CDT mile 2524.3, miles hiked 23
Old friends from left to right Allgood, Wildernessie, Cheesy and Johnny
We laid in the dark listening to our alarms ring, it was so cold and damp neither of us wanted to move. I went and grabbed our food, fired up the stove and woke up Tatu-Jo with a hot cup of coffee. We both packed as fast as we could and then high tailed it out the trail since we wanted to beat the impending storm.
Tatu-Jo marvels at the first pavement we have seen in 265 miles
We walked to the Two Medicine River and decided to take the purple Ley route along its shore and then walk the highway to town. Not only as this route 5 miles shorter it also avoided a lot of up and down which was killing Tatu-Jo while he was sick.
The walk was really uneventful, we saw lots of bear scat and prints but no bears. We had to cross the river a lot and the cold water froze our feet, luckily we soon hit the highway and changed to dry socks and then started down the pavement. About 3 miles from town we spotted a restaurant and walked up to it for a warm up and treat, they were closed until 4 pm.
We sat on the porch and had a snack then a nice lady opens the door and said are you hiking the CDT? Next thing we knew we were sitting in Ramsey’s Firebrand bar enjoying hot tea and BLT sandwiches, the first town food in weeks. The folks were friendly and after warming up we hit the road for the final stretch.
Hot tea and a BLT
I sent Cheesy a note her and Johnny were in east glacier and so was Wildernessie and the French couple. We arranged to meet at two medicine grill and when I walked into the place there sat my old dear hiking partner and Wildernessie who I hadn’t seen since NM. We enjoyed lunch and catching up. Cheesy told me all about the Butte super cut off and Wildernessie talked about her solo hike after we last saw her. It was so great to see both of them.
I decide to go get cleaned up so Tatu-Jo and I walked outside and there were Paul and Chantal the French couple who I last saw in Creede. Now their English has improved, my French is nonexistent but we all greeted each other and caught up. They told me of their travels, showed me the rental car they hit a tree in and then walked us to the hostel.
It was so great to see old friends that I knew in the beginning. It was full circle and fitting for the last leg to see old faces before setting off. We all enjoyed each others company Paul and I chatted for hours in the afternoon and then they left for dinner and we got a ride from Annie at the hostel to go find fleece tops.
A monument welcoming us to East Glacier and the Blackfeet reservation
The weather is forecasted to be cold so we didn’t want to be miserable and figured a cheap fleece would be better than wet down. Annie brought us to the t-shirt shop, we found out it was the end of season clearance so we each walked away with a fleece jacket and hoody sweatshirt to go home in.
Dinner was spent at Serranos a wonderful Mexican place in town. We all talked about the past miles, our final leg of the trip and our futures afterwards. Apparently for the first time in life I’m the lost soul without a clue to my future or what I want to do…..and frankly I love it. This journey has taught me to go with the flow and open myself to the universe. I know things will happen when I get home and soon enough my path in life will present itself. Now I need to concentrate on Canada and my transport home and then I’ll figure things out.
It’s really ending soon but it’s a good feeling to know I am succeeding at a dream and doing things the way I always planned with continuous footsteps and smile in my face the whole way.
