Goodbye, Yellowstone; Hello, Big Sky!
After saying goodbye to Alex, Camper, and Captain, we set off on a 2.5 day hike between West Yellowstone and Big Sky. We had plenty of food and even packed Subway sandwiches for lunch. It started with a sunny walk on the road up to the trailhead. We ended up only walking about 14 miles today and setting up camp a little early to avoid the mosquitos! We had cell reception at our campsite so I was able to start researching and planning the rest of the trail. (We are just starting to think about our plans for Glacier National Park!!!)
Equipment updates
In the morning we got up at about 6:30. It was warm and cozy in my sleeping bag, but the air outside was cold. In West Yellowstone I swapped out a few things: I now have my sweater from Tumble On and I sent my thicker Patagonia sweater home. I also now have my Crocs instead of my camping sandals and my cozy sleeping bag liner. I also have a new headlamp because I lost my original one. A big thank you to Tumbleweed from Tumble On Outfitters in Chama, NM for making us custom Alpha Direct fleece sweaters and sending them to us in West Yellowstone!
Snail’s pace 🐌
Today we went slowly on the trail. At one point we were only averaging 2.25 km/h. There were a lot of elevation changes, but it was very beautiful. Navigation with the Gaia map worked well. but it doesn’t tell us where the water is, so we carried a lot of water (about 2.5 liters per person). At the end of the day, we crossed two peaks at about 10,000 feet before coming back down the other side to find a place to sleep. Today, Trouble thinks she saw a wolverine, and we both saw a badger! After eating something and securing our food, we listened to a podcast about murders in national parks.
This morning I timed it: it took me 25 minutes to pack everything for the hike. That’s just getting dressed, putting away the sleeping pad, taking down the tent, putting on shoes and packing my things in the backpack. I always feel like it’s a long process. I wonder how long it takes everyone else…
Big city dreams
When we got to Big Sky, we decided to hitchhike to Bozeman to go to REI and stay somewhere cheaper. It turns out that after only 5 minutes of hitchhiking, some very nice Spanish speaking guys picked us up and drove us all the way to REI. They didn’t take any money for gas and were very nice even though they spoke very little English – thank you!
At REI I was able to replace my sleeping pad which had a leak and we grabbed some backpacking meals which were very good. Luckily we got spots at a local hostel and were able to ride the local bus there for free. While we waited we drank Starbucks Frappuccinos and sat in the shade. The hostel was only a few blocks from the bus stop and seemed to be in a very busy downtown location. It seems like there is a lot going on down here which will be fun for the morning. Our hostel room looked like something you would see in an illegal dorm like you see in “Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords”. It was very small, cramped and had no windows. We were able to shower and do laundry and chatted with a lady from Massachusetts about her travels before we went to sleep!
In the morning we didn’t wake up until 8:45am because it was so dark in the room (no windows). This doesn’t seem good, but it was really nice to sleep undisturbed! When we left the hostel we saw there was a run and then a parade going on outside on the street. We grabbed coffee at a local cafe and then went to get breakfast. I was very happy that they had gluten free and vegan waffles! We hit up a few shoe stores so I could try on the running shoes I want to get for the marathon in October again, but no store had them. Hopefully the size I want to get still fits! It’s crazy how much all the hiking has changed my feet. I think my feet are actually a little bigger and they definitely have calluses that I never had before!
Back to Big Sky
We took the bus to Walmart to restock our supplies and then took the bus back to Big Sky. When the bus dropped us off, we all had to cross the road to get to where we stopped walking so our walking path would remain continuous (have a drink here so the walking path is continuous). About 3 miles down the road we stopped at a Thai restaurant and ate way too much. We had to wait at least another hour before leaving town to digest the food before we could carry our huge bags of 5 days worth of supplies. It’s a bit like waiting between eating and swimming so the shark doesn’t eat you…same concept! We have about 2.8 miles to the trailhead and are thinking about camping there for the night. (Hopefully there’s a good spot up there!)
Back on track
Eventually we found a flat, grassy spot to set up the tent. The spot wasn’t ideal though as there were people parked at the trailhead talking loudly at 5:30am! We started hiking just before 6:30am and I was already itching to head back down to town for breakfast! We hiked over 9,500 feet that day. We saw other hikers, runners and trail maintenance workers. It started raining late in the afternoon and we decided to set up the tent after only 12.7 miles. The views were incredible and I’m so glad we took that alternative and saw the Spanish Peaks! This spot seems to be very popular with hikers who are out for a few days as it was much more populated than other remote parts of the CDT and everyone there seemed pretty excited to be there!
On the right track
The next day we hiked a little over 25 miles. We had to climb several high points and lost the trail several times. There was a perfect dug out trail and then suddenly nothing. I relied heavily on the line on my map to check if I was in the right place! At some points along the trail I was completely off and had to slash through the undergrowth to find my spot. Unfortunately, while slashing through the undergrowth I discovered that there were some steep drops that I had to completely avoid, which just wasn’t working. When we finally reached the road, we came off the trail and into a beautiful river surrounded by mountains. Not long after, we passed a property with some really nice people who asked us where we were from and offered us beer! We drank it and quickly made our way to our actual goal: the root beer waiting for us at the bar of a small inn down the road!
Trail Magic and Big Foot
The rest of the way to Butte we met some really nice people who offered us free places to stay and iced tea and told us stories about Bigfoot. One guy told us he doesn’t do much online other than watch YouTube videos about Bigfoot or Jesus. I found that pretty funny. Even though we had to walk on the road for a bit on this route, it was beautiful and the weather was perfect.
Welcome to Butte
When we reached Butte, we met some lovely locals who allowed us to stay in their backyard. We met all of their pets, including a cat, several dogs, a snake, and a bearded dragon! We sat with them on their porch and chatted for hours before heading to the tent for the night.
The next day, after saying our goodbyes, we headed out to grab coffee and breakfast at a local restaurant called “Hummingbird Cafe” which happened to have tons of vegan options (including vegan pancakes!). We were going to head back to the trailhead after this restaurant, but we sat there for so long that we ordered lunch too…
A good reason to stay
There were two couples sitting at the table next to us who told us that there was an Irish festival in town and that they were playing there that afternoon. I was so tired and didn’t want to leave town yet, so we decided to book a hotel and stay in Butte for another night.
We couldn’t check into the hotel until late afternoon, so we had no choice but to head to the Irish Festival to get some entertainment! We bought some strawberry lemonades and found some nice seats in the back under a big shaded tent. After spending the rest of the night at the hotel, we went back to the Hummingbird Cafe the next day for two more meals. The staff at the restaurant were great and treated us like locals. After eating a ton more, we finally felt ready to leave the city!
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