Bourbon and I got an early start today, around 6:30. He goes really fast, and I never saw him again today. The trail started out kind of shitty. It follows ATV roads which were being used by all the elk bow hunters. The hunters are nice and they usually stop to talk a bit, but the all too common rumble of their pickups, ATVs, dune buggies, motor homes and generators gets a bit old. It’s funny. I used to see elk all the time. Now that it’s hunting season, nothing. 😁
The trail followed Trail Creek where it crosses the North Fork Elk River. Guthooks was full of warnings that the bridge here was washed out and someone also mentioned that the trail was unmaintained south of here. To avoid all this you had to go through some confusing mess that I wasn’t in the mood to figure out so I decided to just follow the CDT. Big mistake. I arrived at the washed out bridge and the river was roaring past. The sides were steep and there was no obvious way to cross. After looking at it for a long time I figured out a sequence of rocks and slowly made my way across. I was so proud – I didn’t even get wet!
After spending a half hour on this puzzle, I took off with a mission to make up my lost time. The trail immediately started to get worse. Soon it was a nightmare of overgrown pine saplings, fallen logs, and steep uneven slopes. I wasn’t about to go back, so I just plowed my way through for a good half mile before rejoined the maintained section. Sheesh!
This afternoon the thunderstorms built up, and around 5:00 it started raining. I happened to be close to the Seedhouse Campground so I booked it there as fast as I could. The campground was empty and there was an awesome privy with a sheltered alcove. I spent my time productively using the bathroom and later making and eating my dinner in the protected entryway.
After crossing the Elk River bridge the trail leaves the gravel road and climbs the ridge through huge thickets of Thimbleberries. This is an awesome trail, so of course the CDT soon left it and followed a big dirt road along South Fork Elk River filled with camping hunters. I had planned to get water at North Three Island Creek where it crossed the road because Guthooks said there was great camping there. But when I arrived there was a pickup and motor home there complete with a generator bellowing away. I got my water and continued on only to find a never ending sequence of camping hunters.
Eventually the road ended at the North Lake access point where there must have been 20 different campers. No way I’m camping here, so I continued on past the blockade keeping motor vehicles out. “Good!” I thought, I can finally find a spot away from all these people. But no. The trail immediately started switchbacking up a very steep mountain with no flat spots. I had to go up a couple of miles before the trail gained a ridge with relatively flat terrain. But now I had to find a spot 100 feet from the trail and streams to comply with local laws. This was tough. The Zirkel wilderness is thick with trees and shrubs, but I finally found a spot in some tall grass where I setup a very late camp. This is not a good campsite – the ground is uneven, sloped, and branches/logs are all over making for a very crooked tent. But I did 25 miles today! And there was a lot of up and down. I’m beat.