Painted nails and a ‘bee’-line to Anaconda

The turquoise nails (fingers and toes) I just painted while taking a zero in Darby are screaming “FUN!” to me…and are serving as a reminder to keep a smile on my face, my head in the game, and to make sure I dig deep to finish this trip strong. The countdown is on in my mind (T-minus 3.5 weeks). Canada is calling, but there is still a fair amount of work to do while out here. The work isn’t just hiking either- 546 miles or so. There is most certainly work left for the Lord to do in and through me. I do not want to lose sight of this

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As of late I have been thinking about many relationships I have/had in my life- some that are absolute blessings and others in which I have some apologizing to do for past responses/reactions. I have walked and cried (out of hurt; out of joy); I have walked and laughed (out of humor and out of frustration). I have prayed and sought out direction and wisdom for current relationships that seem uncertain. I have thanked the Lord; I have questioned the Lord (I feel uncomfortable sharing that, but it is true.) What a wonderful gift this season of life has been. I say that confidently even with the intense ups and downs that have hit me while out here these past four months. And let’s be honest, those ups and downs are not quite over as there is still a fair amount of trail to hike. The saying out here is, “If it’s not one thing, it’s another!” Please pray for me as this journey continues. 

   

The anticipation of reuniting with Rattlebee continues to build. We were going to catch up in Darby but due to WHACKY weather and the fact that he became ill from food poisoning, RB stayed in Leadore a bit longer than originally planned. Therefore, to Anaconda I hike and will hopefully catch up there. I am looking forward to two friends from Snowbird meeting me there in Anaconda- Cianne and Jake!! WOOT, WOOT! What a cool surprise. 

My stay in Darby has been a great treat. I do want to acknowledge how the Lord shows His love in practical ways in my life. I unexpectedly met a wonderful lady who is also a believer. She is older, wiser woman with a daughter who is my age. She spoke truth to me. We talked about trusting in the Lord and following as He leads. We talked about relationships and marriage and being patient through the Lord’s timing. She prayed for Smiles and me before we left the motel. Man, I needed that encouragement! I am greatly encouraged. SO encouraged. Thanks, Rhonda!  

Four months and two days- that is how long I have been on trail thus far. Hard to believe. I sincerely look forward to reuniting back home with my dear friends…my family. Being away for this long from those folks whom I love has increased my love for them. The Spirit of God has moved this heart to grow fonder through the physical absence of many of you reading this. I was talking with The Otter about how the Lord has been moving in my heart as far as the love I have for those folks in my life that mean so much. He played a Neil Young song for me during one of our breaks. It was perfect! I’ll be writing some letters to many of you! 🙂

It snowed on me. It rained on me- for days!! It was hoovering around freezing temps. And I walked on. The sun is shining now and my mind is relieved.

 

Montana here on out. 🙂 What another relief. The actual Divide has some stellar views but you don’t get to see them unless you bust your tail UP and DOWN (repeat for hundreds of miles). I am okay with deviating from the divide for some milder hiking terrain

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Time to get to hitching. I have some miles to make considering there is an 18-mile waterless stretch coming up. It is already noon. Ha. My pack is weighed down full of food and water. My clothes are ‘clean’ and newly patched. There is a pain in my right foot (going across the top) that has been nagging at me for 2 weeks now. Going to take it ‘easy’ as I make it to Anaconda this Labor Day weekend. Um… yeah. That is about it for now. 

Much love to you folks from the CDT. Thanks for writing and praying and reading this blog. 

 

The Divide is relentless!

Hiking the Divide is no joke! I’ve been border hopping for hundreds of miles now- going back and forth between Idaho and Montana. Up and down… All day, every day! (Or as I say it out here, ‘All day, erry day!’ My legs feel fatigued but I somehow manage to keep on trekking.

The mountains out here are beautiful. There has been a great deal of hiking above treeline. The sun has been shining bright, although tonight was the first time on the trip I’ve had to run for safe cover from lightning. Smiles and I found refuge in the tree patch on the side of the mountain. Seemed random but I totally believe that is a practical example of God’s intentional provision. Interestingly enough, we just left Deadman Pass moments before the lightning occurred. Trees, cow paths, steep side hill- perfect for cooking dinner and waiting out the storm. The remaining 3 miles of trail headed down to Bannock Pass this evening has been one of my all-time favorite CDT moments. The colors, the scenery, the conversation and laughter with Smiles, the feeling of accomplishment from a tough day and tough section, the gratitude to be safe from that storm…. Wow! Unreal and totally real.

