West Yellowstone to Lima (8/28-9/1): 94.2 Miles
Leaving town with a few extra slices of pizza foiled up in my pack, we hiked in the hot afternoon sun up to a ridge where we planned to set up camp for the night. Ross spotted a bear on the way up (not a grizzly) and the gusty winds made us second guess whether to camp on the ridge or not. Once we arrived, the ridge views were too good to pass up. Luckily the winds died down, the sun set and the pizza tasted even better with the views. The evening’s cooler temperatures made for a cozy night tucked away in our sleeping bags.
Weaving in and out of the borderline of Montana and Idaho (hikers like to call it Montanaho), one moment we were high up looking over the layers of the land, then the next, we were down amongst the sage brush. Rolling hills, Hell Roaring Creek by towering rocks, ridge line walking and of course water sources surrounded by cows.
Bow season opened up for elk hunting, so we began to see a few hunters out - some on foot, some on four wheelers and even a hunter with some alpacas.
We hid amongst some pines on a nice, flat ground after a series of high temperature days. Our last night out during this section, and we had somehow had luck with no rain. Or so we thought. Just as we finished up dinner the sky turned dark, so we decided to set up our tent (instead of cowboy camp), juuuust incase. Just as we got sheltered in, winds picked up and hard rain came down for a quick 30 minutes. We almost made it without rain. Hopefully next section.
We hiked 16 miles into town the next day, waited near an underpass and got picked up by a local that we had called a few days prior. Apparently it’s illegal to hitchhike in Idaho. We grabbed lunch, resupplied at the local gas station and did our typical in town routine: laundry, shower and try to relax. Maybe an extra scrub or two on our dirty feet, as well.
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