The thought was to get up early, as we had Piegan Pass, which meant over 2400 ft to  climb before making it to the day’s destination, Reynolds campsites, a mere 15.2 miles away.

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We were up early, but so was the wildlife. As if on que, a cow moose and her calf wandered calmly through the campground munching on the vegetation, directly across from us. Sometimes it pays to get up early.

Walking into a sunrise is equally awesome. We passed several people with large cameras waiting for the sun to hit the magnificent rock face across the lake from the Many Glacier Lodge.

The climb was, well, a climb. Think stairmaster at the gym for over an hour breathing through a straw. Not gonna lie, I was more than out of breath, and my thighs were screaming. Even so, we were so glad we trained as hard as we did. I can’t imagine starting the CDT, going SOBO, without training and/or being in great cardio shape.

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The views however were breathtaking in themselves. Waterfalls nearly everywhere.

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Flora and fauna was abundant on our approach to  Piegan Pass.

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Once to the top of Piegan Pass (7574 ft), we ate lunch and took a well earned nap. I awoke just in time to see one of the most unique methods of TP carry ever.

Once we were all packed up, we meandered down the trail.

On our descent from the pass and toward the Going to the Sun road, we had our first (and so far only) snowy traverse of the CDT.

We were amazed at the number of people on the trail…day hiking, and the traffic on the Going to the Sun road. I can’t imagine what the crowds would be like WITHOUT the reservation requirement to enter the park.

While taking a break at the trail head to our intended campsite (Reynolds), I discovered that I lost the cap to my Powerade bottle. Highly problematic. Luckily I was able to “yogi” a cap from a day hiker who was headed to his vehicle.

After a wobbly bridge crossing, and a quick rinse in the very chilly, yet invigorating creek/river we called it a day. But, not after a group of six backpackers (not thru-hikers) totally buggered up our food hang lines. We decided that we would NOT be quiet in the morning.