I’m anxiously awaiting Rattlebee’s arrival to the group. He’s three trail days behind me. The end is approaching and we have agreed to finish together. I was thinking today about how I was only 4 weeks I got the trip back in NM dreaming of being in Montana. Now I’m here and 4 weeks away from Canada. Lots of things are becoming nostalgic. Quickly!

Last night I dreamt about people I miss and love… Homesick a little, I suppose. The Clark twins, Harry McSween, Hunter, Jenna, Trevor Wofford, and my sister made appearances in the one dream. The dream was full of adventure and singing and teamwork.

Leadore, ID has been a laid back stop. The owner of the Leadore Inn, Sam, has been friendly to us hiker trash. I’m grateful.

I don’t have anything deep to share as far as something I’m learning or an event that has struck me in an intense manner… Although, I will simply share that two days ago I was overwhelmed with joy for being alive. That sentence doesn’t even begin to shine a light on how rich that moment was for me. God is good. He continues to meet me in beautiful ways. AHHHH….

Wish I had pictures of this past section I could add on here but they are all on my actual camera. All in due time I will be able to share them. Until then, just try to picture one of your most favorite places on earth.

SOBOs and Berries

This section from Yellowstone NP to Lima has physically worn me out. There have been quite a few long bush whacking (aka ‘shwacking’) sections. The temperatures have been warmer with less wind, no clouds. Smiles and NSB got sunburnt yesterday. The elevation chart shows us going up and down a great deal. The water carries have been heavy due to dry stretches of 17 miles at a time. Simply an interesting section. We have been hovering on the Divide and a lot of what’s mentioned above is because of that. It has been fun to make it to this point… Experiencing the ID/MT border part of this trail.

Day 110 and around mile 1817 as I write this. A storm is brewing overhead. My tent is cozy . This life out here continues to amaze me.

The Southbounders (SOBOs) are showing up. I’ve met four individuals so far south bounding. Three males and one female have walked by me at different times. I remember what it was like to have three more states to go through… Now we are grasping toward the end… It is feeling incredibly close! Most of the sentiment I’m hearing (and feeling myself) is that this has felt like a really long journey. We are tired; having fun, but feeling the wear and tear. So talking with RB last night about desiring to finish this thing strong, in high spirits, and together is exciting. I’m enjoying this trail on the whole. It’s just taking a toll- on everyone!

BERRIES GALORE! Today I ate raspberries, thimble berries, huckleberries, and I found some wild strawberries. Berry picking while thru hiking is a great deal of fun. Mini vacation time! And it’s these moments that are super sweet for the hiker.

About to head out of town. Pray for me as I walk this next section. There are some things I need/want to pray through/think about in light of all the attention recently brought to depression/suicide . To say the least, I’ve been triggered by all of the recent news of Robin Williams and the loads of responses (blogs, articles, FB statuses) …. And that’s not a bad thing. I simply desire to work through all that it seems to be dragging up in my heart and mind. Prayers are being requested.

Thanks. Much love. And as we are saying out here now, ‘Hike Spike!’

Water- logged and in Idaho!!

The past few days have been a soggy blur! Everything has been wet and it is getting stinky enough for this thru hiker to feel offended. The sun did peak out for a short minute tonight. I’m not complaining because I am going to sleep a little drier than I was last night. It has been very AT-esque lately with the weather.

We said our, ‘see ya later, Smudge and Groceries!’, at the beginning of this stretch. What a great time we had. I personally want to thank them for helping keep my morale up, especially during some of my harder Colorado stretches. And for showing such hospitality and generosity toward me. We have shared some wonderful moments. Glad to know them and look forward to visiting them in California one day soon. Good run at the CDT this year, Smudge! Happy 60th, lady!!

On August 5th I stepped foot into Yellowstone National Park- cooking dinner in the Park at a fire patrol cabin (on the porch) and then backtracking a few hundred yards to camp in the woods @ the border. Meeting Sticky Fingers and Happy Joe (married couple doing a section of the CDT) was a true delight. Picture Matthew Maconahey (phonetic spelling)
and Sandra Bullock! Great company and super fun to hike with, especially since HJ has jokes unending and SF is my kind of gal. After a 34 mile day (assigned campsites, ah!) we were set up for a three-mile walk into Old Faithful Village. BUFFET!!!!! People watching, ice cream eating, charging electronics, and resupplying filled the day. Not So Bad and I walked out at 4:45pm to do 10 miles to our last Yellowstone site. It starts spitting lots of rain and wind. Oh how the CDT doesn’t hold back. We kept joking about the weather misery and then processing through why we do this sort of challenging gig- voluntarily. Lots of reasons surfaced. That’ll be for another post another time.

