Wednesday, July 14, 2004
No Doubt Spiderwebs, Heat, Trespassing and 29
07/14/04
The CDT after Champion Pass had not been walked for a number of days.
Spiderwebs, sometimes concealed, sometimes backlit by the diagonal morning light, violated the CDT corridor. If I'd see them, I'd avoid them, but several times I'd get a big web in my face and beard. Once, my angle changed such that the web became lit as I stepped into it. I reflexively backed away, but I did a full face plant on the whole matrix. Annoying.
I soon reached Four Corners, a junction with CDT significance. From Four Corners, hikers can either continue along the Continental Divide toward Butte or take the Anaconda Cutoff.
It would seem like a no-brainer, however most previous hikers recommend the Anaconda Cutoff, an alternate route that eliminates a near loop around Butte, Montana. The loop is all road walk and reported to be full of ATVs and dirt bikers from Butte. In short, it's not a wilderness experience.
The Anaconda Cutoff involves road walking, a little cross country, and ambitious hikers can reach Anaconda in a day.
We chose the Anaconda Cutoff, and from our starting point at Champion Pass, it was a 29-mile day.
While we were following the dirt roads toward our destination, I stopped to get water and wash up. I saw a wasp nest tucked in a tree. Apple Pie and Spur got ahead as I dallied. It wasn't too long before I caught up though. By the time we got to the place where we might be doing the bad part of the cutoff, I was ahead. I saw a two-track jeep path and a cairn. This could be the place we leave the road and head cross-country across possibly private land.
We took it after consulting our resources.
Our interim destination was Warm Springs, which sat at the floor of the valley next to I-90 and looked relatively close.
Soon we were jumping our first barbed wire fence. We walked along another barbed wire fence until we had almost reached another. We crossed under the fence we'd been walking along to avoid disturbing the cows huddled in the corner of the fences, then hopped another fence.
The highway looked no closer as we set out on another two track that took us at an angle away from Warm Springs. We walked and walked, and I made animal sounds: a barking dog, a whelping sea lion, a braying donkey, and giraffe. Apple Pie tried to make a cat sound. The dog growled back.
Soon I was out on my own again, but we rejoined again at the gate, the locked gate. The triple-locked gate. I twisted my head around the fence to see the No Trespassing signs on the other side. Oh well.
A car was coming, so we high tailed it over the fence and made like we'd been walking on the gravel road all day.
We needed to cross under I-90, so we took the first right we came to that showed an underpass. It's here that I left the alfalfa baling, Apple Pie, and Spur behind. My destination? A small store in Warm Springs.
Miles later, I arrived. I stepped out of the heat and intense sun into Uncle Buck's, and it was more than a store. It also had a restaurant. A quick glance at their menu revealed that if it can be fried, they'll serve it.
I ordered $18 worth of deep-fried food matter and a pitcher of water. Before too long, Spur arrived, then Apple Pie.
We talked to one of the owners about getting to Anaconda. He said that if we didn't take the road, we'd hit a slough that would be impossible to navigate.
So we set out in what we thought was the correct direction, and ran into the Montana State Hospital, which looked like it would hire Nurse Ratchet. A concerned maintenance guy gave us strange-sounding but accurate directions to get to Highway 48. Only, once we got out of the employee housing area, we decided to take a dirt road rather can cut across to the highway. As we made our way, the ground grew a little mushy. Next, the road ended by looping back on itself. Then I remembered about the slough. So, with Spur in the lead, we began walking through a huge field of thistles toward the highway. We dubbed our route “The Anaconda Cut Off Cut Off”.
On the last barbed wire fence of the day, Apple Pie got scratched hurrying to get to the other side before a police car came screaming by. She dubbed her boo-boo her "Anaconda Cut Off Cut Off cut." We laughed.
Flying on fat from lunch, I set out, clocking myself at 16-minute miles, or just under 4 miles an hour. Before I got too far ahead, a car with Oregon plates slowed as it approached us. (We were hiking facing the on-coming traffic.)
She rolled down the window, and I said, "Are you from Oregon?" She replied, "Are you going to Hickory House?"
It was Mary Jane's daughter, Sara, who Mary Jane had offered to send to pick us up when I spoke to her to make a reservation from Uncle Buck's. I'd said no, but here Sara was, with a nice smile and a warm demeanor. We explained about a continuous hike, and not wanting to take a ride since we were technically on the trail. She understood and gave us the good news that we were only 3 miles from Anaconda.
I walked another 4 miles to the road that lead to Anaconda and dragged my load up Commercial Street looking for Main Street.
I'll stop dragging this journal entyr out.
In a few more miles, I got to the B&B, eventually found our room and got into a warm bath to soak off the grime. Apple Pie and Spur came as while I was washing my feet, which I was doing like they do in commercials; leg extended in front with toe pointed over my head. Somebody got a picture, and eventually we all had our picture taken in the classic bathtub pose.
We were too late for dinner in town.
We really hiked 29 miles today.
Good night from a bed with cotton sheets.
