Friday, July 02, 2004
Seventeen and Resupply
07/02/04
We zoomed into Benchmark today. Spur, as has become the norm, left camp at a respectable thru-hiker hour while the three of us (Apple Pie, Hiker816, and I) slept in, eventually getting out of camp at 8:15.
The miles came quickly no matter what the map said. And the map said a lot today, some of it confusing.
Spur left a note for Epheneigh guiding us toward our destination: a road leading us to Benchmark Wilderness Ranch. He'd talked to some packers who'd pointed him in the right direction.
We started the road walk, but soon got a ride in an empty minivan. The road walk was not the CDT. It was off-trail, and therefore OK to accept rides.
And I can't continue telling the story without breaking the news: Hiker816 is getting off the trail. Many circumstances make it a good decision. Although he's prepared to hike the trail, he missed all of Glacier NP because of earlier partner mishaps. Yes, he could have gone back and done it himself, but be was not prepared to do it alone at this time. So when he left E. Glacier with us, he knew he might not go far on the CDT.
The PCT won out in the end. Hiker816 is going back to finish sections that he missed when he hiked in 2000: Belden to Cascade Locks. You may be able to
find out more about how he missed that section at his site.
Back in the minivan, Hiker816 secured a ride to at least Augusta, possibly Helena. Adios Hiker816.
When the minivan pulled up to the locked Benchmark Wilderness Ranch gate, Rob of Loxley greeted us.
Those of us who had paid the $25 package fee in advance had packages waiting outside in metal containers. Those who hadn't could see their boxes locked inside the main house.
We all took showers and the lucky ones, Spur and Apple Pie, got all the hot water. I suffered through a cold shower, but I got pretty clean. And I got to wash essential clothes in the sink.
To sum it up, I got to rest for 5 minutes after my chores were completed. Rob of Loxley's box was visible, but not accessible, so we left him behind.
I got us a ride at the Benchmark driveway. A red pickup with a small trailer picked us up and took us half way. Then a white pickup with a four-horse trailer picked us up. We joined a dog and three bales of alfalfa in the back. At some point in all the in and out of trucks, I lost my bear spray. We'll see if there's a story that develops from that detail.
Soon the map and terrain were arguing in Apple Pie's head. Spur and I were trusting the CDT sign we'd seen on the way in, but Apple Pie helped us see the light. We had to return to where we'd caught our second ride in the white pickup.
Since I'd noticed that most people going down this dirt road seemed to be in huge trucks with objects in tow and going 50 MPH, I suggested we take a trail back, rather than walking next to waves of fast-flying gravel. The trail was fine, until it wasn't. The "wasn't" part was water that couldn't be crossed without getting wet. Silly as it may sound, sometimes Spur likes to keep his feet dry. I find it impossible (or too much effort) to keep my shoes dry, but he has managed, for HOURS on end on this hike, to be dry footed and dry socked.
At the beginning of the water, I mistook a tiny one-legged frog swimming to the left as a sign that we should try the crossing on the left. I almost fell in and most certainly got my shoes 3/4 wet. So much for the uni-pod amphibian being my animal spirit guide. I trudged us through unmapped trails, eventually leading us back to the road with flying gravel when the trail pooped out in a service area.
We make our way back, and I even make the effort to check with our first ride, but they don't have the bear spray. Spur and Apple Pie were still wringing out their socks when I return from my fruitless mission. We continued to the trailhead and . . . begin hiking.
It's an upstream hike. We are hiking up the Straight River, and the irony of seeing two bull elk, one with a really nice rack, grazing together on the river in the evening light is not lost on me.
We soon got to a junction we were expecting then found a nice place for dinner.
We camped early (8:15), so I have lots of time to journal. The three of us have started journaling while sitting together. It's nice. We remain focused, but pull from the group for answers about spelling, facts of the day, or to share particularly well-written sentences.
I'm sleeping out again, and the bugs are light.
The title of this entry, Seventeen and Resupply, in case you are perplexed, means that we hiked 17 CDT miles today AND got in a resupply, which, in my book, is an incredible feat.
