{"id":611,"date":"2019-07-10T12:36:19","date_gmt":"2019-07-10T19:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maxheap.net\/cdt2019\/?p=611"},"modified":"2022-01-02T10:06:11","modified_gmt":"2022-01-02T18:06:11","slug":"anaconda-mt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maxheap.net\/cdt2019\/anaconda-mt\/","title":{"rendered":"Anaconda, MT"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Mav with Helena trail angel- and all around cool guy- Bruce.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

[Note: the videos included below are mostly from earlier when we were in Glacier…it just took me a while to load them to YouTube] <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I sit here in the Hearst Free Library<\/a> in downtown Anaconda<\/a>, I’m feeling genuinely excitement for tomorrow’s 26 or so mile walk as a local trail angel (Jerry) has agreed to pick me up early from town and drop me at Storm Lake Pass, from which I’ll then “slackpack” (hike with a greatly minimized pack) northbound back into Anaconda and get to stay here one more night. It’s easy to understand why hikers seem to universally rave about this town- very friendly people, rich cultural and historical heritage, reasonable prices, everything you need to resupply, surrounded by beautiful mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sweeping view from the hills above Anaconda<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The trail between Helena and Anaconda is often picture-perfect<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tracking MAV in the soft dirt…his Vasque <\/a>boots leave the same print as OB<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I was thinking during this section how many of the questions I get begin with “Why?” Why hike? Why such a long distance? Why such a remote trail? Why do this at my age? Well, in my case the answers are relatively clear, if not exactly simple. To quote Yusuf Islam, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Well I left my happy home, to see what I could find out
I left my folk and friends, with the aim to clear my mind out.”<\/p>(Cat Stevens, “On the Road to Find Out<\/a>“)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

There’s not much more to it than that. Hiking for me is simply wandering with a purpose<\/em> and my purpose mostly seems to be “to clear my mind out” and hopefully set a course for the next phase of life. I’m someone that feeds on having a specific goal in mind, an objective to meet, a challenge to best, a concrete vision for the future. The hike itself satisfies some of that, but its more about pondering what comes next in life than simply seeing beautiful landscapes or socializing with other hikers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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They think of everything in Montana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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MAV on a rainy day near a trail head just north of Anaconda<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Just clowning…have not<\/strong> yet had to drink water out of a roadside ditch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As of tomorrow I’ll be walking alone again. T-Pain left the trail to visit a sick friend in Texas, Hammer is temporarily speeding ahead in anticipation of time off trail when Melissa comes to visit him soon, Chickenfat skipped resupplying in Helena and is therefore a day or so ahead and MAV recently contracted shin splints and will be staying here in Anaconda for some days to keep his leg iced and elevated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Anaconda is full of interesting history and culture<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of these days I’ll need to compute it exactly but per the following map I’m getting close to halfway done on this hike. Barring any show-stoppers, I’ll keep moving southward for the remainder of the trail, skipping the “Great Basin” section in Wyoming that I completed in May with Impala, and wrapping up at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Completed sections in red<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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