Since the post office didn’t open until 9:15, we slept in. It was glorious, particularly because Patrick Duffy woke me up a lot last night with dull, aching pain.
When we finally decided to get up, breakfast was microwaved Jimmy Dean sausage and cheese sandwiches that Nick picked up from Family Dollar last night after finding out the hotel restaurant would be closed today. Honestly, they weren’t terrible. Calories are calories.
Nick was the one who walked 20 minutes to the post office to get the resupply package (he’s an outstanding human) so I could send in blog updates on the spotty Wi-Fi. The timing worked out perfectly.
By the time we were all packed up and ready to get back to the trail, it was well after 10. I wasn’t sure how quickly we’d get a hitch so I was mentally preparing to not start hiking until noon.
Amazingly, we had our thumbs up for less than two minutes before Jeff stopped to give us a ride. Maybe 5 vehicles passed us before he drove up. It was the easiest, least stressful hitch ever. Jeff was going to the airport to pick up his family, who had been visiting extended family on the east coast. His wonderful dog, Dottie, was with him and and I had the privilege of sitting with her in the back seat of the truck. She was great.
We walked on roads all day, which was fine with me. It started off as a paved road, but by the end of the day we were on gravel. I felt like I was strolling along a beautiful country road the entire time. An older woman stopped to chat and to offer us encouragement, which I just loved. She reminded me of the woman who drove by me yesterday while I was walking along the lake. She, too, was older and seemed very spunky - she reminded me of Shirley MacLain. As she drove by, she gave me a thumbs up, threw me a kiss, and then raised her fist as if to say, “you go, girl”. She made me laugh and I can’t believe I failed to write about her yesterday!
From what I’ve experienced thus far, Montana is beautiful and the people who live here are awesome. Everyone we saw today while walking the road was courteous and nice, going slow on the gravel as they passed us to keep the dust down. Even the cute UPS delivery guy, who passed us twice, gave us (or at least me) a huge smile.
It was a little warm today but I loved it, particularly because there was a nice breeze to keep the heat from feeling unbearable. Nick, however, didn’t seem to enjoy it as much as I. At one point he ran out of water and, after walking for several miles without, started to feel a bit dehydrated. We ended up hiking down a steep embankment (there was a trail so it wasn’t awful) and he got water from the river where cows graze. It might not have been the best place to get water but it was a nice spot for a break, so we sat there for a while until Nick got himself hydrated. A cow even joined us.
taking a break with a cow
We stopped at Upper Sureshot Lake to boil water for dinner, which is where we met Leslie, Gay, Sue, and Diane, four friends just out having fun. We chatted with them a bit and they offered us some bottled iced tea. They seemed to really want to help in some way so I accepted without thinking that 1. I’d have to carry the empty bottle with me and 2. I don’t even like iced tea (I drank it anyway). They were so lovely and seemed so happy together that I gave them some figures as a thank you - they were tickled.
The last 2 miles of the day were downhill on a crappy, steep service road. Don’t worry, I didn’t sing my “f’ing downhill” song this time, although I did yell out in pain a few times when I stepped on a rock the wrong way and rolled my ankle. When I finally made it to the bottom I soaked my feet in the cold water of the lovely South Willow Creek - it felt amazing.
The moss-covered ground was the perfect place to sit and soak my feet for a bit
We are camping next to the creek, actually, and I can’t wait to fall asleep to the sound of the rushing water.
Along the trail:
Camp:
