Videos of my 2022 SOBO section hike of the CDT

I did 45 days on the CDT. I went home from West Yellowstone. I think I may have gotten a concussion when I fell before Darby. I didn't really rest and recover after I fell. I didn't even take my first zero day until Lima. Symptoms of untreated concussion include headaches, nausea, fatigue and insomnia, which I had. Symptoms of heat exhaustion include headache, nausea, leg cramps. Symptoms of exercise exhaustion include fatigue, loss of energy, pain and stiffness, nausea, headaches, shortness of breath. I probably had all three. Sucks to get old. Sucks to sit behind a desk for 13 years.

Here are videos from my trip.

Zero day in West Yellowstone

Not a lot to say about zero days but I really needed to rest. I just don’t feel right. Shortness of breath, dull feeling in my chest, a lot of peeing—always clear—a lot of thirst but little desire to drink, no real appetite, occasional nausea. I rested as well as I could, which wasn’t very well with all the chores to do on foot.

 

I bought a COVID test from the pharmacy. I tested negative.

The hotel where I stayed was next to one of those cosmetics shops where middle eastern men stand out in front and offer samples. I found out a hiker had borrowed a bicycle from one of the men so I asked him if I could borrow the bike next. The mission for both of us was to get to the dispensary. 

I had tried hitchhiking and had no luck. The dispensary was 7.5 miles away. Bike rentals were expensive. Borrowing the bike was going to save a lot of money. I needed gummies to help me sleep. This was my last day in a town in a state where such things are legal. Benadryl, according to Dr. Google, exacerbates heat exhaustion symptoms and it did not make me sleepy anyway. I could not bear the thought of any more sleepless nights either in the hotel before heading out or on the trail. 

So I rode 15 miles round trip to get gummies. In the rain. On a busy highway with trucks, RVs, and rumble strips in the shoulder. While riding I could still feel my main symptom which is a sense of tiredness in my chest and difficulty breathing. I breathed in-out hard like the hills near Lima with the effort of pedaling. At least it was relatively flat to get there. 

After that errand, I was pretty wet and cold (imagine that!) so I crawled under the covers of my bed and took a nap. 

When I woke up I thought I could probably eat pizza. I went to Wild West Pizza and Saloon and got a personal pizza and a salad. The salad was so good. It had onions and cucumbers on it. I felt better just from that. I got a white sauce pizza and a beer. 

I’ve been putting lite salt on things, drinking Gatorade, eating salty almonds and making lists in my head of foods to bring for this 8 day section. I have a stop in 3 days to buy restaurant food and snacks so I don’t have to carry a full 8 day resupply, just an extra 5 days of things that are not snacks. 

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The next morning, after sleeping pretty well thanks to the gummies, and despite needing to pee several times, I woke early to check FarOut for water info and saw the last water for me would be at 16 miles from the trailhead. After that the next water would be 26.6 miles and inside the park. I would have to get a permit to camp in the park. I would have to commit to a 16 mile day this afternoon and a 26.6 mile day tomorrow. 

Suddenly the weight of all this dehydration and exhaustion and loneliness overwhelmed me. The remoteness of the trail towns, the hot summer heat, the inability to feel 100% well, the dread to return to trail. 

I bought a plane ticket for less money than the rest of this trip would be. I could be home around midnight. Poof it would be over. 

I felt simultaneously sad and relieved. I went to tell Wanderer who was outside waiting for his ride back to the trail. He could tell anyone who asked if I was still on trail that I wasn’t. Not that anyone would miss me or anything. I saw some guys with backpacks hitchhiking and gave them my bear spray and fuel. 

It makes me sad that I’m not strong and fast like everyone else. I had hoped to hike a trail like this with others and enjoy that kind of experience of camaraderie. This was the loneliest town on the trail. I barely spent time with anyone here. A brief conversation was the most time spent. 

This has been the hardest trail I’ve ever hiked. I hiked about 800 miles. I hiked the Bob and the Anaconda-Pintlers and a lot of other wild places. All the things I’ve seen are all blurred together. It looked nothing like anywhere I’ve ever been. So beautiful. I’m glad I gave it a try.

The airport is 2 miles away. My flight leaves in 8 hours. I think I can I make it. 

Great view in the Bob

Initial blowdowns in the Bob

Snow near North Chinese Wall

Soft rounded hills of Montana 

Larch forest in Anaconda-Pintlers 

Lake in the Anaconda-Pintlers 

Following Id/Mt border near Lima

Wildflowers and butterflies in Southern Montana
 

Dirt road on my 2nd to last day on trail

Storm on my 2nd to last day

Best night’s sleep 

To West Yellowstone Day 4: bailed

I’m starting this day at mile 914.7. I’m ending it in West Yellowstone. I hiked 2 miles on the trail, then I bailed down mile creek to the highway and tried to hitch, then walked however many miles on the highway back to Reynolds Pass where after hours standing in the wind and sprinkles I got a ride to West Yellowstone. 

When I woke up to my alarm it was very dark. I found a lot of inch long skinny worms in the dimples of my sleeping pad. This had been a pretty bad campsite. I mixed up some coffee and breakfast essentials but I wasn’t hungry for anything else. I decided to eat some cookies as I hiked. Had I gone a little farther on the trail there was a flatter area. Had I gone two miles to Mile Creek there were shaded tent sites. Will I ever learn?

My ride was a kind man and his son, who may have been autistic, who said he makes a point to try to help people in need. I thanked him profusely. He dropped me off at the post office where I picked up a package containing a new polycryo ground sheet and my air mesh fleece.  I was going to send home my puffy as a trade for the fleece but it was suddenly so cold compared to yesterday. 

McDonald’s was near the post office so I stopped in for breakfast but I was too late and settled for lunch. 

I bought two nights at The Madison hotel and bought some things to try and hydrate myself. I got coconut water, although it was not the most natural kind, some lite salt (half potassium chloride), some pedialyte drink mix and some chips. I got some kefir which I’ve been eying ever since Helena. Might as well satisfy a mild craving. 

I caught glimpses of hikers as I walked around town. I saw Mango and FastCash. I saw a few guys from Lima at McDonald’s. I saw hikers I did not recognize. I saw Wanderer. He had climbed the whole big 10,000 foot mountain after where I camped and he camped on the descent after 10 pm. 

I had no real hunger. I ate at McDonald’s only because I hoped for breakfast sandwiches. I got ice cream but it didn’t taste like anything. I ate nothing else until dinner and had stir fried veggies at a Chinese restaurant. 

As I walked around town I felt like it was hard to breathe. I found a pharmacy and bought a Covid test. I tested negative. So my hydrate, rest, eat plan would have to suffice. 

My feet feel weird from all the hiking in wet socks. I bought a new pair of socks. I will keep the old ones to wear if my socks get wet. Darn Tough socks take a long time to dry. 

I talked to Tony on the phone a lot. I worked out resupply plans all the way to the end of Wyoming. If I get to the highway to Lander without dying but I still feel like I might die, I can always go to Jackson and fly home. 

The day went by quickly. I hope I can sleep. I have such poor sleep I’m afraid to sleep.