CDT - Day 102 - Burn Scars
It's crazy to think I've been doing this for more than 100 days now. Some days are harder than others, and some are absolutely spectacular. Today was one of those days I probably could have skipped and been perfectly fine with it. The morning started with a beautiful sunrise over Lake of the Woods. It was cold, with frost covering the ground. We spent the first part of the day hiking through the forest before eventually making our way onto the Turquoise Line. The comments on FarOut made the alternate sound spectacular, and I'm sure it would have been under better conditions. Unfortunately, wildfire smoke obscured most of the distant mountains and made the views less impressive than they otherwise would have been. One highlight was watching dozens of pronghorns running across the open fields. I wish I could get some good photos of them, but they're just too fast. After finishing the Turquoise Line, we briefly rejoined the Red Line before switching to the Blue Line. The Blue Line follows an older CDT route, cuts a few miles off the hike, and puts us closer to Dubois. For several miles, we hiked through a miserable burn scar—nothing but rolling hills covered in dead, burned forest. Apparently, the Red Line would have been even worse, with even more miles of burn scars, so at least we avoided some of it. After 25 miles, we finally reached a healthy forest with good camping and water about a mile away. Best of all, there aren't even any dead trees looming over my tent tonight. Tomorrow we'll be in Dubois, and I can't wait to get some rest in town. Maybe I'll even find a hot tub. After almost 10 consecutive days of hiking, my body is definitely ready for a break.