Lewistown to Glendive, MT

July 8, 2024 Maxheap

[Note: see my YouTube playlist for the latest videos, starting with June 29th]

Simon, Stephanie (and their two cats) from Toronto took a break from Vanlife-ing to rescue me in the middle of a downpour

Eric interrupted his trek, “Riding the Divide” to detour into Minnesota. Thanks for the chats and the orange!

Didn’t get their names, but gobbled down their delicious muffin for breakfast while walking Montana highway 200

Having finally reached the eastern edge of Montana, I’ll be walking across the border into North Dakota in two days! Montana has “had my number” as they say, and I’ll not deny I’ve been looking forward to putting it in my rear view mirror. It’s a beautiful state, but recently I’ve been hiking through what locals tell me has been an unusual pattern of daily afternoon popup thunderstorms that have made hiking difficult, there being virtually no escape from weather in this vast, treeless expanse of farm land amidst buttes and other natural features.

Rev. Tracey was gracious, generous and allowed me to sleep in the backroom of her shop during a storm

The story of recent days has been dominated by several other factors as well. One of my least anticipated challenges has been a feeling of complete isolation. Of course, the AT, PCT and (particularly) the CDT present plenty of feelings of aloneness, so I’d assumed I wouldn’t see much difference on this hike. However, the occasional camaraderie one gets on those trails from commiserating with other hikers turns out to leave a big hole when missing. As such, I’ve leaned heavily on Wendy for emotional/psychological support via frequent phone calls. With that as a backdrop, it’s come as a very positive recent development to meet and befriend a number of cross-country bicycle riders. Apparently, the route I’ve chosen is also a common one for pedal-powered journeys and the brief interactions I’ve had with various cyclists has somewhat filled the gap. I’ve met some really great folks.

Nice little campground near Grass Range, MT

Inside one of the several rest areas I’ve camped at here in Montana

A second recent observation is how many different types of places I find myself sleeping in! Just in the past 10 days, the list includes camp grounds, city parks, rest areas, the unused backroom of a store, small town motels, behind a row of stationary train cars and so on. The variety has provided an interesting twist and while finding a spot to pitch my tent continues to be a daily priority, it’s also been a source of fun and mystery.

I camped behind this stationary line of rail cars

And used other rail cars like this for shelter from the midday sun

If you look carefully, you can see shallows flying in and out of these nests

Beautiful city trail walk near Lewistown

I’ve also had a fair bit of trail magic recently! In addition to the daily occurrence of a vehicle stopping to ask if I need a ride, I was fed breakfast by one local Montana couple, shelter from a gnarly storm by a French couple from Toronto, a really juicy orange from Eric the cross-country bicycle rider, another thunderstorm rescue by a local family, water from a Canadian armed forces guy, water from a local rancher, a cold beer from some local guys returning from a beer run, and so on. Each one of these dear folks has had a direct hand in my making so many miles in recent days.

Cows: You gonna feed us, or what? Me: Pound sand!

It was a lot bigger than the picture indicates

Not the first unused Montana road bullet I’ve seen

Ok, I think that’s enough for now. As always, I hope that between these bits of rough text, unskilled photos and decidedly unprofessional videos that I’m conveying some of the sense of what it’s like to walk across our United States. With love and wishes for your very best! Michael (Max)