CDT - Day 118 - Trail Side Camp M2656 to Base of Climb M2678.3

8/20/15 Day 118 – Trail Side Camp M2656 to Base of Climb M2678.3, 6137′

Tent – Nights Spent Alone: 15

22.3, 2397.3 Trip Miles

Day’s of Snow: 9 – Day’s of Rain: 42 – Days of Hail: 19

6:00am to 8:14 pm

# of Zero days: 12

Gila Crossings Final Total: 221

Tick Count: 4 (4 more crawling on me)

Wanted List

Mountain Goat

Grizzly Bear

Sasquatch

Black Bear – SPOTTED

Bighorn Sheep

Velociraptor

Mountain Lion

Beaver – SPOTTED

Unicorn

Wolf

Buffalo

Critter Count

9 Chipmunks

3 Squirrels

2 Deer

1 Bear

Totals

1) 618 Pronghorn*

2) 448 Elk*7

3) 341 Chipmunks *5

4) 190 Deer*2

5) 154 Marmot*4

6) 145 Squirrels *9

7) 120 Lizards*6

8) 116 Wild Horses

9) 76 Ground Squirrels*10

10) 69 Pika

11) 56 Cotton Tail Rabbits *8

12) 30 Prairie Dogs

13) 22 Horny Toads

14) 18 Jack Rabbit*3

15) 14 Moose

16) 9 Snakes

17) 5 Black Bears

18) 5 Coyotes

19) 5 Moles

20) 4 Porcupine

21) 3 Toads

22) 2 Mouse

23) 2 Fox

24) 2 Rattle Snakes

25) 1 Beaver

26) 1 Badger

27) 1 Skunk

28) 1 Weasel -Long Tail

*259 from car, *2 – 48 from car, *3 – 1 from car, *4 – 2 from car, *5 – 2 off trail, *6 – 1 off trail, *7 – 9 from car, *8 – 3 off trail *9 – 1 from car, *10 – 6 off trail

Yet another dewless night. I slept well but it was quite warm despite the heavy winds. The whole day was super windy. Not a good thing if we want these fires to be out before we get to Glacier.

Today was much smokier than most. After lunch I started to wear my bandana in front of my face. It helped a lot. I can’t imagine all this smoke is good for me.

I can’t say much of the views as we don’t get many. Just hazy views of the closest peaks/hills. The sunrises and sunsets have been spectacular though. Unfortunately with all the smoke in the air photos don’t come out that well.

After lunch I spotted a black spot 50′ to my 1 o’clock. It was bear number 5! I was down wind so he didn’t have a clue I was there. He/she was most likely a 2 year old and in its first year away from mom. I’m judging this based on the size of the bear, he/she wasn’t very big. Lott caught up and got a look as well before he/she got a whiff of us and spotted me. At this the bear took off running.

Seeing a bear always gets me excited. They are amazing creatures and it’s even better to see them interacting within their own world.

The rest of the day was wind, smoke, rocks and very hard dirt roads. Days like today really beat up my feet. When I stop, it hurts extra when I start again. It takes five minutes or so to “warm” them back up.

Lastly I’ll share TMI (too much information). My gas is so bad lately. I joke it’s because my body is eating itself. The later is true, my body is wasting away. I can’t wait to go home and just sleep and eat.

Scatman

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Get out there!