June 27, 2013

June 27, 2013

Day 10 - The Wall

Lake Levane to My Lake

~29 miles

Getting to camp later than I wanted the past two nights I am finding that I prefer an early start and earlier finish to my day, rather than sleeping in a little in the morning. After a good nights sleep, I awoke at 5:45am and was on my way by 6:30. 

The morning hours were filled with a wonderful walk along a trail aptly named The Wall. This is not the much talked about Chinese Wall, that comes tomorrow, but apparently it is quite similar just without the notoriety. It truly was incredible, especially in the early morning light, with rays of sun peaking through the clouds to provide contrast between all the books and crannies in the face of the wall. 

Today I also saw the most people on trail that I have seen in one day thus far. First there was an older couple with their niece and her fiancé. I chatted with them for a while and from the sounds of it, there is still a lot of snow in the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness. Definitely something I want to check on when I get to Helena. Next there were a couple of ladies, Shelly and Sam, who were coming back from clearing trail for pack mules that dropped supplies at a cabin where some wild land fire folks are staying for a bit. They also had some helpful information on the upcoming trail. Shelly and Sam each work in separate fire lookouts over the summer and are just getting started with the season. Doesn't sound like a bad way to spend the summer, although I think thru-hiking wins that contest.   The best part though, they each gave me an orange!  So juicy and delicious!  What a treat.  Later on up the trail I saw the two guys running the pack train, as well as their 2 horses and 8 pack mules. Finally there were the fire folks, but they were inside Rock Creek cabin so I didn't bother to stop and say hello. 

Not too far past the cabin I hit a bit of a wall on the final climb for some reason. Could be the big miles I've been putting in I suppose! Only 28 miles to Benchmark Wilderness Ranch where my next food resupply is being held, not sure if I'll push to get there or not. I may camp a couple miles shy and just hike in the following morning to pick it up. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how I feel tomorrow! 

Sent from my iPhone