Monday, July 26, 2004
The Divide Takes the Prize
07/26/04
Last night I woke up around 3 and found a tick on me. It came right out, not having gone in very far at all. It was feisty and angry about being torn away after being so close to a meal. I slept another 3 hours.
Woke up in the sagebrush field to strange animal sounds. The distant, but loud, eerie moaning could be best explained by the nearby cows, but it's hard to fathom that a cow could make that noise.
Our goal today was 22 miles so we welcomed the morning road walk since we knew we had some tough sections later on. The general progression of the day was from dirt roads that any car could travel on, to jeep roads, to barely roads, to wide trail, to a footpath trail, to no trail.
We walked on dirt roads; soft forest duff; spongy, damp meadows exploding with flowers; rocks that sound like glass when they first touch; steep talus slopes; compacted dirt, and tough, rocky trail.
After a lovely cross-country climb, we reached Cowbone Lake. We all went skinny dipping, enjoying the relatively warm lake and relatively bug-free environment.
About the time we were putting our clothes on, three extras from The English Patient arrived looking like French Legion soldiers. The fishermen yelled hellos from across the lake.
While I was puttering around the shore, I found a huge tooth in the water. My first impression was that it had to be from a bear. I had decided to keep it when I read the guidebook for an entirely different reason. Jim Wolf explained that some thirsty cows that had just been herded up to the lake got excited when they saw it, even though it was frozen, ran out onto the ice and all drowned. Their bones are still visible. And I then knew that I a dumb old cow tooth. I threw it back, feeling relieved that I wasn't taking something that I shouldn't have taken.
The time at Cowbone Lake was renewing and refreshing. We were set for the potentially hardest part of the day: getting from the lake to the Divide. The challenge was that it was a very steep transition and no trail exists.
I may have mentioned that the CDT is not yet complete, and this is one of those places.
The climb and route finding was relatively easy, and soon we reached the Divide.
It was amazing. We had great views into Montana and Idaho. We got to the highest point yet on the trail. We walked sections where the Divide was as wide as the trail, dropping off in both directions, and sections were the Divide was wide and flat. I am amazed at the amount of diversity of terrain, how the look can change, up on the Divide.
Yesterday and today I think I started seeing ash from Mt. Saint Helens. Is it possible? We really are not that far from mid southern Washington.
We did 17 miles today and are all sleeping out on an old jeep road. It has been 4 days with no rain. I almost hate to report it since that alone could change our luck.
This trail is amazing when it's at its best. The Divide is the place to be.
