Sudden Changes and Hiking Adventure

Hello dear lovelies,

My CDT SOBO LASH is off to a great start!

(English: Continental Divide Trail South-bound Long-ass Section Hike)

Glacier and northern Montana are experiencing quite the exciting winter weather!!  There’s a winter storm coming through, and a bunch of snow is about to be dropped on the park with very high winds!  This dump adds to the otherwise extremely-heavy year for snow in Glacier (40% above normal).

One SOBO hiker started a few days ago on the trail, and I’ve received some updates from him to assess the conditions. Good news:  the first 40 miles of trail are extremely hikeable.  Bad news: the wind conditions means you may get blown off the passes.  With the storm swinging on through, the first SOBO has decided to road walk around Glacier (bypassing the park).  

Great news: SOBO made the correct decision given the coming storm!  

Had said SOBO decided not to road walk around Glacier to avoid the storm, however, he would have still been obligated to find a different route. A sleuth of grizzly bears is taking advantage of the snow this year, and has set up an all-you-can-eat buffet!  A few dozen elk plunged to their deaths off of one of the passes in Glacier, and bears LOVE icy-cold venison.  They have been hanging out enjoying the finest cuts of venison Glacier has to offer!  Unfortunately, this sleuth creates real danger for any would-be CDT SOBOs, so the National Park Service has closed most of the CDT through Glacier and is not issuing permits.

Given all of this, my original plans to start in Glacier would be delayed by about 5 days to accommodate this storm and the grizzly buffet (TM).

Updates:

Given my tight window for getting back to civilization so I can jump into a desert in Nevada, I’ve decided not to delay my hiking start-date.  Instead, I’m adding a shit-ton of logistics to experience all remaining sections of the trail at their finest conditions (hopefully!)

  • I’m flying into Riverton Wyoming, and getting a ride to Lander
  • From Lander, I’m hitching to South Pass City/Atlantic City
  • I’m then hiking south-bound through the basin until I meet up with my foot steps from last year near Grand Lake
  • I’ll then flip off north to start hiking south-bound from Glacier National Park

Yeah… what a mess!  On the bright side, the Wyoming Basin/Red Desert will have absolutely terrific water given all the snow melt up north!  This means it won’t be too miserably hot, and my water carries will be okay!  This also means I’ll get to start hiking Glacier in July, and have dramatically improved snow conditions.  More importantly, by the time I make it to the Wind River Range in Wyoming, I anticipate that trail conditions will be down-right spectacular!

With love and excitement, and a spontaneous shift in logistics,

Jeff

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