Thursday, August 30, 2007

Backpacker CDT Trip- Little Joe Lake to un-named lake

In the cold morning, we motivated quickly so that we could all warm up a bit. Down the trail a ways we ran into three hikers (two thru-hikers and one section hiker) and stopped to chat with them. Jim from Livingston, MT mentioned he was low on food, so Aaron lightened our packs and gave him some of our dehydrated food and couscous. They said that they were hanging in there, but they did not seem overjoyed about the trail in Montana. The section we were doing was unusual, in that the trail was good and the route was scenic. We felt lucky to be on one of the best sections and it made the first day well worth it. After climbing up past Lena Lake, we made our way to the Slag-a-Melt Lakes and took a break. There was a quiet, calm deer that checked us out and we got a few nice pictures of her. The climb above Slag-a-Melt was very nice and we made our way up to another saddle with awesome views. We continued into a bowl with huge peaks on either side and a short traverse around a really steep section. Then, we regained all the altitude we had lost, climbed again, and reached the Divide. There was a little marker showing the MT/ID border, which we had been walking along for the entire section. Then, the trail descended and began yet another ascent to another saddle. The grade was good, but there was still a lot of climbing. At the saddle, I thought we were one place, but we were not as far along as I had thought. This happens when you go up and down multiple times and there are no signs to identify things. I guess I should have paid more attention to the GPS/map conversations. Anyway, we stopped at an un-named lake because we had very few options for water in the last 14 miles to the car.

The lake was right up against a steep scree slope and was partially dried up. We had to walk across the lakebed to get to the nicer camping area, it reminded me of hiking Mauna Loa, and the guys explored the swimming possibilities. Tom voted yea (of course!), Jon, nay (too sea-monkey-ish) on the water quality. This was a nice peaceful camp and for the first time in the trip I felt like we all had a chance to talk a little bit. We were even able to perform a tricky Therm-a-rest repair with the kit I always carry and Tom's expertise. Believe it or not, Tom actually was the chemist behind the glue in the repair kit! Tom regaled us with his stories from the gear-researching/developing trenches and Tom and Aaron discussed and tried to come up with a required reading list for Jon's outdoor education. (They should have just asked the librarian!) A nice night, if only we had carried a little extra for a nightcap.

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