Day 12: Too HOT!

The heatwave continued. We had blistering temps all day. It was BRUTAL when we went through any burn areas, which we went through 2 different sections.

We stopped at a big suspension bridge and jumped in the river to cool off. The hiking was pretty mellow and we had no major climbs. So we made good time all the way to Benchmark. We did about 20 miles before 3pm. Benchmark is just an area of trailheads that mostly cater to horse riders. There are no services or anything. The only real developed area is Benchmark Wilderness Ranch. We all shipped boxes there so we started walking the 3 miles down the dirt road for a while and it was insanely hot. We bailed off the road to a nearby stream to cool off. A ranger drove by and talked to us. She said tomorrow was going to be even hotter and then start to cool off the day after. We did NOT like this news.

As we were soaking in the stream, we started talking. The nearest town was 30 miles away on the dirt road and it is difficult to get a hitch. We have been hikin for 12 days without a day off and tomorrow it is supposed to be hotter. We decided that we really wanted to get into town and take a day off, and not hike in another crazy hot day.

We hopped up and got to the road, we didn't want to waste any time not trying to get a ride. It was already around 4pm. We started walking down the road to Benchmark. Our plan was to try to get a ride from any cars as they go by, but also would want to get to Benchmark Wilderness Ranch to get our boxes.

We didn't see a single car on the way to Benchmark. I started to get nervous that we wouldn't get a ride out of town. Heather stayed at the road while Crosby and I went into the ranch to get our boxes. When we came out, Heather had flagged a car and got us a ride! (We planned that, Crosby or myself wouldn't have gotten anyone to stop. Having a female in the group is a great way to get a ride. They are called  "ride brides" on trail. haha)

Our driver was named Andrew, he was dayhiking and we actually saw him on trail earlier. He was very interested in the trail and pointed out some awesome spots on the drive down to Agusta. Unfortuntely, Agusta was having their annual rodeo in town this weekend. They also only have 1 motel with 10 rooms and a small hostel. They were both full...

We started talking with Andrew, he lives in Great Falls, MT. He was more than happy to take us there and take us back the next day once he was off work. He is the best! It is amazing the people you meet while doing these trail, always the nicest people you could imagine. I experienced that on the PCT, and defintely finding the same thing here on the CDT. Great Falls is much bigger than the small town of Agusta so we will be able to get more things done. Mostly eating.

We found out that Montana is having a record heatwave right now. We are going to enjoy our day off tomorrow.