Chasing Alpenglow

August 22-24; Mile 896-959 Day 62 A gray haze had descended over Pinedale during the night. The fire near Green River Lakes had grown to almost a thousand acres overnight. I spent the morning flipping through my options. Many hikers rated the Wind River Range as their favorite part of the entire Continental Divide Trail – but if I couldn’t see it for the smoke, why do it? The drive out to the trailhead almost made me rent a car and drive to Steamboat Springs. Houses only 50 feet from the

August 18-21; Mile 843-896 Day 58 After four days off to attend a friend’s wedding and to spend time with Dov, it was time to return to trail. We drove up to Dubois, WY and picked up Strix, Handy, and Lark, and then Dov drove us all out to the trail. I would definitely be taking it easy: we only had about 50 miles to do until our next town stop, where we had already planned for a zero.  Pinnacle Buttes Soon I was back on the CDT,

August 10-13; Mile 790-843 Day 50 Our zero day in West Yellowstone, filled with chores, eating, and some relaxing.  Day 51 Lark, Strix, and I finished breakfast just as Handy and his dad arrived from Idaho Falls. We piled our packs into the bed and climbed inside for the short ride up to the trail. I had heard about how flat the rim of the caldera and the trail through Yellowstone would be, so I was disappointed when I actually had to hike uphill through the trees. 

August 6-9; Mile 718-790 Day 46 I was about a mile from camp when I happened to look to my left. Barely 50 feet away, a moose was picking its way quietly down the drainage, weaving between the burnt trees and leafy bushes. It was a young bull, with just a small stub sprouting from its forehead, and I watched in rapt silence as it sidled past me. I took several videos and photos, and at the quiet rustle from me stowing my phone in my pocket, the moose swung its head my direction

August 4-5; Mile 682-718 Day 44 After two long days of hiking, I had to drag myself from my quilt in the cold morning air. Groggily I hiked past the sunrise and on through the sagebrush as it led into forest.  The next water source was completely trampled by cows, but I found a path on the other side leading to the left. It led gently downhill, although it passed right next to some pine trees where the branches at chest height still remained. As I got onto my hands and

Aug 2-3; Mile 634-682 Day 42 After weeks of leaving camp before breakfast, I decided to change up my routine and choke down my cold oatmeal before heading out. At dawn the cows struck up their chorus of mooing, and it was the soundtrack to us packing up. Just as I donned my pack to head out, my hip belt buckle broke. Off came the pack again, and I quickly dug around for my repair kit and my extra buckle. I’d carried a replacement since breaking off one of the tines the previous summer;

But first! August is the fundraising month for Washington Trails Association. If you have enjoyed reading about this journey, or if you feel that access to nature is important, I would be incredibly grateful if you would donate to WTA to help them maintain the trails in my home state. So much of this journey and my journey on the PCT would be impossible without the hard work of trail maintenance volunteers. https://give.wta.org/Stormy July 30 – Aug 1; Mile 603-634 Day 39 Our plan was to hike from Anaconda to

July 27-29; Mile 538-603 Day 36 The day began with wet shoes, never a pleasant way to start. I had breakfast at Hamby Creek after a successful rock hop downstream and then passed the tents of Steamy and Panty Pirate.  The trail was a nice, flat route through the forest, and in the quiet of morning I saw another hiker headed my way. She was the first NOBO I had met who had not skipped anything. Wild Child said she had had to DIY parts of Colorado on snow shoes due

July 24-26; Mile 476-538 Day 33 North Fork had been a whirlwind stop: picking up boxes from the post office, showering, doing laundry, eating before the little store closed at 5:30 pm. Dov had mailed me two coveted items: new shoes and a town dress. The extra weight was worth it for being able to shower and change into fresh clothes before rounding everyone up to do laundry. Plus my old shoes had almost 750 miles on them by now; it was time for new ones. Lark’s shoes had torn a bit, too, but