Day 25: “No, they don’t want a ride, they’re walking like the pioneers.”

July 9th, 2024

Mile Marker: Anaconda Alternate Still

Miles Hiked: 24

We woke up this morning, grabbed a continental breakfast, and started packing our bags.

Journey checked the tracking to see where his shoes were and they were close in Butte, Montana so we knew we would be heading out today.

Having a couple zeros is nice but it weirdly makes me feel out of the swing of things.

Journey got his shoes right around 10 and we headed out and dropped off some goodies for a hiker box at the hostel in town. We chatted with Whatever for a bit and are hoping we will see him further down the trail in a couple days.

The trail today had us back on pavement and gravel for the entire hike. It felt nice to be in new shoes with more cushion.

We walked along the back gravel roads and could feel the heat immediately, it was a drastic change from a few days ago.

We kept the pace steady around 3.5 miles per hour the whole day knowing that we needed to cover close to 25 to get to our destination.

We took a short lunch break at a local park and then got back to it. Journey found a nice orange flag on the side of the highway to attach to his pack so that people could see us clearly.

While hiking along the highway a woman slowed down and asked us if we wanted a popsicle, I immediately said “Yes!” It was the perfect trail magic on a hot exposed part of the day.

She said her name was Robin and lived just a little further up. She was quick to open a box as it seemed they had just come from the grocery store and a little girl inside asked her if she would give us a ride and she responds “No they don’t want a ride, they’re walking like the pioneers.” It made me have a big smile and I thought about that quote for a while afterwards.

We also came across a spring where there was a line of cars all filling up jugs of water. Journey got in on the action and cupped water with his hands to drink.