The most effective laid plans.
For the previous a number of weeks my daughter Amy had been planning an formidable father-daughter journey for us. She had every week off, so we had been going to go to the John Day Fossil Beds and Crater Lake in Oregon, after which climb Mt. Shasta in northern California. Nonetheless, the worth of fuel and her reluctance to go away her canine TJ for every week brought on a change in plans. As an alternative she determined to do a number of totally different adventures within the Helena space -all dog-friendly and a few dad-friendly.
Let the staycation start.
I satisfied Amy that we begin with a two-day, one-night backpacking journey on the Continental Divide Path (CDT) between Lewis & Clark Go and the Dearborn River. Just a few years in the past, I did an out-and-back hike from L & C Go to Caribou Peak. It was an extended day (22 miles), however I used to be impressed with the realm, and needed to point out it to Amy. I assumed it could be enjoyable to stroll the subsequent part as effectively – the stretch between Caribou Peak and the Dearborn River. So, Sunday night we left my automotive the top of the path in Dearborn Canyon (70-mile drive from Helena) after which Monday morning, my son Keith gave us a experience to the Alice Creek Trailhead northwest of Lincoln (60-mile drive from Helena) to start our 28-mile stroll.
The Nice Divide.
The hike was harder than I bear in mind – carrying a 30 lb. pack takes a number of the enjoyable out of strolling, however the climate was good and the hike was all I hoped it could be. I like that the part of CDT from L & C Go to Caribou Peak stays proper on the Continental Divide just about all the way in which, offering unbelievable view in all instructions. About 10 miles into the hike, the CDT does drop under the precise continental divide – about the place we left the path to climb Caribou Peak. We began climbing at about 8:45 am and reached the summit of Caribou at 3:30 pm. (Photograph Tour)
Above the CDT.
After nearly an hour of good summit time, we adopted the divide down after which up and over one other peak, earlier than rejoining the CDT and following it to a pleasant meadow the place we camped Monday night time. We slept effectively after strolling 16.7 miles, together with 5,000 ft of elevation achieve.
What goes up . . .
Tuesday was nice too, however totally different from day #1. We walked 11.9 miles, principally downhill by way of forested areas, far under the precise divide. The spotlight was strolling the final 4-5 miles alongside the Dearborn River. It might have been good to cease for a swim at Devils Glen, a spectacular sequence of waterfalls, however the Dearborn was raging with spring runoff.
Age Issues.
After we acquired again to Helena at 4:30 pm Tuesday, I took three Ibuprofen with a liter of Pedialyte on the rocks for a chaser. In the meantime, Amy was already plotting her subsequent journey – one other two-day one-night journey with TJ on the CDT from Rogers Go to Stemple Go. Wednesday morning, we dropped her automotive at Stemple Go, then I took her and TJ to Rogers Go. I returned to Helena for a nap.
