Saturday, July 03, 2004
More Rain, The Otter, The Divide and Wow
07/03/04
We didn't have any rain yesterday, but the rain returned today. It wasn't bad at all. I just ducked under thick trees when it got bad. During the last downpour, the three of us shared a tree for a nice little huddle. I never put my rain jacket on. It never seems to rain long enough to truly warrant a rain jacket.
The trail for most of the day followed the Dearborn River. Along the way I photographed an amazing flower. It has to be an orchid. It had a white pouch below three 2" light green pedal-like spears twisting away from the top. The final ford of the Dearborn River was thigh-deep and swift. We cooked dinner not long after that, then began our ascent, which actually started with some lovely meadows.
After dinner, we ran into the Otter, a solo thru-hiker. His tent was up, and he was cooking on the side of the trail. I read part of his sobo PCT journal, so it was nice to meet him.
At the Divide, we had a choice: follow the designated route or continue following the Divide. We chose the latter and were well rewarded with spectacular clouds and amazing light. Camp tonight is on the Divide. It's truly amazing to be up here.
On the climb up, I was listening to music. The songs of two playlists (Fun I and Nomad I) are intermixed because of a technical error on my part, but the combo worked anyway. The artists range from Dolly Parton to Nine Inch Nails, Kate Wolf, to the Sugarcubes, and Nina Simone to George Michael.
The air is still, the sky mostly clear and full of stars, and the mice active here on the Continental Divide somewhere in the middle of Montana. Good Night.
Our route tomorrow will continue along the Divide and rejoin the designated trail in a few miles.
