Day 131- Yet Another Town Day

Thursday August 23, 2018

Flesher Pass(2709) to Rogers Pass(2722.3) 

13.3 Miles

Total Miles: 2436.8

Elevation: 5,628 ft 

Last night was nice and warm. I didn’t put my arms into my sleeping bag until almost four o’clock in the morning. That is a very rare event, usually I’m snuggled into my bag immediately. The warmer night made it much easier to get moving this morning. I did have to wait awhile for the sun to come up enough to see without a headlamp. We picked a great spot to camp in. We were really sheltered from the wind. I didn’t even realize how windy it was until I hiked away from camp. We started off with a pretty good climb and that helped to take the chill away. The problems started when we got to the top of the ridge. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the wind speed was over 25 mph. I felt like I was back in Colorado. I climbed up, only to go immediately back down. I really enjoyed the terrain, but the wind got old quickly. The sky was extremely hazy and any potential views were obscured. 

Just a tiny bit of haze

Trail meandering along the ridge

We made it through the morning pretty quickly. We got to the trailhead before noon. It only took us a few minutes to get a ride into town. We had to split up though. Z and I took the first ride. Piñata and Straws got a ride a few minutes later. We met up in town for lunch. My burger wasn’t the greatest, but the amount of toppings made up for the poor quality of the ground beef. It had sautéed onions, bacon, egg, sour cream, lettuce, and pepper jack cheese. After lunch I checked into my motel room. I originally hadn’t planned on staying overnight here, but I had to have a package sent to this town. The only way the motel would hold my package is if I was a registered guest. After the big mikes I’ve been doing lately I didn’t mind another night in town. Piñata, Straws, and Z decided to split the room with me. 

Huckleberry bushes starting to change color

Huckleberry + Thimbleberry= Humbleberries

I was just in town a few days ago, so taking a shower and doing laundry was not high on my priority list. I immediately went to get my resuppply taken care of. I had extra stuff leftover from my last resupply. I only had to buy 1.5 days of snacks and one dinner. That really helped my budget. This next stretch is another short one. It is only 58 miles to Augusa, MT. Hopefully that will be an in and out stop. After resupplying I took my turn in the shower. Then I got to relax for a little bit. Eventually I went in search of the laundromat. I volunteered to babysit our clothes during the wash cycle. This was by far the crappiest laundromat of the entire trail. It was part of s very rundown, crappy RV park. 

Laundromat 

Apparently there are people who put animal poop into the “dreyers”

I was glad when Straws came to babysit our clothes for the dreyer cycle. I went to grab dinner while she waited for the laundry to finish. I had a Philly cheesesteak with bacon. It was a delicious combination. The rest of the evening was spent hanging out in the room and relaxing. If all goes as planned we will be in and out of Augusta on Sunday. I’m down to less than 300 miles to the Canadian border! 

“Maturity: Be able to stick with a job until it is finished. Be able to bear an injustice without having to get even. Be able to carry money without spending it. Do your duty without being supervised.”

- Ann Landers