PNT Section 2 – Polebridge to Eureka

Day 5 – Sunset

Mile 0 to mile 7.6 on the Tuchuck alt (+ 8 miles of road walking on the hitch out of Polebridge

The climb was a brutal 3,000 ft of gain in three miles and began with a soaking bushwhack through head-high vegetation. But the end of the day was spent watching the sunset dance across stormclouds.

PNT Day 6 – No Way Out

Mile 7.6 to mile 1.2 on the Tuchuck alternate

I’ve been moving slowly all day, so when Bookworm mentions an alt that runs down valley instead of climbing a ridge, I’m all in.

The only problem is that the trail may not be there at all, erased by time, erosion, and fire. Or, the trail may be only a winter snowmobile track and thus only visible in the winter. We won’t know until we drop off the ridge. But what I do know is that it’s all downhill and ends in a dirt road walk instead of a half mile horrific  bushwhack.

Starman leads the way off the ridge at 4:30pm.

What follows is 3.5 hours of our own horrific bushwhack. The trail we are looking for never materializes and instead as we work our way down hill to a road we hope is there we run into dozens upon dozens of downed trees from both a fire and an avalanche. Progress is slow going and painful as my feet slide across loose rocks and I bang my shin more times than I can count. As we descend the trees and the undergrowth thicken, shading the ground into near darkness. At one point the vegetation is so overgrown that we resort to walking through a creek as the easiest means of passage.

At several points I am close to tears and I think longingly of the Centennial Trail and how I had been able to simply call my parents to pick us up when my blisters got too bad. But there is no out of this situation but through and so we continue painfully on. Pushing over and through trees which tear at my skin and clothes. I remind myself of the words inked on my skin “it’s a privilege to choose one’s method of suffering.” I choose to be out here doing these hard things because they fill me with a sense of pride and strength that I don’t find elsewhere in my life. And in this I find a way to fight down the tears and push forward until finally, finally we break out onto an old road, overgrown and difficult to navigate but mercifully easier than forging our way through the forest. The road also signifies progress and only half a mile to a real dirt road where we will be able to walk in a straight line and that won’t be filled with trees. Eventually we make it to the dirt road that will lead us into camp. Exhausted, bloodied, and ready for dinner.

Day 7 – Only Eight

Mile 1.2 on the Tuchuck alternate to mile 104.5

The PNT is often faint, usually overgrown, and almost always climbing. Which is exactly the situation I find myself in now. Each step forward, each slap or scratch of a plant makes my bloodied shins scream in protest. After a week of walking through overgrown trail and dense underbrush my legs have been reduced to a welt of scratches and mosquito bites. And this morning I am having to force myself through, over, and across any number of bushes and felled trees. The fatigue in my legs after yesterday’s ordeal is intense and I find myself counting my steps to 100 before allowing myself a short break in the shade. We’ve decided to scale our mileage back today to 8.7 miles and 2,700 feet of gain and save some mileage for the day we hit Eureka, MT and can look forward to some flat mileage for once. Still, the going is slow and more than once I think to myself that if I felt like this on a day hike I would just go home. But that’s not an option today, there is no car waiting for me or even a road I could successfully hitch from for miles in any direction. My best, and truly only option is to finish the remainder of the 8.7 miles with a climb to a lookout where we can spend the night and not even have to set up our tents. Glorious.

PNT Day 8 – Tired

Mile 104.5 to mile 125.2

Today was another hard one with 2,700 feet of elevation gain and 21 miles. But even though I’m feeling tired and struggling on the climbs I decided to opt with the others and push on for our first 20 of the trip so that we can be in town early tomorrow and really enjoy our first town stop of the trip and our first zero. Something that I have been needing.

PNT Day 9 – Town Miles

Mile 125.2 to mile 134.1

The road pitches down and I roll into motion on the mild grade. We’re only ten easy miles from town this morning and we’re on the trail early, a collective eager for the comfort and food that comes with a town day. At first the miles slide by, three, five, six, then slowing as civilization grows up around us and the walking becomes less pleasant. Forest roads giving way to paved to neighborhood to the narrow shoulder of highway 93 where we walk duck-like in a dirty, stinking line. Cars rush by while overhead the sun is high even this early in the morning and the scratches on my legs burn with the heat radiating back from the asphalt.

Today will be for doing chores; laundry, resupply shopping, cleaning, and getting ready for the next section. Tomorrow I plan on doing so little of anything it may not be worth writing about. Stay tuned.

PNT Day 10 – Eureka

Zero – no miles hiked

Every surface in our hotel room is covered; in drying clothes, in food, in towels, in myriad little items that come from the depths of three hikers backpacks. Mercifully, the chundering AC unit keeps the smell at bay. The blinds are drawn against the midday sun and I luxuriate in the cool while snacking on chilled grapes. Tomorrow looms large in both mileage and elevation gain and I hope that if I hold very still my body will heal enough for me to manage it.