June 16
We are on our way. Spent the night at the Hiker Hut in Anaconda. We were the first to sign in their log book for 2025.
Last sign in was October of last year. A hiker dropped by to show the hiker hut to their parents.
There were heavy thunderstorms in Anaconda last night but we were safe in doors. The rain cleaned all the bugs off the rental car. 😄😄. All the locals were thrilled as the rain has been a bit of a drought and warm season so far.
The weather is great for early season hikers. It means that the snow melted out early and water crossings are all low. Just enough water to drink but dry feet and easy hiking.
Much better than last year where it was well into July before some areas could be hiked.
Weather like this is rough later in the year for local water levels and worsens late season fire risks.
We slept well and woke with the rising sun.
So today we got an early start. We were on the road right at 6:00 am. That meant if Amtrak was running late we could be in East Glacier today. Then we stopped for a hitchhiker standing by the road with a bicycle tire.
We picked up Jinx who has finished hiking the PCT and is on a bike race from Banth through Colorado. He was suddenly stuck with hitchhiking instead of biking.
His problem was that his bicycle needed repairs in pretty much the middle of nowhere. Well, it was 50+ miles from the tools he needed. That made it obvious what to do, so we detoured to Missoula and gave him a ride to a bicycle shop.
After which we were our way again.
So. We were a little more than an hour behind schedule when we made Kalispell. We then were on to Whitefish.
In town we got some last minute supplies, confirmed Amtrak times for tomorrow, had our shuttle arranged, rental car dropped off and checked in at the local Marriott using points.
We also visited the outfitter but did not need anything.
Tomorrow we will take Amtrak to East Glacier and then we will becon the trail.
Starting on the 17th cell service will be spotty so updates won’t be regular for a bit as I can only post updates when I have service.
A note on the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
“The Bob” as it is known is the second largest wilderness area in the United States.
It is very busy. With a network of forest service cabins used to host crews all summer, there are a large number of people out there just working on the trails and maintenance.
They keep track of conditions and have a website with Updates on the condition of the eight trail collections. Yes. There are eight collections of trails are in “The Bob” not just eight trails. The trails are numbered from 1 to into the 200s.
The Bob includes three national forests as well as the wilderness area.
The high water route bypasses that crossing and is the route we will take. What can I say. We are taking a route that bypasses this pretty shallow water crossing for ones that are even shallower.
I’ve been asked how a water crossing gets shallower and easier than this and all I can say is that it is possible.
😄😄
Unlike other areas we have hiked that take a long time, for the 7-10 days we that will be hiking here we will not be alone or close to alone. We may even stop at Benchmark Ranch for showers.
We may have rain, starting Friday, but it looks good. Great backpacking temperatures, plenty of drinking water, trails maintained and Forest Service cabins inhabited (with working telephones in case of emergencies).
