4- Continental Divide Trail: Helena - Butte

Thru-HikesAll HikesContinental Divide Trail

Aug 3

INTRO

The Continental Divide Trail is a National Scenic Trail spanning approximately 3,100 miles from Mexico to Canada (or vice versa) through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, following the geological continental divide.

NOTE
I am hiking the Continental Divide Trail southbound from Canada to Mexico. This trail will complete my Triple Crown of hiking, which includes both the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail.

Unlike the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide Trail is somewhat of a choose your own adventure. Alternatives routes, and A variety of options allows this trail to be more fluid. I will do my best to explain the routes that I take in the detailed section.

Day 23 - 29 took me from Helena, Montana - Butte, Montana.

OVERVIEW

TOTAL DAYS

5

FULL HIKING DAYS

2

zeroes

1

neroes

2

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN

7822 ft

TOTAL ELEVATION LOSS

6133 ft

MILES COVERED

54.3 miles

Alpacas at the Llama Ranch

CDT signage

Rainbow at Stemple Pass

- Connecting with other hikers and cyclists at the Llama Ranch! also just the Llama Ranch in general.
- Slowly but surely getting fitter.

- Heatwave + dry water sources lead to alternates rather than the actual CDT.
- Roadwalks rather than trail to more easily access water.

In Depth

- SLEEP: Camp at Mile 317.9
- MILES: 14.9
- ELEVATION GAIN: 1860 ft
- ELEVATION LOSS: 85 ft
- WEATHER: Sun, Hot, Drizzle
- OVERVIEW: Sunsets and double rainbows
After a good nights sleep in a bed after several weeks, I headed out for a big breakfast. As I am gluten free, breakfast is the easiest meal to go out for so I got as often as I can when I am in town.
Planning to have a working meal, I ran into the three ladies from the few days prior: DT, Ferrari, and Tumbleweed. I joined them and we connected about other trails we hiked and our love of seeing women in the outdoors space.
I reluctantly packed my bag, left my hotel, and went to resupply with George and Foggy. This was a much shorter section to Helena so it wasn’t too bad weight wise. Because we didn’t have too many miles for the day and it was painfully hot, we went back to the Wilderness Bar and spent time. I hydrated, organized my pack, and had an obscene amount of tater tots. There were some regulars there that started talking politics so that was my cue to leave.
Instead of heading back to Roger’s Pass to be greeted with a long dry stretch, I chose to hike from town along Stemple Pass Road. This would reconnect with the redline CDT in 15 miles at Stemple Pass Trailhead.
It was a hot day that simultaneously had a threat of thunderstorms at any moment. It was somewhat of a boring roadwalk but it had water frequently throughout. And in this heat wave, it was necessary.
Eventually just before the pass, a moose ran out of the woods and crossed the road in a full sprint. I was concerned at what it was running from (hello, bear??) but I believe it was just George and I that scared it.
Upon reaching Stemple Pass, I looked around for “no camping” signs and found none so there we set up. It turned out to be a beautiful spot with an insane sunset and double rainbow. Though it started to drizzle a bit, it was a memorable evening.
- SLEEP: Llama Ranch 🦙
- MILES: 11.1
- ELEVATION GAIN: 722 ft
- ELEVATION LOSS: 2398 ft
- WEATHER: Sunsets, Hot, Drizzle
- OVERVIEW: What a magical place.
After such a beautiful and late sunset the night before, I was in no mood to get going quickly this morning. The goal for the day was a Llama Ranch that catered to cyclists and hikers. This meant it was only about an 11 mile roadwalk there so I didn’t leave camp until nearly 10:00am - unheard of! This was after I discovered that some mice had gotten into my food, ugh.
The roadwalk was fine, had good access to water at least. Felt like I was arriving at the Llama Ranch in a flash and was so pleasantly surprised upon arrival.
John and Barbara have opened up their idyllic garden to us. There are cold beverages and sometimes snacks upon arrival. There are also little tiny houses that you can reserve as well as ample tenting space available. There is a solar shower house available to you as well. The porch is heaven to sit on while your devices charge and you connect with other endurance athletes.
