Thursday July 18, 18.2mi/29.3km

Polebridge/North Fork Hostel (55.1/3527ft) to Red Meadow Lake camp (73.3/5551ft) (MT)

I awoke to the smell of coffee and bacon, and it was already 7:30am! I dressed and went downstairs to make breakfast, my leftover pizza and danish from the general store. On my way thru town, I stopped at the store to say goodbye to Mesquite and Charger, and then began today’s long roadwalk.

I didn’t take many photos, since there weren’t that many interesting things to see from the dirt road. One of the stranger things were these huge bonfire piles every half mile:

And I did get some views, as the road traveled above Hay Creek valley all day.

It was pleasant walking, and the weather was generally warm and sunny, except for two very brief hailstorms.

I didn’t see any people all day, until I got to my planned camp. It is on a lake, and has road access, so there were a dozen locals staying here. I think most of them are on fishing or biking trips.

Roadwalk miles go by quickly, so I was in camp by 4pm. The next campsite isn’t for another 8 miles, so I opted to stop early for today. It’s a beautiful spot to spend some extra time!