August 26 2009
Lima to Lincoln
It was 20 miles from I-15 to my first water source. I made my way down a crease in the grassy hillside and eventually found moisture which became a trickle. Even with the wet weather, the area around Lima was fairly dry. It could be challenging in a dry year. The next day I encountered a few people on trail. The first group
was three weekenders from Missoula who were bagging some peaks in the area. They gave me a cookie, half loaf of bread, salami, water... It was a nice treat and made for an excellent lunch. Later that day I encountered four southbounders. They told me about this magical place where hikers could eat chicken wings... endless chicken wings. I still had several towns to go, so I would do what I could to get to Lincoln on a Wednesday.The terrain wasn’t terribly interesting between Lima and Leadore, aside from a few nice mountains near the beginning of the leg. Of course, I am somewhat jaded after passing through areas like the South San Juans, the Wind River Range, and a couple of places not yet described.
I made one big climb and a long descent to the gravel road to Leadore. Here I waited for two hours while a total of three cars passed. I had made good time in hopes of getting to the post office. But I didn’t manage to get a ride until almost 5:00.
Leadore stretches a whole quarter of a mile along the highway with a couple stores and a nice little four room motel. I got a room and presently met two other hikers. There was Lost, a section hiker I had met in Silver City, and U-Haul, one more southbounder.
Despite the limited sources of entertainment in town, I took a zero... again.
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After several days of brilliant sun and even some heat, I was once again in the rain. I found myself under my tarp on three straight afternoons. I caught up with Lost, who had left a bit before me. We hiked together through the rain which eventually turned to hail, then grapple, then real live snow. It was August 8th and it was snowing, with lightning...
We camped up high just over Goldstone Pass. The clouds didn’t part, but the rain held off until morning. I left Lost, who wasn’t exactly on a schedule. I very much would have liked to see this section as the trail gets up fairly high. Though I didn’t see the mountains I was in, I did manage to see lots of huckleberries. This slows me down a lot. A good berry patch can knock a large amount off my daily mileage.
Through the berries I went, slowly, en route to Lost Trail Pass. The last few miles gets rather violent in its topography. There were a series of short violent elevation changes. The weather on the last two days of this fairly long leg cooperated and I reached the paved road under warm sunshine.
Two hours later I was in Darby, a small touristy western themed town, not unlike Sisters in Oregon. The next leg was going to be very long, 150 miles. I rested, ate ice cream and hitched out. Well.. I tried to hitch out. I stood by the road for almost two hours before going back to the motel to call a taxi service. 30 dollars seemed steep so I tried to hitch again. Eventually I was picked up by a guy who said he was only going 10 out of the 30 miles back to the pass. I accepted the ride and chatted a bit. I offered him money to drive me the way to the pass, to which he agreed.
I didn’t have to pay for hitches on the PCT. Do I look that bad? Or are people just not used to seeing hikers.
Most of the evening’s mileage was through a burned forest under threatening skies. The next Day, I entered the Anaconda Pintler Wilderness. Thanks to continual rain and snow, I walked all day, three days in a row. I awoke early and didn’t take many breaks. I climbed the big passes and crossed the pasture lands, then crossed I-15 under rain and a double arc rainbow.
What I saw of the Pintlers was beautiful. They are steep, lined with trees, including the first Larch I had yet seen. As I passed the wispy light green conifers, I could hear a voice from Monty Python saying “The Larch. The... Larch...”
The highest pass was Rainbow Pass, topping out above 9000.
From my camp above I-15, I sprinted for route 2 and a hitch to Butte. There I stood for another two hours while countless cars whizzed by. After being picked up by a pickup truck, I walked through the historic part of the old copper mining town to the cheap motel, a decision I regretted. It is a long walk from the newer more expensive motels to the Capri. And Butte, I found, was not a pleasant pedestrian town. I was flipped off and sworn at several times. I was happy to be on my way to Helena. My hitch back to the trail, who I also paid, apologized for the rudeness I had been a victim of.
I high-tailed it northwards, very happy to be back in the woods. The next day I made easy mileage on dirt ATV roads and some trail. I found my first raspberries near Delmoe Lake. Towards the afternoon I crossed I-15 for the last time and was soon asked by a passing motorist If I wanted a ride. Where were they when I was trying to hitch? I politely declined and continued on my way.
The stretch between Butte and Helena is grassy, piny, cow-y. It is unusual for the grass here to still be green, but it was. I expected the lower areas of Montana to be dry, arid, and crawling with snakes. I guess all of this rain is welcome then. Without it, the temperature would be much higher and the water less reliable.
And so I made it to McDonald Pass after 90 easy miles. I got a ride quickly, directly to the post office. As I carried my three boxes out the door, a guy asked me where I was headed with all that stuff. He gave me ride to the budged motel in town, then surprised by giving me money. I tried to refuse, saying I wasn’t homeless, that this was a vacation... but he insisted and I graciously took the cash. I would put it back into the local economy. I was in need of chinese food, and a new book to read.
I ended up taking two zeroes in Helena, partially because I wanted to eat chicken wings in Lincoln, but mostly because Helena is a very pleasant town! People are friendly, the Cheap motel is very nice, though slightly bunker-like, the food is good, they have a good natural food store... And when I left I got a ride quickly. I saw a jeep going into town. It turned at the light and swung back around and pulled to a stop in front of me. The owner was out just driving around, getting out of the house and seemed happy to drive the 15 miles to the pass.
More of the same awaited me on trail. There was grass, beetle killed trees, and plenty of water. The last stretch was excessively roller-coaster-like. Similar to the trail before Darby and after Lincoln, the elevation changes rapidly and often. I got a ride fairly quickly from Rogers Pass to the small town of Lincoln. I got a motel room and cleaned up and prepared myself for an epic wing feed. It was Wednesday night and I was hungry.
So I sat down with a bottle of local root beer and waited for the wings to be delivered to the buffet. Eight trays were piled high with wings of different flavors. There were teriaky, ht, spicy, barbeque, sweet, and there were even two trays of pork ribs called “hog wings.” One plate into the feed, I was just getting started. I decided to pile eight on a plate to make counting easy. I took a break after four plates to eat a few veggies. I wasn’t trying for a record. I just wanted something else in my system than chicken grease. After my plate of health food I went back for two more plates... though the last plate only had five wings. After I was comfortably full, I paid my bill and asked, “Just out of curiosity, what is the record?”
“61”
I could have done it. But I was saving room for ice cream. I had a tub waiting in my freezer.
