Hikers Bushwhack Through Blowdowns

This morning I got up around 5am so that we could be walking by 6am. Once my tent was broken down and everything was packed away, I made oatmeal for breakfast. Then when everyone was ready we began hiking.

High Profile walking along the dirt road.

This morning, we’re going to be hiking on the old CDT for about 8 miles. We really don’t know the conditions of the trail, but hopefully it’s not too bad. Within the first hour of the day we caught up to Nana Man and Tripod. They had only gone another 2 or 3 miles past our camp last night. I guess they just wanted to go further because they had skipped the road walk. I’m really not sure.

Nana Man’s cowboy camp set up on the giant tarp that he’s been carrying.

We continued along after passing the boys. Then there was a gradual climb for a while after that. Luckily it was graded well so it wasn’t too bad. But even though we had started so early it was still unbelievably hot out already. I was really glad that we were going to get a bunch of miles in before the heat of the day was at its worst.

When we still had a few miles left of the old CDT the trail began getting pretty rough. At one point it veered off of a dirt road and basically just went straight up the side of a hill. It was really hard to follow the trail, but I managed to do a decent job. Then the blow downs started. For the next mile or so the trail was ridiculous. We were climbing up and around down trees constantly, and it was super hard to stay on the trail.

A cdt marker along the old cdt. Even though the trail might get rerouted, the old markers often remain!

At this point  I wasn’t sure where everyone else was. High Profile was right in front of me which was heartwarming. But everybody else had veered off and gone a different way. All of the sudden I could hear 9 Lives hollering, trying to figure out where everyone else was. She caught up to us shortly after that. Then after a mile or so everyone caught up to each other and trail was only horrid for a little bit longer. When we got up to the top of another hill we finally got back onto a dirt road. This dirt road was perfectly manicured, and there were no more blow downs after that.

9 Lives in front of a southbound CDT marker.

Originally when we planned to walk along the old CDT, I hadn’t even considered the fact that it might not be managed at all. Fortunately, the trail was only rough for a mile or so. But that could’ve been a lot worse than it was. I had flashbacks to hiking along the Florida Trail in the Suwanee area after hurricane Idelia. It can get pretty sketchy navigating around blow downs.

We were all happy to be back on some easy terrain after that. It was so nice walking along a pristine dirt road for a while. From there we only had to walk for another mile or so and then we were finally back on the red line. That was quite the relief. Another mile or so after that I stopped to get some water. Then we had a short climb to do, which was fortunately pretty gradual. Plus, we were all planning on taking lunch after we got to the top of that climb. It’s always easier to do a climb when you know a break is coming afterwards.

I got up to the top a lot faster than I was expecting, and there were some really nice views. I got off the trail briefly to go to a scenic overlook, which was lovely. At this point 9 Lives and I were walking nearby one another. Then we continued on toward a spring where we planned to eat lunch. Around this time all of us got service which slowed us down a little bit. I can probably count on one hand the number of times that I’ve had service along this trail. So I couldn’t resist the opportunity to get a couple things done and do some scrolling.

Standing in front of an overlook, shortly after the bushwhacking nightmare.

Then we all sat to have lunch. Apparently there was a spring nearby, but it took me a really long time to find where the spring actually was. It turned out that the spring was about 100 feet off the trail. But eventually, I found water so that I could filter it and eat some carnation instant breakfast and granola for lunch. The last day or so the bugs on trail have been terrible. Especially today. Every time you sit down you’re surrounded by flies and other bugs. And the worst part is the small black flies bite, and leave big welts. Prior to this the bugs haven’t been that bad on trial.

Giggles, 9 Lives, and I.

While we were hanging out at that break spot a bunch of other hikers passed by us. A few of them we have been seeing on and off since glacier. Tripod and Nana Man also came by but decided to take their lunch break a little further down the trail. But at this point in the day, it was around noon and we’d already gone 15 miles. I was feeling really good and glad that we got the bulk of the miles before it was crazy hot out. We only planned to go another 13 miles for the day, which didn’t sound so bad.

A CDT marker on a tree just off trail.

After taking a nice long lunch, we left that spot and continued on. Then only a couple miles later we passed by the guys once again, who were sitting in the shade by a marsh area. A few people were hanging out there with their tents set up to avoid bugs. Some people haven’t been enjoying hiking in the middle of the day because of the heat. But for me personally, the heat just isn’t bad enough to not hike during the middle of the day. Maybe if it was over 100 degrees like it can be on the Pacific Crest Trail. But you won’t catch me taking a siesta when it’s on the 90s. I’d rather just get the miles done and suffer a little bit in the heat. The heat definitely isn’t as bad as some of the hiking that I’ve done in desert areas.

The marshy lake area where Nana Man and Tripod took lunch.

High Profile, 9 Lives, and I wound up walking for another four or so miles before we stopped off again. At this point we had so few miles left for the day we figured we could take as many breaks as we wanted. Unfortunately we didn’t pass any water sources where we were able to swim or get in the water. All the water sources have been shallow creeks and springs. But I was just grateful that we had frequent water sources at all.

At this break spot the bugs were ridiculously bad. While I was sitting there taking a break the bugs were eating me alive. I was surrounded by black flies and bees. Lately there have been so many bees surrounding us constantly at our breaks. I don’t know if they want our sweat or what, but there were dozens around me as I tried to relax.

An arrow on the trail made out of animal bones.

There were only 5 miles to go at this point in the day. It was scorching hot out but at least we didn’t have much more climbing to do for the day. None of our other friends caught up to us as we took our break. So I wasn’t sure where they were and if they would be meeting us at camp later on.

One of the water sources that we passed this afternoon, a cow trough!

The rest of the day flew by after that break. I listened to music and cruised along. There wasn’t much climbing to go which was great. Then after about 4 miles we passed by a water trough, which would be our last source of the day. The bugs by the trough were horrific. I got bit a bunch of times by flies as I filled my water. As soon as I was done I got out of there and headed to our camp site.

9 Lives walking through a field up ahead.

There were comments on Far Out about camping by a dirt road pull off up ahead. When we got there there was plenty of space for all of our tents. But it wound up just being 9 Lives, High Profile, Sidequest, and myself. The rest of the group didn’t make it as far apparently.

Views from our tent site near the power lines.

The first thing I did when I got to camp was put on my rain pants. That helped to keep the bugs off of me. Then I set up camp and walked a ways down the road to eat dinner with everyone. A few other hikers arrived while we were set up there, but not any of our friends that we’ve been walking with.

There were no good bear bag hanging trees, so I hung my food bag on this medal base for the power line. You gotta work with what you got.

After I ate dinner I retreated back to my tent. It was so nice to be away from the biting bugs. They have quite literally been driving me insane. The guys haven’t complained too much about getting bit. But 9 Lives and I have been eaten alive. We are both covered in huge welts. Once I was back in my tent I did some writing. Then I called it a night. Tomorrow we are planning to do a fairly short day. Then we will get into Anaconda the follow morning.

The lovely sunset by our camp site.

While I laid in my tent I also got an update from another hiker named Crigas. We met on the AT last year and I’ve seen him on this trail a few times. He has been feeling terrible and just got admitted into the hospital with rhabdomyolysis. That means that his body started to break down muscle as fuel rather than fat. Rhabdo is incredibly dangerous and can cause kidney failure or death. I’m so glad that Crigas got to a hospital and is ok. But he just might be off trail as of now.