The evening was a spent making dinner and memories on the porch with people from all walks/cycles of life.
- SLEEP: Camp at Mile 351.5
- MILES: 19.4
- ELEVATION GAIN: 3339 ft
- ELEVATION LOSS: 1962 ft
- WEATHER: Sun, Hot, Bugs
- OVERVIEW: The mosquitoes are relentless!
Waking up at the Llama Ranch was a real treat. I slept in a bit because there was not too much of a rush based on mileage for the day. I got to participate in feeding the alpacas which I appreciated seeing them so up close!
I begrudgingly left the Llama Ranch and had several miles of road walking ahead of me to get back towards the trail. Thankfully there was water along these roads so I never went too long without. The area was all farms and we ended up walking on nearly private roads with a large cow herd looming. George and I began to listen to a History podcast this day and soon it would become an addiction.
Soon the three of us popped into the town of Maryville where we were greeted warmly. In fact, at the museum, the proprietor gave us cold beverages and snacks and told us to hang out for however long. It was a blisteringly hot day so we took a nearly 3 hour lunch break at peak heat.
We all wiggled our way back to the trail, up up up a steep incline. Felt good to be rejoining the “redline” of the official trail but knowing that we did alternates due to water shortages gave us solace.
Eventually we ran into DT, Ferrari, and Tumbleweed at the last good water source and had dinner with them! It was a piped spring into a bathtub but had crystal clear, fresh, cold water. DT was soon getting off the trail so it was nice to connect with her before she left. We ended up all staying at the same hotel so dreams of karaoke came into view.
The three ladies moved on and we posted up right near the trail junction again. It would be a short way into town the next day!
- SLEEP: Hotel in Helena, Montana
- MILES: 8.9
- ELEVATION GAIN: 1901 ft
- ELEVATION LOSS: 1688 ft
- WEATHER: Hot
- OVERVIEW: Thankful for a hotel!
I awoke with a smile on my face knowing that it was a town day. Though this had been a short section with small mileage days, I was still fatigued from the Bob Marshall Wilderness. I got going relatively early and counted down the miles.
There were some decent climbs over these short miles but soon enough I reached the top of the main climb. I met a lovely woman Megan and her two perfectly behaved German Shepard dogs. We chatted about local trails and she had an upcoming trip to the Bob so I was able to give her intel!
After a quick break with George, the rest of the day was a series of switchbacks down to the road. By the time I had gotten down there, George was chatting with Megan, who had offered to give us a ride into town! As this was a 20-25 minute drive, this really saved us from the Lincoln hitching experience.
Once in town, I sat at an outdoor Mexican restaurant and ate until I could not anymore. It was not yet hotel check in time, so there was not much else to do other than to relax. Foggy and George joined me at Mexican even though it was extremely hot. George also finally got a replacement phone from the original incident on the day 3 storm.
Finally it was time for hotel check in, where I promptly exploded into the room. I like to get things charging, lay out my sleeping items to dry out from any lingering condensation, get my laundry ready to go, and of course swiftly jump in the shower.
After a shower and settling in, I didn’t leave the remainder of the night. Myself, George, Foggy, DT, Ferrari, and Tumbleweed had chatted about possibly doing karaoke - but we all just slept and relaxed at the same hotel. A peaceful evening was had.
- SLEEP: Hotel in Helena, Montana
- MILES: 0
- ELEVATION GAIN: 0
- ELEVATION LOSS: 0
- WEATHER: Hot
- OVERVIEW: A heavenly zero day
Finally, a nice zero! I know that I had a zero day on 4th of July in East Glacier, but that was still a hostel. There is something different about having a full day in a hotel room by myself to allow for proper lounging (and ample showers).
After a surprisingly good hotel breakfast, I ran a few errands; Sierra, Costco, and Walmart to resupply for the upcoming stretch. I spent most of the day horizontal watching movies, laundry, chatting with friends and family, and catching up on writing. It was a lovely day!