Continental Divide Trail – Day 105

September 5, 2023
Miles Today/ Total: 26.6 / 1888.9

The rain stopped before I got to camp last night and it didn’t rain overnight. My tent, situated under some pine trees was dry this morning, my clothes and sleeping bag were a little damp though.

I packed up and was on the trail about 7:00am. The trail started with a pretty good climb up to a great view of the valley below. The trail stayed on the side of the mountain and circled around to Raynold’s Pass. I crossed the highway and had a short section of single track before the trail joined a forest road.

Since it rained the last 2 days the road was a muddy mess. It was the kind of mud that sticks to your shoes and soon your shoes weigh 5 lbs each. I was able to walk in the grass next to the road in most places. This continued on for about 8 miles.

As I neared South Valley Road I met a real cowboy on horseback herding his cattle to a different field.

After crossing South Valley Road the trail became single track as it began climbing up into the Sawtelle Mountains. In 2020 I visited the Sawtelle mountains to hike to Bower Springs- the ultimate source of the Missouri River. It flows into Hells Roaring Creek. Today I crossed Hells Roaring Creek 3 times including once in Hells Roaring Canyon – a narrow canyon with numerous rapids and waterfalls.

The trail continued up into the Sawtelle Mountains and eventually joined back up with the Continental Divide following the ridge line.

As darkness neared I found a nice flat spot in some pine trees to setup my tent.