I awoke in antiquated room 216 of the Budget Inn Express in downtown Helena at 7am, falling asleep sometime after 4am. Three hours was not going to cut it. I decided to push it to 10am, giving an hour before check out.
| 🗓️ Date | August 12th |
| ⇢ Mileage | 11.8 |
| 📍 Trip Mileage | 2459.7 |
| ⛅️ Weather | Sunny 65°F with some stormy later day clouds and winds |
| 🏞️ Trail Conditions | Much graded dirt road walking with a few miles of trail |
After check out, I walked the streets like a homeless wanderer — overloaded backpack, tarnished clothing, and a USPS box filled with this and that in my arms. There was a farmers market downtown, and I strolled the venues — everything from cheap touristy garbage, to boutique handmade jewlry, to meat producers with chunks cut for dogs. Nothing quite caught my hunger or attention. But, the street did dish me out to the all-you-can-eat sushi spot, and I was game.
After two hand rolls, two nigiri, and four sushi rolls, I was stuffed on rice and fish slightly better in quality than grocery store sushi. I didn’t care. I won the game. I ate about $90 of sushi for the all-you-can-eat price of $30. They ushered me out with the bill even before I called quits.
I left full, and I doubt I’ll be eating much a dinner tonight. At the library, I charged my items, filled my water bottles, and used the restroom. It was 2:30pm, and I wanted to get out of town. I started walking to the post office to send home a couple exchanged items from my kit, but I got distracted by a milkshake at a drive-in burger place.
I ordered an Uber to get me to the post office and back to trail. I was hiking by 4:30pm — not great, but better than getting stuck in town. I made a little alternate to pick up where I left off from the USFS reroute. Taking Priest Pass Road, I hiked back to the CDT, cutting out pavement miles and some pointless up and down.
The trail cut through pastured hills littered with the occasional deep pocketed forests. It was pleasant walking. I made an intersection with Forest Service Road 571 where four ATVs came scooting by. I checked the Ley maps, and, sure enough, 571 provided an alternate to cut a few miles off and provide better water access. It was real windy on the CDT’s ridge, so I decided 571 was my route.
I walked the well graded and surfaced road for a few miles through elegant pasture lands. There were some great camping opportunities, and I pulled up early at 8:30pm after less than 12 miles today. The sunset was admirable.
Signing off,
Zeppelin / fReaK (ON a leash)
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