Day 140, Polly Spring to Stemple Pass

The CDT followed a dirt road from there around Meyers Hill (7,133 feet). There would be more climbing ahead, but not right away. The trail stayed flat for nearly a mile as it curved around the hill.

There weren't many trees on the side of the hill. I could see back across the ridge I followed yesterday when I walked with Freebird.

The sky was a little smokier than yesterday. It has had a dirty tint for weeks now and wasn't getting better.

Dana Spring was 2.2 miles from our campsite. Top O', El Dorado, and Guy Number Five were already there when I arrived. A couple of cow tanks held water, and the quality wasn't nearly as nasty as some we've had to drink.

We knew there wouldn't be any water for a long stretch. I drank close to a full liter, then filtered two more to carry.

The next half-mile was an easy path over the rolling top of a ridge before beginning a long climb. That was a 2.5-mile ascent to Black Mountain (8,330 feet), which gained 1,200 feet.

Though you won't find a name for this ridge on maps, locals call it the Nevada Mountains.

The open ridge provided another chance to see mountains in the Flint Creek Range, the same mountains I saw yesterday when I thought for a moment I was seeing snow on their peaks. The view was slightly less clear today than it was yesterday.

One mountain in the range was Pikes Peak (9,359 feet), which is not to be confused with the 14,115-foot mountain with the same name in Colorado. Oddly, there are two Pikes Peaks in Montana. If they are also named for the American military hero and explorer, Zebulon Pike, he never set foot in Montana.

The trail followed a little-used 4WD road, and it soon became bumpy when the climb started. It wouldn't have been passable in vehicles that didn't have a high clearance. It was also not a good walking trail, even though it was the official route.

I reached the top of the climb at 10:30 a.m. Though it was short of the top of Black Mountain, at 8,140 feet, it was the highest point I would get today.

The view wasn't exceptional from there because of the smoke, but I could see far enough to the north to make out some of the mountains where the trail was heading.

The trail had been going for the last few miles in a mostly-westerly direction. It turned at Black Mountain to resume a northerly path.

The trail next went toward Nevada Mountain (8,293 feet). There were a small number of openings between trees here to look down into Beartrap Gulch.

I met a LASH (long-ass section hike) hiker walking southbound as I continued along the ridge. He told me there were just 300 miles to the Canadian border.

I didn't calculate the remaining miles yesterday after Repeat told me I could finish in three weeks. Hearing now that I had 300 miles to go made me think it might take less than that, but I tried not to dwell on this new information. No matter how you slice it, a lot can happen in 300 miles.

The LASH hiker also told me he recently passed some other hikers where they stopped for lunch, and I assumed he was referring to Top O', Thirteen, and the other guys. I never caught up to them, though I did see Freebird briefly before I stopped for lunch.

The trail continued to roll along the top of the ridge, which mostly coincided with the Continental Divide.

I had walked 12 miles by 3 p.m., which was a little slow, but I knew I would still hike 20 miles today. Everyone intended to go to Stemple Pass, where we would be near a small outfitter store.

I was falling behind the other hikers, yet I knew I often get a "second wind" late in the afternoon. I didn't worry about completing the remaining miles.

Though I didn't realize it at the time, I was about to get some assistance to finish those miles.

After continuing for another half-mile on the ridge, the trail began to drop to a road. The road led to a water source about a half-mile away.

The two liters I collected at Dana Spring were almost gone. I expected to lose about 30 minutes when I retrieved more water.

They continued up the trail while I drank some water and ate a snack bar. The road was smooth, easy, and mostly downhill when I left.

Through some gaps in the trees, I sometimes saw a lookout tower on the top of Granite Butte. I could tell the alternate route I was walking saved me a big climb.

The National Forest Service refurbished the tower and now rents it for overnight stays. There's room for four people, and it costs $45 per night.

There wouldn't have been any chance for us to stay in the tower tonight. It is usually booked solid for the whole year.

Farther down, the road overlooked a series of wooded ridges. Somewhere down there was once the home of Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber.

Kaczynski made and mailed bombs to people he claimed were destroying the environment with modern technology and industrialization. His bombs killed three people and injured 23 others, though not everyone was an intended victim.

When he was arrested on April 3, 1996, federal agents found bomb components, a 40,000-page journal, and one live bomb in his small cabin. The Unabomber case was the most expensive FBI investigation at the time.

Kaczynski's cabin is no longer there. The FBI removed it after his arrest.

When I reached Stemple Pass, I didn't see anyone. There were a couple of picnic tables there, so I was surprised to not find any hikers eating dinner there.

I figured the outdoor supply store called High Divide Outfitters was closed by now because the time was 7 p.m. Wondering if my friends had gone there anyway, I decided to check. I walked down the road until I came to a lane that climbed steeply up the ridge to the store. I found a closed gate there, however, and this made me doubt they were there.

Now I was perplexed. Where did the hikers go? Unsure what else to do, I walked back to the picnic tables and prepared my dinner.

While waiting for my water to boil, I heard some laughter coming from the direction of the store. Then someone up there saw me and hollered down, telling me I needed to come up and join them.

I quickly finished my meal and returned to the gated lane. When I climbed to the top, I found Top O', El D, Guy Number Five, Thirteen, Freebird, Raven, and Fraggles. They were sitting in a small area next to the store. Raven had hitchhiked to join Freebird here.

Dave, the store owner, was gone but had left a note saying we were allowed to camp there overnight. There was no running water at the store, so large containers of it were provided for us to use.

The temperature quickly dropped as the sun set, and we started looking for spots to pitch our tents. There weren't many, but we all managed to find one.

Our next resupply stop won't be until the day after tomorrow. In the meantime, the store standing 20 feet from my tent appeared to be an opportunity to pick up a few items. I had no idea how true that was.