Day 126: To Blackfoot Nation

Mileage: 28 miles (2403.7-2431.7)

We woke up to a wonderful sunrise and Sanjay loudly packing his bag. We were a funny crew breaking camp in the morning. Stabby, a quick-witted guy in his mid-30's with facial hair that put the rest of us to shame grunted as he got ready for the day. His beard basically connected up to his hairline and down to his neck and chest, making the rest of us seem like adolescents trying to grow our first 'stashe. 

Meanwhile, Sanjay, from Southern California, but whose family is of Indian descent was fidgeting with his things trying to get an early start. He's also in his mid-thirties, shorter, and has a big bushy beard that connects with his shaved head.

It was just a few miles to Dupuyer, but when we got there we found the whole town was closed on Tuesdays. We walked around town looking for water and finally found a spigot at the bed & breakfast. Sitting in front of the closed general store, two ladies walked up and got our story. It turned out they were our key to town. They got us all water and then called the guy who owned the General Store and got him to open it for us. I bought two Totino's pizzas for $3 each and we had beers at 9am. I guess we had nothing better to do walking the road. By 10am we finally left, full on beer, pizza, and chips and ready for another day walking the road.

We walked on and on along the desolate highway, entering Blackfoot Nation around noon. The Blackfeet were essentially Plains Indians, but many of their sacred places were in the high mountains of what is now Glacier National Park. Of course, the Blackfeet people were given the barren plains, with little access to water, while the American government set aside the mountains, with their water and mineral-rich areas for settlers.

To pass the time I taught the guys how to play a game called 'Contact' which I'd learned in college leading backcountry trips for the Dartmouth Outing Club. It's a word game that's pretty entertaining and great for passing the time on long hauls. It's funny, it's the first time I've played games on the whole hike, but it really was a lot of fun. Taking a break along the road for some snacks we saw some long-distance bikers ride by and wondered where they were headed. Then, all of a sudden, we saw a figure heading over the hill southbound. Who could it be? As the dark, bearded figure got closer, I realized it was U-turn, the guy I'd hiked into Grand Lake with, near Rocky Mountain National Park.

I whooped and hollered and gave him a big hug. I couldn't believe our paths had crossed again - though I'd hoped they would, as I genuniely enjoyed U-Turn's company. We caught up a bit and he told us he'd flipped up to Glacier and would finish his hike in Yellowstone by October. We wished him well, hoped the weather would hold for him, and pushed on our separate ways.

As we walked in the hot, baking sun, some younger guys pulled over and asked if we wanted some beers, which we gladly took them up on. We talked with them for a bit before pressing on. Shortly thereafter, we saw some crystal clear water in a beaver pond and couldn't resist taking a dip. The water was refreshing, but the mud on the stream bottom was deep and stirred up easily as we walked. Our feet sunk-in to the squishy mud and we all got out quickly after we dunked.

We cranked out the rest of the afternoon, having lost Commando a few hours early. I pushed on ahead of the group, trying to reach the Two Medicine River where we'd agreed to camp. My feet ached, but I just wanted to be done walking. Rafiki was chasing me, but I was moving to fast for anyone to keep up. I wanted to walk alone. Sometimes I need that.

We setup camp under the bridge and Rafiki caught a few trout. I asked if he was going to keep them and realized he had no way to cook them. So, I grabbed one of his catch, cleaned it, and boiled it in my pot. We shared the trout and slept with a full belly, ready to reach East Glacier the next day.