As my time in this National Park nears the end I find myself in another interesting place. Two more hikers quit at Old Faithful. Wyoming is about to be a memory as I hit the Idaho/Montana milestone. Rattlebee is 5 days behind and I truly look forward to reuniting. I just have no idea when and where. My hiker bubble keeps changing- dwindling, expanding, dwindling again. There’s a fair amount of uncertainty with who is going to be a part of my last leg out here. I’ve really wrestled with The Lord concerning why I am out here and what my ‘ministry’ is/looks like… desiring to walk in truth, speak truth, live life in an honest manner that exemplifies I believe in the truth, loving in truth- all the while making sure I’m not manufacturing my idea as to what that is ‘supposed’ to look like but rather being led by the Spirit. Some rich conversations have happened this week. Grateful to be out here. Learning and healing and sharing and prayerfully being a conduit of grace while I’m experiencing God’s grace being poured out on me.

IDAHO!! Made it across another border on 8/9! NSB and I celebrated by taking a snack break in ID and drying out out gear in WY! 🙂 To top it off, we received phenomenal trail magic from Smiles’ parents!!! I’m STUFFED and am appreciative of their kindness. It’s good to meet the parents of hiking buddies, especially buddies I’ve spent a great amount of time with out here.

Bed time. Thanks for reading, writing, praying for me. Love from Idaho!
There’s a lot of trail ahead, but way more behind me at this point. In the words of Shutterbug, ‘GAME ON!’

The Wild, Wild West and the Wind River Range

It’s hot in my tent. Raindrops hit my tent fly; thunder rolls throughout the sky. Lightning flashes bright and illuminates the green synthetic material that ‘protects’ me from the elements. Yeah, right. I strangely feel safe in here but am realistically vulnerable to the weather. Ultimately I feel vulnerable before The Lord- the One who controls all of it… the lightning, the rain, the number of breaths I’ll take… It’s quite sobering and amazing for me to think on.

And as I type that out about feeling safe under some thin material in the midst of a lightning storm that could kill me, I cannot help but share how the Spirit has shown me how closely that illustrates me hiding under defense mechanisms I’ve mentioned before in these blog entries. It’s an illusion of protection… Or rather, I can acknowledge it’s keeping me from fully experiencing the weather or the hurt (depending on what illustration) but it isn’t the all end, sure source of protection for me. And the temporary doesn’t outlast the eternal. Duh, but truly. I must remember that simple truth.

The Wind River Range- STELLAR!! Oh my! Y’all ought to come this way and experience it yourself. Today I kept thinking about how and when I could come out here with some friends and just ‘weeklong warrior’ it. I’d swim, fish, lounge… I get to see it on my hike but I don’t believe I get to fully experience it for all it offers. And boy is it magnificent (to say the least).

That’s the weird thing about this thru-hiking business. We are ‘only’ hiking but we don’t have time for other things. When a 2800-3000 mile goal (that has a seasonal timeline) looms over your head there doesn’t seem to be much time to ‘just be’. So my job is to live the woods life but the lifestyle isn’t conducive to taking it all in like I’d like to.

RECEIVE THE GIFT
GO WITH THE FLOW
DON’T FRET IT; JUST LIVE IT!

July 28th- the fullness of those mottos has come to pass tonight. In the Winds there doesn’t seem to be a bad camping spot. With that said though, I am sure we found one of the best ones tonight so you can only imagine how awesome it was (@Lower Gene Lake). Kent and his three llamas are here. I’m the first person he’s camped with since the start of his journey back in early June. He caught three cut throat trout and he’s cooking us dinner! Super cool!!

July 29- Those mottos are right on point for part of my lessons this section. Low mileage, long hour days the past two days. Smudge has suffered big time from the altitude! The hiker community is lovely. We rallied around her to get her down lower elevation (10 miles of hiking). Of course today’s weather was rainy, windy, cold! Kent’s llamas carried her stuff. Shutterbug would go ahead on trail and boil water for her to sip on. Otter went ahead and set up a tarp for a short break. Smiles and I traded out walking behind Smudge- basically holding her up as she took each step. Frightening times… But we finally got under 10,000′ and got her dried, warmed, and finally fed. Wild West alright! These moments of showing and sharing love outshine any number of miles I could’ve done barring this tough situation. Grateful to be a part of this group of people!

Lodge time in the morning for a breakfast buffet! Shower and laundry is also a must do. Hiked two days with Data. Reunited with Southern and Not So Bad. Sleeping by a highway in my tent with 5 other hikers. Life out here keeps shocking and amazing me. I’m off to bed. Much love from Wyoming…. Anyone willing to go on a road trip and a backpacking trip to the Winds let me know… I’m already scheming!! 🙂