We had such a great rest in Leadore and Salmon. My hubby scored us a room at Homestead and then we also stayed at Mustang Inn. There is something good about spreading the love at the only two hotels in town. Leadore is a small town of 105 people. Seriously, and talking to one of the locals, she thinks it’s more like 75. Her daughter graduated from the High School as top student of her class of 2. So that paints the picture.

We made it to Salmon being there truly is no provisions to really speak of in Leadore. We hitched into Salmon with a nice couple out of Colorado Springs, Curt and Valerie. They are close to completing their quest of visiting every county in USA. That’s quite an accomplishment to say the least.

Salmon has everything. Shopping, Groceries, Bars , Ice Cream Parlors and Restaurants. We stopped and patronaged all shops. And ended our day with Milk Shakes and Affogatos. The hitch back didn’t go as easy and we accepted three separate rides to get back. In Idaho, hitchhiking is illegal so no one seems to want to pick up hitchhikers. I guess they thought we were planted decoys.

But finally after our lovely time resting, shopping, doing laundry and getting our resupply, we needed to get back on trail. Another Jen, I call “Outlaw,” gave us a ride back to trail. She also helps run the Mustang Ranch and is, most definitely, the life of the party!

Returning to trail is tough. Especially when you have these crazy climbs! Over 4000’ elevation gain today and we topped out at 10000’. We followed a ridge line most of the day. Big time exposure but luckily no threat of thunderstorms. At this point, our biggest concern is fires! Another fire broke out today near Wisdom which is the town north of us. And there’s several fires south that’s causing us much unwanted smoke. It’s been a tough year for all.

We left town with three of us, me, Fearless and Mad Martigan. We stopped for a break and the kids showed up. They started an hour after us and passed us relatively quickly. Imagine that? There’s Steady, Trick or Treat, Indy, Blondie, Side Quest and Freeflow. They are half my age and walk twice as fast as me. But the funny thing is, we always end up in the same town, at the same time. I think they may like town stops even more than me and Fearless!

So they left us in the dust and Mad Martigan did the same. Fearless is a bit more competitive than me so I think it bugs her more than I. But we are still out here doing the miles, and still showing up in town within a day or two of the youngsters.

After climbing every pass I could see, finally I had a slate slipping downhill. We had twelve miles without water so I was conserving the best I could. I carried three liters out of town and ran out half a mile before the Spring-Fed Cow Trough. Yep, that’s our drinking water for the day. No mountain springs, no creeks or rivers, just cow troughs that are being guarded by, yep you guessed it, cows!

We filled up with water and started looking for the perfect campsite. After climbing another ridge line, we ended up off trail in a clump of trees overlooking the valley below. Pretty sweet spot and we have it all to ourselves. Not even a cow is here.

When we were preparing to leave, some hikers warned us of this stretch from Leadore to Lima. The ridges are exposed, there’s nothing to see that’s beautiful, and it’s just not worth your effort. But after today, I actually am relieved and felt that this is God’s gift to Montana and Idaho. So far, so good.

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