Our "Pay it Forward" Account Balance
As we close in on one month on trail, we wanted to reflect on some of the amazing love and support we've received along the way. Here are just a few of the incredible moments of kindness and generosity we've experienced so far.
Part I: Magic!
On day six in the Bob, we headed toward the edge of the wilderness where a hunting ranch about 3 miles off trail offers package services for a fee. As we left the wilderness, we crossed a big sturdy bridge over the South Fork Sun River and headed toward a small campground. Lo and behold, Shaun — who we hadn't seen in over a week — came stolling down the hill calling out, “Trail magic!!” He told us to head toward an RV parked in the campsite closest to us.
Wandering into the campground, we found Tripod sitting under a canopy with Disco and Sparks. He called over inviting us to the party and as we walked up, Sprinkles handed us paper plates with hot blueberry pancakes smothered in butter and syrup. Heaven! We sat down in chairs for the first time in days and let ourselves be overwhelmed with delight.
Tripod is a triple crowner and a retired veteran who drives his RV around the country (a triple crowner is someone who has hiked the AT, PCT, and CDT). He'd come to Montana to see Sprinkles, a current CDT hiker temporarily held up by an infected blister (risks of the business). They gave us the lay of the land: feel free to camp anywhere around the site, charge phones from their power bank, leave trash over here, and oh, the neighbors are heading to town soon, so you can catch a ride to the ranch! Hikers know what hikers need. We were thrilled!
After picking up our package at the ranch and paying $10 for a shower, we walked the three miles back to the campsite where we ate hot dogs, hot off the grill. Trail magic is a part of what makes the thru-hiking community so special and part of what holds it together. Over the course of the day, more and more hikers showed up, ten more in total, some who we’d met before and some new faces, too. We sat in the shade and swapped stories with everyone, compared and traded food, discussed plans for the days ahead, and commiserated about blisters, pack chafe, sore feet, and failed attempts to keep our feet dry through the “Bog Marshall Wilderness” (as another hiker jokingly referred to it).
With so many hikers gathered in one place, we were astonished by the demographic shift from our previous hikes. Eleven years ago on the PCT, I could count the women I hiked with on one hand and the openly queer people I met on the other. Yet there we were: thirteen hikers (Sprinkles included), eight of whom were women and at least five of whom were openly queer women (me included). What a joy!
Through it all, Tripod and Sprinkles cooked, shuttled hikers to the ranch, and told everyone where to find what they needed. As new hikers arrived, the hikers already present would give them the lay of the land. Tents over there! Hiker box over here. Grab a soda from that cooler!
We all shared a spaghetti dinner at the end of the day. Cooking for 12 hungry hikers is no simple task! I handed Tripod a donation to support the next round of hiker meals, but it will go toward so much more than that. Creating spaces like this allows hikers to meet and gather, share important information, and build friendships along a trail known for being lonely.
Part II: Family
Not all trail magic is from the hiking community. Molly's aunt Margaret and uncle Andy live in Helena, Montana, which happens to be a trail town. It was not Margaret and Andy's first rodeo with hosting thruhikers, which was clear from the moment we got into their car, when they handed us an entire pizza to split on the ride home.
After picking us up from the Rogers Pass trailhead about an hour north of Helena, they brought us home to meet their 7-month-old puppy, Zoey. We showered, put on some clean loaner clothes, and slept in a real live bed for the first time in 21 days.
We woke up to coffee and breakfast, then put in a load of laundry and got to work. Zero days are days off from hiking, but they're not exactly days off from hiking logistics. Here are some of the other things we do on our zeroes:
Grocery shopping
Washing our pots and spoons
Repairing or replacing broken gear
Stretching and body maintenance
Discarding trash
Paying our credit cards
Charging electronics
Writing this blog
Buying fuel
Replacing used first aid supplies
Cleaning gear
Margaret drove us all over Helena, picking up supplies and shipping gear home that we no longer need. We normally have to walk everywhere for these chores and the mileage adds up, so it's truly a luxury for us to have everything at our fingertips.
Margaret exceeded all our town-food dreams with her incredible home-cooked meals. We are so, so grateful for all of the delicious meals! We had salads with smoked salmon, chicken tikka masala, tofu stir fry, and pancakes loaded up with butter, syrup, whipped cream and fresh raspberries, straight from the patch out back. We'll be dreaming of these for hundreds of miles to come.
It was also a joy for me to get to spend a little time with Margaret and Andy, who have been so kind to open up their house and fit us into their schedules. We ended up heading back out to hike for a few days and coming back to stay again when we hit MacDonald Pass, closer to Helena. They tolerated a whole new round of all those same chores and we even got to celebrate my cousin Zander’s birthday with the family. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!! ❤️
Part III: The Llama Alt
Water is heavy — 2.2lbs per liter — and we normally carry about 1 liter per 5 miles, plus extra for an overnight. Just north of MacDonald Pass, we started hearing from hikers in front of us that the water sources on the official trail were drying up fast. We were hiking with two other couples and one pair heard through the (surprisingly active) hiker grapevine that we could take an alternate route that would shorten a long water carry and also take us to a special place: the Llama Farm!
Intrigued.
After some group discussions, we all decided to go for it, hiking six miles off the main trail down a dirt road toward... Somewhere? We didn't know what we were looking for, exactly.
The day was hot and sunny, and all of us were running a little low on water when someone saw it. There! A giant symbol of a bicyclist painted on the roof of a barn.
As we got closer to the barn someone called out from the porch of the house: "You're in the right place!" We were warmly greeted by a couple of previous-year thru hikers and their adorable hound dog. There was a mini fridge on the porch stocked with sodas, beer, and chocolate milk, as well as homemade sandwiches. We sat and chatted with the folks already there including a cyclist who rode up just as we arrived.
The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route is like a thru hike, but on a bike. The GDMBR riders follow a similar path to the CDT and one that frequently parallels ours, but on slightly more rideable terrain (and terrain outside the wilderness areas where wheeled transport isn't allowed). The Llama Farm started out as a hostel/oasis for GDMBR riders, but over time they've begun to welcome CDT hikers, as well.
We met one of the owners, John, who told us the rules of the place, gave us the lay of the land, and stressed that they don't accept donations. “Whatever value, joy, or love you get from this place, we just want you to pay it forward.”
We did get quite some joy from this place and certainly felt the love. We took cold, refreshing showers in a small converted silo and we even got a tiny cabin with bunk beds: Bleu Inn. We played Bananagrams with our friends in the lawn.
The next day, we hiked out with 5 liters of water to cover the rest of the 27 miles dry stretch. We felt so much gratitude for our community on and off of the trail. These three stories can't begin to cover all the generosity, kindness, and love we've received so far. Thank you again to all of you who have been following us and supporting us along the way!
