Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Long Out to Exit Zero
08/03/04
We had a cold morning which warmed up as we hiked into the sunlight of the gorgeous day. On an early, easy climb, I spotted a coyote running below us. We were pretty close and got to watch it for more than a minute. When it was out of sight and up a rocky canyon, it began howling and barking a bit. Our climb topped out with some dramatically lit green landscape and the sound of cows.
We took a very new, well-graded trail at the summit. We were following a purple route to head out to Monida (pronounced as a contraction of Montana and Idaho).
The trail gave me great views of the Red Conglomerates, a striking set of mountains. I could also see that the main stream in the valley below was
cappuccino brown from the rains yesterday. The silt content was incredibly high.
I passed some cows that seemed to know the sweet spot to hang out to keep maximum distance from the switchbacking hikers that came their way. They were uneasy nonetheless.
As the miles came, my water went. I was hiking for water at some point, knowing I was getting closer.
In my final quarter mile, I came across a CDT sign, something I should not have had I been on the purple route.
I was exasperated. I got water and figured out what had happened. The new trail (which I suspect will become the official CDT route when it's done) was so clear that I missed the old trail which branched off from it. It wasn't a big deal. It just meant a road walk. I'm writing this from notes, but my memory's telling me we were in Sawmill Gulch.
With Monida in mind, we set out on gravel roads, refining our course as we could see the lay of the land in relationship to the maps.
Miles later, we came across a giant metal arrow on the ground. I had misidentified the peak in front of us, so the arrow made no sense. It was obviously a sign for some other group, perhaps a bunch of roller skating elk hunters.
We continued into the flattening landscape in the clear late afternoon. I was walking ahead, passing through cow grazing areas, seeing the highway across the fields.
I waited for Spur and Apple Pie when I sensed we were not where I thought we should be. We were not.
We set a cross-country course through the cows and to the railroad tracks. The fence between the two was in a wet area, but a little route setting kept me dry.
I was desperate to get into town, or at least to not be walking on the tracks any more, so I set out full steam ahead accepting the awkward cadence imposed by the spacing of the railroad ties.
I looked back at some point and saw the Apple Pie, then Spur had dropped off the tracks and were walking in the fields again. I stayed on the tracks.
Every once in a while I'd see a metal sphere on the tracks, like an egg-sized canon ball. I wondered how they got there and what they were for.
The route on the rails seemed like it would never end. I chose to end it when the tracks passed under the freeway. I hopped a fence and chose a narrow route between the fence along the highway and the structures designed to keep snow drifts off the highway. I felt in this no-man's-land between the public property of the highway and the private property to my left behind another fence.
As Monida drew closer, I saw the freeway exit sign: Exit 0. Somehow that seemed significant, but I was tired and eager for town.
Monida's not really a town though. What it does have is a phone. From the phone, the plan was to call the hotel in Lima, Montana. The guy seemed confused about giving me a ride, but I was going to be waiting for Spur and Apple Pie anyway, so I told him I would call him back when they arrived.
I journalled and did phone business until they showed up. By then the hotel guy was prepared to pick us up. Soon we had a room and were seated in a restaurant.
Unfortunately, I'm writing this entry a month later and my memory of the details has faded, and my notes can't get me much past this point.
