CDT – Day 130 – Many Glacier CG to Waterton River CG

Day’s of Snow: 9 – Day’s of Rain: 43 – Days of Hail: 19

9 am to 8:41 pm

# of Zero days: 13

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 – SPOTTED

Velociraptor

Mountain Lion

Beaver – SPOTTED

Unicorn

Wolf

Buffalo

Totals

1) 618 Pronghorn*

2) 451 Elk*7

3) 416 Chipmunks *5

4) 203 Deer*2

5) 188 Squirrels *9

6) 156 Marmot*4

7) 120 Lizards*6

8) 116 Wild Horses

9) 78 Ground Squirrels*10

10) 72 Pika

11) 57 Cotton Tail Rabbits *8

12) 30 Prairie Dogs

13) 22 Horny Toads

14) 18 Jack Rabbit*3

15) 15 Moose

16) 13 Big Horn Sheep

17) 10 Snakes

18) 7 Black Bears

19) 5 Coyotes

20)  5 Moles

21) 4 Porcupine

22) 3 Toads

23)  2 Mouse

24) 2 Fox

25) 2 Rattle Snakes

26) 1 Beaver

27) 1 Badger

28) 1 Skunk

29) 1 Weasel -Long Tail

*259 from car, *2 – 49 from car – 3 in town, *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 & 1- off trail , *10 – 6 off trail

I forgot to reset my alarm so neither Lott or I got up on time. It was 6:33 am when I got up. I packed in a flash and we were hiking by 7. Lott and I split, going our separate was just north of the pizza place. We shook hands and raced to our respected terminuses.

I flew up Swiftcurrent Pass. Even with a 2000′ climb in still managed to do 6.8 miles in 2 hours. I passed a couple day hiking and I told them I had an engine in my pack when the commented on how fast I was going.

At the base of the climb I saw my first Big Horn Sheep. They were all big rams. They were so content to just graze and could careless I was standing 25′ away.

Just down from the pass I passed by the Granite Chalet. It was like those you’d see in Europe. I was tempted to stop in but the pull of the border had its claws in me. I headed straight for the Highline Trail. The trail did not have the exposed cliffs and exposure I expected. It was a pleasant hike. The best part was it was mostly out of the wind.

I saw no Grizzly bears today. I was very sad as I don’t think I’ll see them tomorrow along the lake.

When I got to Goat Haunt I found out the tent spots I picked were concrete pads. Without a free standing tent I was screwed. I went back to the ranger housing and found Timm who I had spoke with when I arrived. He opened the ranger station and made the change to Waterton River. CG which was just half a mile away.

At camp I meet two sets of guys. One younger and one older. We all chatted it up as we cooked our dinners. The older gentleman had talked to my parents that morning. This was a cause for confusion for me but I figured it out by the next morning.

Back to Day 129, Forward to Day 131

Scatman