Continental Divide Trail – Day 104

September 4, 2023
Miles Today/ Total: 19.7 / 1862.3

I got around early, took a shower, packed up and was out of the motel before 7:00. It was still raining this morning. I walked down to Running Bear Pancake House and had a very good breakfast – eggs, hash browns, bacon, and biscuits & gravy. I left very full this morning.

I started walking out of town and hitchhiking once I reached highway 20. I walked about 3 blocks and Keith stopped to give me a ride. Keith is a helicopter pilot for the West Yellowstone EMS. We had a good conversation on the way to the trailhead.

The trail started out on a 2 track jeep road for about 1/2 mile then was gated off for snowmobile traffic only. I continued on another mile before the trail turned to single track and started following the Continental Divide.

It would rain intermittently and I thought I had figured it out. If it started raining and I opened my umbrella, it would stop. If I put away my umbrella, it would start raining again. I repeated this cycle numerous times today.

As the trail climbed up the mountains I was eventually walking in clouds. There were several overlooks, but all I usually saw was clouds. The trail climbed up to Targhee Divide and as I climbed it got colder and colder. As I approached the divide the wind began really blowing across the top of the mountains.

I began descending hoping to get out of the wind, but it was several hundred feet down before the wind settled down. The trail was now heading down toward Mile Creek which was my target Campsite tonight. I stopped about a mile from camp and fixed dinner.

As I got my gear out I realized I forgot to get fuel in West Yellowstone. I had enough fuel to warm my water, but not to a boiling. Looks like I get cold soaked ramen for the next few nights.

Back on trail I quickly made it to a campsite right beside Mile Creek. I set up camp, hung my bear bag and stashed my bear canister and crawled in the tent for the night.