PNT Section 4 – Yaak to Bonners Ferry

PNT Day 14 – Hypnotic

Mile 185.9 to mile 200.5

From Yaak, MT the road climbs 2,700ft in a series of long curves and meandering switchbacks. Approaching the climb in one consistent grade, to allow for vehicle use, the road is a sweet treat in the form of an easy climb on a wide, smooth road.

As my body walks this manicured dirt my mind begins to drift and then to fade entirely into the rhythm of walking; the crunch of the gravel under my shoe, my breathing, I am tied to this climb through my effort. Around me the world is hemmed in by marching lines of trees growing thickly in every direction but for the direction of the road. Above, white puffballs float lazily in the powder blue sky, providing much appreciated shade as the 13 mile climb stretches into the afternoon heat. All day Bookworm, Starman, and I leapfrog between water sources and snack breaks, but most often we walk alone, tackling the climb in our own way.

Evening finds us camped together on a rock shelf overlooking the valley. As the sun sets the moon rises to greet the night in a clear infinite blue sky.

PNT Day 15 – It Just Is

Mile 200.5 to mile 213.7

My legs ache as the climb steepens and I put on an audiobook to help pass the time. Today I feel neither strong nor particularly weak, not fast enough for my liking but not terribly slow either. The forest around me is dark with a sparse understory and I find I do not take many photos as I climb through the afternoon. And in this way the day passes, an unremarkable chapter in the reality of what it is to attempt a thru hike.

PNT Day 16 – Huckle Pluck

Mile 213.7 to mile 232.7

The huckleberries manifest from one switchback to the next and it is Bookworm who discovered them first. Their deep purple globules hang heavy and perfect in the syrupy afternoon sun catching our eye and pulling us to a halt. We stop. Conversation stops. Snacking comensis amid exclamations of pleasure as the delicate flesh of the berries gives way to a rush of flavor. I snack for several minutes until, dragged as though by leash I continue down the trail only to be waylaid almost immediately by a particularly tasty looking bush.

Behind me I can hear Bookworm’s laughter at my inability to snag huckleberries and walk at the same time and attempts to school me in their method: the claw. By which they mimic the delicate mouth of a bear, arching their fingers to skim the branches of the bush and dropping the berries into their palm. I attempt and quickly realize I lack their dexterity and so my pace slows as I snack my way down the descent with Starman.

PNT Day 17 – Burger Power

Mile 232.7 to mile 249.1

We wake and are on the trail early to tackle the climb out of Fiest Creek; nearly 4,000 feet of elevation gain in six waterless miles. Today we are heading into Bonners Ferry for a zero day and I for one cannot wait. The only thing in our way is a literal mountain. Despite the fatigue in my legs from yesterday, today I actually feel pretty good, a miracle of calories in the form of a hefty cheeseburger for dinner last night. I’m getting to the point in the trail where I go to bed and wake up hungry no matter how much food I eat. The others mention that they feel the same. Hiker hunger has arrived.

PNT Day 18 – Average

Zero in Bonners Ferry, no hiking

The bed I wake in is luxurious; wide and soft and not even the slightest bit crinkly when I roll over and open my eyes to the day. Morning light slices across the ceiling and the AC unit rumbles pleasantly along the wall keeping the room to a cool 65 for our thru hiker temperaments. Even though today is a town day—colloquially called a zero for zero miles hiked—I’m still awake just after 6am. Today will be filled with the yadda yadda yadda of town chores; laundry, cleaning, and buying our resupply for the next section. But it’s early still and I revel in the moments before the day starts, before my hiking companions rise, before the rush and tumble of things. For now I am oblivious to my tight joints and sore tendons and I cling to this soft, laundered liminal space. A space where I’m not a thru hiker just yet, only an average person on an average vacation that has nothing to do with hiking all day and sleeping in the dirt.