Day 4 in the Bob

I’m starting out at my camp by the river at mile 2812.

Today was blowdown hell. I think Bob stands for blowdowns on blowdowns. They’re stacked. You climb the sawed ones from previous work trips to get over the new ones. It went on forever. I was so exhausted even with many miles of clear trail I averaged 1 mph for the entire 

After the long segment without blowdowns, a pleasant forested section, the trail became snowy. I wore my crampons. I was able to follow the trail with the help of FarOut.

At one point I heard voices and saw two people. The first people I have seen in 2 days. They were hiking north on a loop trip. They gave me some nuts. 

Eventually I crested a ridge and the most amazing view appeared before me. It brought tears to my eyes. It washed away all the blowdowns. It was a portion of the Chinese Wall. I think it’s called the North Chinese Wall. I thought I was going to miss this because I thought it was on the Spotted Bear alternate. I was so glad I didn’t take the alternate. I would not have missed this for the world. 

As I descended following the wall, there would be an occasional avalanche falling from the wall. It sounded like thunder. It soon became clear the trail was going to climb again. It was snowy everywhere and would only get worse. I was looking for somewhere to camp.

There was so much water everywhere it was hard to find a dry spot. I finally found what looked kind of like a little trail. I decided to squeeze my tarp in there for my bed tonight. I would have the most amazing view to look at. 

I did everything in my power to put in my 15 miles and I did it. 

What a day!

Starting the Bob

Day 1 from Marias Pass

Oh my god the blowdowns. This was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But at least there wasn’t any I could not get around. It too all day to go 8 miles. I think I was going half a mile an hour. Found the first campsite and called it a day. 

Day 2

An epic day. First a cold creek crossing. Then minimal blowdowns. Then a climb to a summit with epic views. Then a ridge walk descent. Then a climb over a snowy pass. Then down to a swimming hole that was very refreshing. Then I found a nice campsite after about 18 or 19 miles just in time to hear thunder and get some sprinkles. 

Leapfrogged with Fast Cash and Mango.

Day 3

I did not see anyone at all today. I went 21.2 miles. More than half was burned.

I set off with a creek crossing as a goal. It was 18 miles away. It looked like there might be a storm so I wanted to cross it before it rained. Someone 6’3” tall said in FarOut that it had been very high. 

I felt really strong and the trail was pretty easy so the miles went fast. Even the miles and miles of blowdowns didn’t seem so bad. The creek crossing came at 4 pm and it was thigh high in the deepest spot. Not bad at all. 

I grew concerned as the day went on that I would find no safe place to camp. There were nothing but dead trees as far as I could see. And it was very windy. The wind howled and sang and vibrated through the dead trees. Sometimes I thought it sounded like human voices. 

I felt very alone today. Although I felt physically strong the vast emptiness of this dead treescape made me feel uneasy. I was happy to find a campsite surrounded by living trees with a swift running stream. It was a warm night with just enough mosquitoes to put up my net tent. 

Marias Pass

I became more or less trapped in the vortex of East Glacier. I needed to spend the weekend waiting to be able to call the UC Retirement services center to figure out why they are asking me to sign papers with the wrong retirement dates and why they are sending me COBRA forms. I was pretty sure this is just automated stuff but they have behaved so incompetently and inconsistently I have had to verify and fix their mistakes on a number of occasions. This meant my Monday would be spent on hold for 3 or 4 hours. I have the hold music memorized. 

A group of hikers was planning to drive out to the Marias Pass trailhead at mid morning to hike northbound back to East Glacier. Slack pack, leaving the tent pitched at Luna’s. So I waited around for this chance to hike sociably. But I became impatient and decided to go on my own. 

I made a hitchhiking sign and right away got a ride from a lady who had given a ride to Necktie and Van Gogh a few days ago. She took me to Marias Pass and I hiked back to East Glacier, 15 miles connecting the dots to the trail I took to Scenic Point and Two Medicine a few days ago. 

I hiked alone the entire time. The trail was level and forested and quiet. I never once hollered out for bears. It was too peaceful for such noise. Much of the time was spent in concentration trying to find easiest ways through mud. There was not a cloud in the sky and the river that only a few days ago looked swollen seemed significantly tamer now. 

After the hike I returned to the vortex to talk trails with the other hikers and jam with Van Gogh. He brought a small guitar and I brought a small mandolin. I debated with myself whether or not to send it home. I debated whether or not to buy more Altra Lone Peaks. I’ve worn these for a week and they are the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever hiked in. But they already show signs of wear.

I talked to Tony on the phone. He went to a Bob Dylan concert and said it was awful. We decided maybe to skip trying to call UC Retirement about the paperwork we received. That means a trip to the post office and into the Bob I go. It’s possible it will take 10 days to get to the next town.