“Are you sure we are actually on the CDT?! This isn’t the trail we know.”
Wow. The CDT almost feels like a different trail in Montana. As soon as we rejoined it at Reas Pass, we rolled on to nice bench cut trail and very bike friendly grades. Good signage, too.
The 13 miles of trail to Targhee Pass were a total win. We could have saved over 10 miles by taking the highway out of West Yellowstone, but I’m glad we didn’t.
In the middle we ran into southbound hiker Chocolate and Cheese, who was the rare hiker that seems quite at peace with life on the trail, solo, too. He says he would like to hike with someone else but he makes lots of bad decisions. .. so it is better he is alone. Funny.
After crossing the pass we saw a sign that indicated the trail was on a road for the next 1.5 miles. Never seen friendly signage like that before.
Sure enough good trail started where advertised, climbing steeply but rideably to Lionhead’s ridgeline. Thrumbles were around, but a stop for lunch and for Eszter to revise an article put us inbetween storms as they crossed the divide and dissipated. Fortuitous timing!
We continued the amazing climbing, exclaiming repeatedly and how nice the trail was. Switchbacks! Machine cut benches! Rideable grades. Wahoo!
Storm — keep going west, over the mountains. We’ve had enough rumbles.
We contoured just below Lionhead itself, all the while gazing at the red rocks of Bald Mountain, on the divide, but luckily not a part of the trail. The descent was a hoot. A clear stream was placed perfectly for dinner refill. We gained the small divide off Bald Mountain, hoping for drier camping.
Food is tied up in a tree, 100+ yards from here. We can see contouring trail across the valley, which should be followed by a hefty climb to 10,000 feet followed by the megaton switchback attach I have been oogling on TopoFusion. Can’t wait to check it out tomorrow!
Last order of business before leaving... cinnamon roll!
Glad to be back on the trail after the rain/work delay in West Yellowstone. It was a slow morning getting packed up, wrapping up last minute work, shipping the box, eating a big breakfast, etc. But we did get back out, maybe even by noon.
3 days of pretty nonstop rain finally breaking
Taco bus lunch with Megan!
One plant you should see often is thimbleberry, a small tree that’s a type of tasty raspberry. Grows from Mexico into Canada at elevation and should be ripe soon, where you are and northward. The berries look very similar to raspberries but are even sweeter. Flowers are pretty flat and white with a yellow center, about 2″ across. Leaves look like a crimpled maple leaf.