Day 122: Roger's Pass to Bean Lake

Mileage: 33.3 miles (2295.9-2329.2)

I started at 8am with my roadwalk up to Rogers Pass. I got a ride with a forest ranger who was very nice and even apologetic about all the fires, almost as if he'd set them himself. He gave me Gatorade and we chatted the whole car ride.

After walking the five miles, it turned out I had perfect timing meeting Commando at the pass. We walked on the trail up and down the divide over Green Mountain and Lewis and Clark Pass and eventually to Red Mountain where we left the CDT on the East Fork Falls trail to hit the road. It was pretty smoky, so the views were obscured but it was sure as hell as better than the road. We avoided as much as the roadwalk as we could this way and actually saw some cool terrain. A lot of it we walked on black and loose volcanic rock, which was difficult but interesting.

Down the pass, big walls of granite emerged from what was only miles before metamorphic rock. It was really cool down the valley but quite windy and smoky. The fires were probably getting very fueled today. We hoped not though. We still had hope to end in Glacier so that was all we had left. All it took was one lightning strike and all that could be shattered.

At this point, I don't really care how I get there, I just want to make it to Canada. So close. Eventually we made it to the very sulphur smelling Bean Lake. Neither of us had water and had just passed a beautiful stream. And the water here was just plain nasty. Luckily, I'd already cooked my food earlier so I just ate my meal and headed to bed. 

Before we got in our tents we saw headlamps flashing our way from across the lake. Then we hear, "Commando!" "Lt Dan!" and of course it was the other guys who'd walked the road. We were too lazy to go that way so just told them we'd see em tomorrow.