July 21, 2013

Unknown lake to spring 18 miles north of Bannock Pass

33 miles

Got a nice early start today and enjoyed a beautiful hike along the divide looking both East towards the sunrise, as well as West towards some other range of mountains. It was another perfect morning on the trail. 

One of the issues with hiking along the divide for miles at a time is that water tends to be hard to come by. This was the case for the middle 19.5 miles of the day. As such, I loaded up with 4 liters of water (an extra 8 lbs) at Goldstone Pass and proceeded to hike up from the pass and continue rambling along the divide. The first 16 miles of the day passed rather quickly but the rocky view filled divide was replaced with a more mellow forested divide. This was fine for hiking, as the ups and downs were generally a gentle grade, but did not do much for views. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy ambling through  the woods, especially during the heat of the afternoon, however, miles and miles of it after being spoiled with gorgeous vistas in the previous miles seems to me to be a cruel joke. 

Once making it to Lemhi Pass and the next water source, I crossed paths with two different couples, the first of which congratulated me on setting forth on the journey, and the second who, after hearing a little of what I was doing invited me back to their campsite for some cold Coca-Cola. They also offered up some Cheetos, tortilla chips, and pickled okra of all things. I planned on taking a long break there anyway, so I cooked up my meal and chatted with Harry and Sylvia for about an hour and a half. It's always fun to meet random strangers along the way. Just as I was setting off to hike again Harry gave me his address so I could send him a postcard or something from some exotic place, or as he suggested a beach in Mexico when I get there. Ha! It does sound nice...