepted. All she asks is you pay it forward. When one of the leads from Adventure Cycling tried to pay John, he said “take the money that is your hand right now and pay for someone’s gas or groceries or whatever seems appropriate in the next 24 hours, and it will work out exactly as it should.” What a jester of love.

Fearless found us a vacant shed with two sets of bunk beds. Before long, we found the magic refrigerator filled with icy cold water, sodas, beer, sandwiches and hard boiled duck eggs. This place is such a unique farm in a stunning location, tucked away inside this obscure valley surrounded by tree covered hills, overlooking the grassy meadow below.

We met the many bike packers who invited us over for dinner. Pasta with olives, tomatoes and creamy sauce. Then we topped it off with Pecan Pralines. Could definitely get used to this.

I know, this does not seem like the tough, hard miles of the Bob and it wasn’t. Today was an active rest day with the creature comforts of home. Life on the trail is a mixed bag of hard work, blood, sweat and tears, but sprinkled with laughter, joy and love from complete and total strangers. People have told me that they come out here to renew their faith in humanity. If you ever begin to wonder if people are genuinely kind and interested in your wellbeing, look no further than a day on trail. This is where it surely begins.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