Sept. 18th, 2016
"CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL"
FINITO, COMPLETE, FINISHED!
2864 miles done....Zero to go!!
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| All blacked out!......no missed parts.....not even one foot! |
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Cleaned up all the missing bits then up to the Bob Marshall & Glacier National Park
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August 03 - Wyoming border to battle pass
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| A nice welcome to Wyoming! |
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August 06 - Atlantic City, Wind River Range, Togwotee pass
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| Sandy saying good luck from the 'Mercantile' store |
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| Heading north via the ubiquitous snow fences of Wyoming |
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| Wind River Range ahead |
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| Nice area |
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Ran into 'Gypsy'.....Doing OK
(Had previously taken her to Albuquerque to
deal with a troublesome tooth) |
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| Conglomerate rock worn smooth by glaciers |
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| Mt Fremont in the distance |
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| nice campsite |
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| Typical of the many lakes in the Wind River Range |
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Green Lake & Flattop mountain
(didn't waste any brain cells coming up with these names) |
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| Out of the Wind River......Using GPS to stay on course |
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August 16 - Monida to Anaconda
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| Mountains are gone for now....just rolling hills |
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| Good night |
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'Clint' a 'Warrior'.... A USA veteran hiking the trail as
part of a program to integrate soldiers back into society |
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| Moon over 'something' |
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| CDT packs waiting for their owners at city of 'North Fork' |
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| Forest fire...seems to be part of the scenery around here |
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| Joined by 'Wild Feather' for the final leg to Anaconda |
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| A bag of 'Trail Magic' goodies hanging from a Bridge |
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| 'Mountain Dew'.....what more can you ask for? |
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| On top of the ridge prior to heading down to Storm Lake |
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Sept 01 - Roger's Pass (Montana), Bob Marshall Wilderness to Glacier
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| Steve comes up to provide support while John & Sandy head north to Canada |
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| All missed bits complete...now into all new territory |
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| The Bob Marshall Wilderness ahead |
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| Nice to know you're on the trail |
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| Fairly easy walking |
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The unwelcome, 'Welcome' Forest Service cabin
(all sorts of sign prohibiting camping in the area) |
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| The ''Chinese Wall'.....Major feature of the Bob |Marshall |
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| Getting chilly! |
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| Getting Chillier! |
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Getting too chilly!...
Steve and JR hike tent, sleeping bag and warm clothing
to Darrell as timely exit from trail seemed in question!
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Sept 09 - Glacier National Park to Canadian border
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Joined by Jim Neveln .....
met in Death Valley back in March while on a canoe trip....
Heading out at Two Medicine lakes. |
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| Grizzly bear above the trail......a very healthy specimen |
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| Up at Pitamakan Pass.....awesome place! |
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Coming up on Triple Divide.....Water here flows to three different oceans
'Pacific....Atlantic.....Arctic' |
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| An evening campfire with like minded hikers |
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Jim hikes out due to 'shin splints' & 'bug bite infection' issues
...took him to a Blackfoot Medicine man in Browning
Fixed him right up with a dance or two.....(The antibiotics helped too!) |
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| Running out of daylight now...starting out in the dark |
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| Some beautiful weather in the final days! |
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| Grizzly bear tracks...luckily didn't meet any. |
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| Final stretch down to the Canadian border! |
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Sept 17th - Done
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A crash course in Canadianism
A bottle of champagne, a bottle of 'Molsen Canadian' beer
and a bag of 'Hawkins Cheezies'
Congrats to Darrell for Making it!!!!
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Coaches Corner
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JUST SO YOU KNOW.......
The following does not reflect our view(s) .....
They're just to show you how polarized things are down here!!
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| This is what you might expect to see down here.... |
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| This is what you see!.....(I've 'X'd out some letters so you can't figure out what it actually says....lol) |
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| And this ......these people are vehement about it too! |
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Where do we stay??
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Motels......$100c for a no frills, $130c for Super 8 or equal
& +$200c for anything with even a hint of class!....it adds up! |
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You could try KOA style camping.....$60c per night
- 5 feet from your neighbour with a Charlie Brown tree between you!
(No thanks....We avoid these like the plague) |
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| This is our style of camping........$13 per night and no neighbours! |
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| Of course when it rains motels start to look pretty good.... |
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But even then it can be pretty nice inside!
(we will often choose this over a motel) |
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Wind River Range - 'Fremont Pk'
(A resupply hike by SR & JR to bring Darrell more food) |
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We saw a young fellow carrying a MSR 'Thunderbird' ice axe
- exactly the same model that Kerry, Darrell and myself have
been using for years. Our pride evaporated quickly when
he mentioned that he borrowed it form his Grandpa! |
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| Sandy with the bear spray......taking it out on an angry ground squirrel |
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Aug 29 - A trip north to Canada.......
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To catch up with Karl, Bridget, Kaylee and Brianne at the Calgary Zoo
(A zoo well worth visiting!)
  In the zoo! In the wild!
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And a surprise visit for Sandy's Mom's 80th
(It was a surprise because her birthday wasn't for another
month or so.....but that's besides the point!) |
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| Sandy's brothers' rig(Bill).......gets washed twice a day! |
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View from the cockpit.........Red Deer to Edmonton.....
Not everyone gets to drive one of these puppies!! |
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Steve, Deb, Sandy & John at the 'Prince of Wales'
Where Darrel comes out......(out of the USA that is) |
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The five 'Mouseketeers'
J, S, D and Steve and Jim |
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| Celabratory Ice cream cake |
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Our final goodbye to Jim & his Rubicon.....
He's heading South...we're heading North! |
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| 'Chief Mountain' our last view as we leave the CDT behind!! |
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Just a heads up!
There will be a 'Triple Crown' Party at John & Sandy's
Saturday, Sept 24th......Potluck dinner....BYOB.....2:00PM or so
Please RSVP!
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That's it for this blog.......next Blog New Zealand......Winter 2017-2018
Till Then!
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In the zoo! In the wild!
