[Day 110] Into the Bob

I woke up around 5am to dogs barking not far from my stealth camp. It was barely light out. I was not looking to cause any issues with the American Legion of Augusta who runs the fairgrounds. I pulled a scummy move of camping on the property without any prior permission, so I packed up camp and slipped out through the front entrance early. I am doubtful anyone would have been upset about a hiker camping in an empty public grounds a quarter mile walk away from the 300-person Montana township.

I went to the motel in town for a couple hours to chow a big breakfast. Then, I finished up my resupply and mailed off a couple items. Lunch was due, so I got a burger at the Buckhorn Bar. I bummed out and charged my stuff, waiting on a 2:30pm shuttle to the trailhead. Before the ride up, I chugged a quart and a half of chocolate milk followed by a 20-ounce Dr. Pepper. That’s the ultimate combination of sickness — trust me, you will not be hungry for hours after ingestion and reaction of these two components.

I’ll try my best not to rush this finish. From Benchmark Trailhead to the border, the on-trail distance is less than 250 miles, close to 200 miles. Unconsciously, I inevitably cross off the miles, but I will not pay attention or acknowledge the total that remains.

Dan, a local do-it-all working man, has been providing shuttles to and from Augusta this season. I could tell he was a bit worn out by all the driving — some days he was going 500 miles to and from Benchmark Trailhead to support the southbound hikers. The road between Benchmark and Augusta is a 30mph maximum, 30 mile dirt road — about an hour and fifteen minute drive. Dan was supposed to pick me up yesterday, but the USFS might have intentionally abducted me and taken me into town to spite Dan. Supposedly, USFS wants to require a $1,500 permit for Dan to shuttle hikers, but it’s a ridiculous proposition. Augusta is a small town that sees a good share of economic input from hikers. Dan estimates $20,000 to $30,000 of input comes into Augusta from the hiker season, and I would guess his calculations are conservative. I threw him $60 for his troubles yesterday since I cancelled on him and the ride today. And, I felt a bit cheap at this rate. The drive is quite a commitment.

Dan told me about his adventuring, the biker “club” he associates with (sounded more like a gang — supposedly the second biggest in the country to Hells Angels and they are quite aggressive with their rivals), and, of course, grizzly bear encounters (I’m sick of everyone’s grizzly stories). After the rugged, fishtailing ride, Dan gave my a brotherly hug (this dude cares a lot about hikers) and he dropped me where I left off. I got to business.

It was flat and dusty walking through burn area, but the trail was excellent track and eventually became more solid dirt when I exited the burn. I made a quick 16 miles considering a 4pm start, calling camp before 8:30pm. I didn’t have much a dinner — a couple cookies. I hung my food and took to my quiet, serene campsite in Grizzly Gulch along the West Fork of the South Fork of the Sun River. That’s a mouthful.

Signing off,

Zeppelin / fReaK (ON a leash)