July 5 Mileage: zero I wake up at five in the hotel room. Arghhh. Ok, I have to stop being frustrated by this. It happens. Sometimes several days in a row. So I'm tired. Whatever! We're taking a zero today, in order to wait for post office hours on Monday. All the other southbounders we've … Continue reading CDT days 62 and 63: a double zero in Darby

July 4 Mileage 17 1,157 miles hiked When I wake up in the morning I feel really, really weak. And I'm dizzier than I've been. What the fuck? Seriously, what is wrong with me? This is really cramping my style. I can't feel tired like this every day. The only thing I've changed recently is … Continue reading CDT day 61: Darby, Montana

July 3 Mileage: 28 1,140 miles hiked I feel so groggy in the morning, even though I slept pretty well. Why? Who's to say. Why does one feel amazing some days, tired others? One of the great mysteries of the universe. The Anaconda-Pintler wilderness continues to enchant. The lupine and paintbrush and small happy yellow … Continue reading CDT day 60: grumpies

July 2 Mileage 28 1,112 miles hiked It's forty degrees when I wake up next to the lake. Forty degrees! Now I wish I hadn't sent my stove away. I shiver in my sleeping bag, which is damp from condensation, as I eat my cold granola in protein powder milk. No hot tea for me! … Continue reading CDT day 59: entering the Anaconda-Pintler wilderness

July 1 Mileage: 12.5 1,084 miles hiked We stay up until eleven watching Terminator II and then I wake at five a.m., even though the curtains block out the sunrise. Is it the full moon? Is the full moon doing this to me? I am so over it! The air conditioner in our room is … Continue reading CDT day 58: back into the mountains, thank god

June 30 Mileage 17 1,071.5 miles hiked I wake at 5 a.m. sharp, even though I didn't fall asleep until after 10. Well fuck. This is going to be a long day. Why does my body do this? The last of the thunderstorms blew over in the night and the morning sky is clear. I … Continue reading CDT day 57: Anaconda

June 29 Mileage: 34.5 1,054.5 miles hiked I sleep hard in my small stuffy net while the orange sun drops low in the trees, finally disappears. I wake up at dawn, feeling hungover. Weird. What did I do. I stand up and am so dizzy I almost fall over. Huh. Why am I dizzy? Is … Continue reading CDT day 56: venus and jupiter

June 28 Mileage: 21.5 1,020 miles hiked At eight a.m. I meet Frodo at the car rental place, drop off the keys to the rental car and climb into her sweet camper van for the ride back to Mcdonald pass. Frodo is gonna hang at the trailhead this morning to wait for a few other … Continue reading CDT day 55: heat wave got me like

June 27 Mileage: 7 998.5 miles hiked I wake in the night to the sounds of engines revving and people screaming at each other. "You think I won't do it?" Screams a man, obviously drunk beyond measure. "You think I won't?" There is the sound of gunshots. A woman is yelling. More revving of engines … Continue reading CDT day 54: Helena

June 26 Mileage: 30 991.5 miles hiked I sleep good on the picnic table until 5 a.m., when the mosquitos reappear. Dammit! Oh well. I guess the mosquitos are starting to crank up. It's that time of year! And flies. Biting flies, of all varieties. The small triangular ones, the giant horseflies. They attack me … Continue reading CDT day 53: flies, mosquitos and PUDS. yay!