CDT – The In-Between Places
The CDT is a really long trail so we hikers generally break it down into major geographic milestones. In Montana and Wyoming these would be: Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall Wilderness, Yellowstone National Park, the Wind River Basin and the Great Basin. Why only these? I’m not sure exactly but I think these areas represent standout views and challenges. They are also areas all CDT hikers experience regardless of the alternate routes they choose. These milestones represent a good portion of the trail in Montana and Wyoming but not all of it. I think of the rest of the trail as the “in-between.” (I’m borrowing this term from another hiker’s account of his CDT journey – Owen Eigenbrot). I think it’s a perfect description of the trail between the larger, more well-known parks and wilderness areas. But, just because the in-between places aren’t big ticket attractions doesn’t mean they aren’t impressive, or aren’t challenging or aren’t worth experiencing.
Scapegoat Wilderness
After frantically waving goodbye to my nephews as the plane climbed out of Benchmark I left the busy Benchmark trailhead and continued hiking. Feeling confident because I had made it through the Bob Marshall in one piece I almost missed the sign indicating I had crossed into Scapegoat Wilderness. I was almost immediately apprehensive. I knew nothing about the Scapegoat Wilderness – was it as remote as the Bob? How come no one talks about Scapegoat? What can I expect?
Turns it out it was a lot like the Bob but with several steep climbs that put me on the Divide itself. Initially, the trail traversed through burnt areas, undulating gently as it followed the Dearborn River. A cold rain had me feeling miserable and I struggled to stay present and not treat this section as just something to get through. The following two days were all about climbing – the most significant climbs since Glacier. The climbs put me up on the Divide with fantastic ridge walking and compelling views in all directions.
In my mind I added the Scapegoat Wilderness to the list of major hiking attractions. As I hiked over Lewis and Clark Pass I ruminated on how difficult it must have been for pioneers and adventurers to blaze trails through the West. The approach to this pass was relatively shallow and was often used to travel between the plains of eastern Montana and the mountains of western Montana. Now I stood alone on the pass, draped in my UL gear and trail runners, whining about the rain. I scolded myself for being a drama queen and descended to Rogers Pass where family picked me up for a double zero over the 4th of July.
Rogers, Flesher, Stemple and McDonald Passes
I grew familiar with these passes when I was planning my hike because these were accessible locations for my husband’s family to reach me for resupply or extraction. However, I’d expended zero energy to learning anything about the trail between these locations.
After two days off with family I was back at Rogers Pass hiking with my niece, Joss. Our exuberant laughs almost immediately turned to huffing and puffing. The 2,000 ft climb out of Rogers Pass was a shock to the system. At the top we caught our breath and looked around to see if any other hikers noticed our less than graceful ascent – nope, none. We walked along the grassy ridge admiring the views – not mountains but rolling meadows.
The next day we descended to Flesher Pass and climbed again up to the Divide. This time the views on the ridge were obscured by trees on both sides. Occasionally the trail would surprise us; we’d hike through a narrow tunnel of trees and emerge into glorious meadows with views on three sides. Any sense of wilderness faded as we grew closer to Stemple Pass and the trail followed cross-country ski and snowmobile trails. We could hear ATVs grinding on the dirt roads that wove their way through the forest. Joss and I parted at Stemple Pass and I continued, climbing back up to the ridge where I made a sweet campsite.
The climbing continued the next day the trail taking me to the slopes of Nevada Mountain and Black Mountain. Two mountain bikers passed me and stopped to chat. They had tiny vests on with a bottle of water stowed on their bikes. They were biking from Flesher to McDonald Pass in one day while it was taking me three days. Talk about humbling. As they rode away I thought how nice it would be to ride a bike instead of walk – and then I pictured myself flying over the handlebars as I rode down the next steep section of trail and remembered I was bike-challenged.
The trail descended off the Divide and I ended up on dirt roads in search of water. I found the water trough at the bottom of a shallow meadow guarded zealously by a herd of cows. I didn’t want to fight the cows but I really needed water. They reluctantly parted as I approached the water drain to fill up my bladder. Several cows peevishly peed and pooped and swished their tails to spray it on me. “Gross. Not cool,” I told them, as they ran me out of the herd.
I hit McDonald Pass the next day crossing the busy highway to walk the shoulder to the pull-off. The trail was closed from the Pass to the south nine miles and the reroute involved a six-mile highway walk. I put my hood up and headed down the road, the heat rising off the black asphalt. Halfway through the highway walk I came upon a stone spring fountain on the side of the road. A car pulled over as I approached. A man jumped out of the car with a 5-gallon jug and began filling it with water from the fountain. “Best water anywhere,” the man said. I shrugged, filled up my own bottle and chugged the water. “Pretty good,” I said.
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