We started our long journey to the start of my last leg on the CDT. Our first stop was Sunset Crater north of Flagstaff and then on to Bryce Canyon National Park. Been there before but it was too cold, snowy and windy to do much. Perfect weather this time and we were able to take several beautiful, colorful hikes. The hoodoos were fantastic, with some looking sculpted and man-made. Hayduke Trail is now on my short list! After leaving…
These mid-summer hiking starts are tough to wait on but was the best fit this year to fit with other plans. Next year, I’m definitely hitting the trail for a spring hike. Because we are on a long road trip prior to myself starting the final CDT leg at Mack’s Inn, I have started getting my food together. Not a lot of change to previous years except for some Mountain House and Backpackers Pantry meals I got for Xmas from…
Took a few hikes and bike rides on the beaches and Mayan ruins of the Yucatan last month. Sampled some great new recipes for margaritas. All a reminder I must get more serious about getting ready for the CDT finish this summer. Not done yet – what’s next? So the plan is to start up around mid-July where I left off at Henry’s Fork ID. I will cross Montana and finish at Waterton Park, Canada in early September, around 850…
I dedicate my CDT hike to my dad who passed away last week at the age of 88. I have been reminiscing about his life and quite a few memories center on our outdoor expeditions over the years. My dad took my brother and I on our first backpacking trip into the Grand Canyon. We followed up with epic trips into the Superstition Mountains and Sycamore Canyon near Sedona AZ. My dad and I both laughed recently about the heavy…
Nearly 1,900 miles down and about 850 miles to go on the CDT. I will finish off next summer and hopefully have the company of my sons on some stretches. I know they were ahead of me and behind me, but I didn’t see many hikers this year. Good thing I don’t mind solitude although I was pretty chatty when I got to a trail town. I really enjoyed this leg on the CDT with the highlights being Wyoming’s Cirque…
Daily Miles: 27.5, Total Miles: 1,881.2 Overcast and showers this morning but at least warmer. Cleared up a bit as I headed out and enjoyed the stillness and reflections on Summit Lake. Due west to the WY/ID border then a few miles later crossed over the Yellowstone Park boundary. The Mack’s Inn alternative route is mostly forest service roads and made for a quick pace. I was three miles out from Mack’s Inn and got a text from my son…
Daily Miles: 21.6, Total Miles: 1,853.7 Quite a fog over frosty Shoshone Lake this morning. I watched a herd of elk run in and out of the mist next to the lake. A beautiful but kind of eerie scene. Had my own private show hiking through the Shoshone Geyser Basin with several geysers and boiling springs. I had hoped the wet, soggy meadows and creeks I had to wade across would be warm but no such luck. Also had a…
Daily Miles: 26.0, Total Miles: 1,832.1 Another cold one and unfortunately had to get an early start to make my next reserved campsite. I hiked up and around large Heart Lake, remembering that Mrs. Haze and I had hiked to this lake several years ago. I had a nice break at the Heart Lake Ranger Station – nobody was home. Headed out to the South Entrance Road and passed by my first thermal features, bubbling pools and steaming vents. I…
Daily Miles: 20.2, Total Miles: 1,806.1 Got really cold this morning, no doubt the coldest yet – I pulled on my buff and down jacket and zipped up my sleeping bag again. Water bottles almost frozen solid. I didn’t get away until 8am which is late for me. A few miles later I was able to rock hop across the headwaters of the Snake River. I entered Yellowstone National Park at the Fox Creek Patrol Station. All locked up, but…
Daily Miles: 26.6, Total Miles: 1,785.9 Much of today was spent hiking through old burns and some were recent enough there wasn’t a lot of regrowth except for fireweed. I managed to cross Soda Creek and North Fork Buffalo River without getting my feet wet. Followed the meandering North Fork through a wide valley for several miles before turning up Pacific Creek to Two Ocean Pass and Parting of the Waters where Two Ocean Creek splits into Pacific Creek flowing…
