2023 CDT - Day 3 - Moving or what?

A spectacularly beautiful morning!

Wildflowers in bloom. Birch Creek BLM.

Last night I decided I was getting a bit…ripe? I decided to get cleaned up. I took a basin and got in the creek. The new trailer doesn’t carry anywhere near the amount of water the old trailer did so I have to learn to improvise a bit. The evening was warm and the creek was there so I did what a real camper, or hiker, would do. It was chilly but felt great. Dang! I should have tried to retrieve my fly from the branch across the creek. Oh well.

Beau woke me this morning with his tail banging against the fuse and circuit box until it dropped open and scared him. We got right up and went out for morning business and enjoyed the lovely early light. Coffee, breakfast, a bit of trailer cleaning, and a thorough dog brushing. Enough hair came off him to make another whole dog! After a bit more organizing we were off for another good long walk. While we were up the road a bit I got enough of a cell signal to get a couple of texts in and out and a good Spot track from Runningbird. She was on the move and making great progress - certainly enough to be encouraged and to calm my concern. Beau and I continued our walk along the dirt road along the creek and found a great spot where he could get in and out of the water without getting all muddy. As usual, he found a comfortable hole and just sat down in it. He can be so dang cute sometimes. Certainly entertaining.

Beau enjoying Birch Creek.

I had decided I would move to Leadore today so I could have better cell service instead of fighting for it all the time. Plus, I would be closer to the next resupply when the time came. There’s nothing here for me but a beautiful view, the gentle gurgling of the stream, tranquility, and no fish and no cell service.

It was near two in the afternoon when I had the trailer hooked up and as I pulled away from the creek I had a cell signal again so checked to see if there was anything new. Well, lots was new. About 1230 a text was sent by Running Bird asking if I could please meet her at Bannack Pass? Well there is a Bannack Pass, not far from where she was this morning, but that pass should certainly not be confused with BannOck Pass, the place I had visited the day before and the planned location of our next resupply. I sent off a text telling her I was just pulling out. Google maps was my guide and estimated my ETA about 2 hours. Well Oh Foolish me. I had imagined a nice, wide, hard-packed gravel road similar to yesterdays exploration. I made my way to "Medicine Lodge Rd" in fairly good time and it was paved, most of the way. I still could not figure why the map app was giving me such a long time to go the fairly short distance left to go. First there was the frequent slow down to navigate through the cows who thought they owned the road. But did Google know about the cows? Then pavement went to packed dirt and acres and acres of lovely wild flowers. Then the road began to climb and went to a simple double-track - and the truck went to four-wheel drive. Then came the thick mud and flooded spots. I believe it was really just an access road for the power lines. This might be a good place to remind you I still had my brand new trailer in tow. Looking out the side view mirrors I watched the sides of the trailer as it tried so hard to follow me but was often sliding on the mud in a different direction than I was going. Some places I had to venture up onto the unknown meadow to avoid deep puddles.

Bannack Pass Rd. And this was one of the better parts.

Finally arriving at Bannack Pass, I was able to turn the rig around at the CDT crossing and get out for a look. Ugh! There was thick mud everywhere on the truck and trailer. It was about 3:45 and no sign of Runningbird and no cell service. Beau and I headed up the trail in the direction she would be coming from. Several times I had to pick up Beau and his 80 pounds of bulk to cross over the cattle gates. After about a mile I started to notice the only other set of shoe prints. Short, wide toe box. Yep, size 7 Altras. I had missed her. She had already come by here. Then, the crack of thunder and lightening. I was standing on the top of a hillside, no trees, nothing, just wild flowers and a dark cloud of heavy rain in the near distance. I haven't run for a long time but Beau and I were running back down the hill. Slippery mud and Beau to heft back over the cattle guards. More lightening and thunder and we reached the truck just before the rain came. Now my next worry was getting back down the hill before the rain made the already horrible road any worse.

The transit back down went much more smoothly and as we reached the pavement even the cows were running for cover. As we arrived back down towards the main highway and I was beginning to feel sorry for myself and the recent ordeal, I shifted my thoughts back to Peggy and I could only imagine what she must have been going through the last couple of days. It was a good reality check. I noticed I again had cell service and looked at the Spot tracker. I calculated I had missed her by about 30 minutes. Could I have completely misinterpreted her message? Bannack Pass vs. Bannock Pass? I certainly would not have expected her to stay in that mud hole and wait when she didn't know if I had even received her message.

Medicine Lodge Road near Dubois, ID.

At the highway I turned back east six miles to the nearest gas station in Dubois, ID. When I got out of the truck I stepped on to my running board and sunk my shoe into three inches of muddy muck that had hitched along. I tried not to look at the mess too much and figured I would just blend in fine with the rest of Idaho and Montana. I drove back past Birch Creek and on to the Leadore City Park. It was a simple set up and sites were on grass. It appeared they were doing some improvements (adding more spots that had water and power) but it seemed to be a work in progress. I found a faucet and got most of the mud off my running boards and the trailer step and pulled into a fairly level spot. It was about eight at night now and I was tired and confused. Then. I opened the trailer door. Oh S--T! While the cupboard doors stayed closed, everything else was a mess and the microwave door had come opened and the carousel dish had come out, hit the counter, and shattered glass everywhere. Okay, in the big scheme of things, not a big deal. One thing at a time. First, get Beau out of the truck for a potty break. What a trooper he has been. Then I got to the mess and then a late easy salad dinner.

I checked the Spot once again (now that I have 4 bars without even trying, and Runningbird had sent her "Checking-in, I'm okay" message. Relief. Then a cup of Tension Tamer tea. Calm. So, Beau and I are now settled in our new location, Runningbird is "okay", and I'm in a nice, warm, dry, comfortable bed with my book. This day is done.