CDT - Day 148 - Kevan Mountain
Today was another slow day of hiking. Greg is still recovering from whatever has been making him sick, possibly norovirus. He's in good spirits, though, and hopefully he'll be back to his normal hiking pace tomorrow.
Today we took part of an alternate called the Spotted Bear Cutoff. The southern half of the Spotted Bear route is apparently nothing but miles of blowdowns, and everyone who has attempted it has said to avoid it at all costs. So that's exactly what we did.
Instead, we followed the Red Line to the Kevan Mountain Trail and then cut across the mountain to connect with the northern section of the Spotted Bear route. It ended up being a really nice hike, and the views from the Kevan Mountain Trail were spectacular.
Even with the slower pace, we still managed about 21 miles. We set up camp next to Strawberry Creek, where I'm sure my currently dry tent will once again be covered in condensation by morning. At least this time it probably won't be covered in frost like it was last night.
The goal for the next few days is to hike as many miles as possible and make up some of our lost momentum. We're hoping to reach Glacier National Park in about three more days and then the Canadian border by September 30th.
Canada feels incredibly close now, and the closer I get, the more I find myself thinking about how different my life is going to be when this is over. I'm still not sure how I feel about that.
The CDT has been physically and mentally one of the most difficult things I've ever done. But today I realized something kind of funny:
I'd probably do it again.
I know that sounds crazy. These last few months have been crazy. But there's something about the CDT that makes me think it might pull me back out here again someday.