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07/25/2017
Day 12: Rock Candy Mountain
![](http://hikingdude.com/i/blog/1359.jpg)
I traveled about 20 miles today.
7/24/17 Annelise, Batman, and the two of us all got up about the same time. Since we aren't cooking, we were on the trail (road) first but Batman caught up to us in a couple hours and we played leapfrog all day long. We've not seen Annelise but left a note for her in the second trail registry of the trip - out in the middle of no where. In the registry, we saw that three people hiked by yesterday so there are some not too far ahead. A 6-mile roadwalk followed by another 5 miles of mostly uphill trail brought us to a beautiful saddle and views on both sides. Rock Candy Mountain dominated the south and still had plenty of snow cornice along its ridge. It was a wonderful spot to rest a bit. Way up here above timberline, rock cairns were very helpful. Also, some very over zealous crew did an astounding amount of work on the trail coming up - thank you! We carried all of our water containers full from the last supposedly reliable water source, but there were many spots along the trail for water. Oh well, just extra weight. Many fresh elk tracks and droppings along the way, but that was all. I did get hit on the ankle by a grouse though. She was right on the slightly overgrown trail and I didn't see her. Her baby fluttered to the side, taking my attention, and then she exploded just as I stepped where she sat. Pretty cool. We've seen many grouse, dozens of them. Now, we stopped at just 4:30 and plopped the tent by the trail after doing 20 because we're ahead of schedule. It's a flat spot up high and has breeze but no water around. This does change the usual uphill first thing in the morning though. We'll have a huge climb up Bussard Mountain around midday - yuch. Oh, we are filthy dirty!
07/26/2017
Day 13: Idaho
![](http://hikingdude.com/i/blog/1360.jpg)
I traveled about 22 miles today.
7/25/17 We camped nearly right on the ID/MT border last night so all of today was spent hiking through Idaho. Not much difference :-) But, as you can see, they are good shots and some don't seem to care for hikers. The hike down to the Moyie River was dry but cool. We stopped at the Feist River Falls resort but it was dead because we were pretty early I guess. So, on we hiked to the base of Bussard Mountain and our last water source for a dozen miles or more. The 3400feet up the hill went better than hoped but it was the usual hot, steep, and sweaty. At the top, there was a surprise - about 100gallons of water in 5gal jugs. They were probably for trail crews but we borrowed a bit from an open jug. After that, we passed many dry spots but no water so it was a good idea. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent following old dirty roads down toward Bonner's Ferry and we camped just a few miles from the major road crossing. Not much to report but I think it's because I'm very tired and looking forward to our adventure tomorrow - trying to reach Coeur d'Alene.
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Posted: 07/26/2017
Posted: 07/26/2017
07/27/2017
Trail Journal
Day 14 part 2 We were getting pretty disappointed when Lynn stopped her little pickup. She stashed her garbage can by a tree to make room for us in the back and we were on Bonner's Ferry a few minutes later. At the grocery store, we bought more than we could eat, sat in the cool store and had lunch. Then, back into the 90+ degrees slowly walking south with thumbs up and new CDA sign we made at the store. 90 minutes later, Gavin offered us a ride to Sandpoint so we upgraded to an air conditioned pickup. He is just starting his own construction company and is waiting to hear if he won his first house bid. In Sandpoint, we cooled off in McDonald's and then back to the road. This time, we decided to try for an hour and, if no ride, we would stay and watch the Spiderman movie. Just as our time was up, a guy stopped his pickup and honked. We piled in the back and were off down the road. A fast hot windy ride got us to the northern reaches of CDA. From there, were walked a couple more hours, stopping along the way to cool off in stores. About 7pm Josh's friend at camp contacted him and then picked us up. So, for $25 and 17 miles of walking and 13 hours, we made it from trail to 'home'. I won't be posting much until we head back out.
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Posted: 07/27/2017
Posted: 07/27/2017
Day 14: Thumbs Up
![](http://hikingdude.com/i/blog/1362.jpg)
I traveled about 5 miles today.
7/26/17 We actually walked about 18 miles today, but only the first 5 were on the PNT. The rest were along us95 trying to get from the trail crossing about 15 miles north of Bonner's Ferry down to Coeur d'Alene about 90 miles south. We will be off trail for 10 days working at Camp Lutherhaven. Josh worked here for 2 summers and I worked here 37 years ago. This is where my wife and I met and its our 30th anniversary next week. She is driving out here with a friend to be here this weekend for a dutch oven cooking and wine tasting ladies event. I've been asked to present about cooking so that should be fun. Next week, we're just doing whatever is needed. Anyway, we made it to CDA but it was a fun, long day getting here. Up at our usual time but in a new time zone so we were actually starting wire early. No water except that which we had carried over the mountain yesterday. We walked the miles on dirt road down to the busy us95 and headed south. We hiked on for two hours as cars zoomed past. I used my 'To Town' sign and cars zoomed past. We stuck out our thumbs and cars zoomed past... Continue...
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Posted: 07/27/2017
Posted: 07/27/2017
08/04/2017
Done Hiking Today
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I finished hiking for today. You can check out my current location on the map and I'll post about my day when I am in coverage.
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Posted: 08/04/2017
Posted: 08/04/2017
08/06/2017
Done Hiking Today
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I finished hiking for today. You can check out my current location on the map and I'll post about my day when I am in coverage.
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Posted: 08/06/2017
Posted: 08/06/2017
Done Hiking Today
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I finished hiking for today. You can check out my current location on the map and I'll post about my day when I am in coverage.
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Posted: 08/06/2017
Posted: 08/06/2017
08/07/2017
Done Hiking Today
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I finished hiking for today. You can check out my current location on the map and I'll post about my day when I am in coverage.
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Posted: 08/07/2017
Posted: 08/07/2017
08/08/2017
Done Hiking Today
![](http://hikingdude.com/i/blog/endofday.gif)
I finished hiking for today. You can check out my current location on the map and I'll post about my day when I am in coverage.
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Posted: 08/08/2017
Posted: 08/08/2017
08/09/2017
Done Hiking Today
![](http://hikingdude.com/i/blog/endofday.gif)
I finished hiking for today. You can check out my current location on the map and I'll post about my day when I am in coverage.
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Posted: 08/09/2017
Posted: 08/09/2017
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All Comments:
Feb 13, 2020 - Jason Berklund
Hey hiking dude I have several questions planning my first north to south trip
from 270 all the way down. I kind a know what to wear what to eat all that
important jive. I am in relatively good shape definitely Not concerned about
where in tear. 45 years old going with a 21-year-old nephew. My question is
I have friends in Duluth that I don’t want to burden with driving me what’s the
best way to get up to otter Lake Road that’s not gonna cost a crap ton. We
were thinking 15 miles a day. We were also thinking hammocks. Let me
know what you think please. I have read so much and look at so much and
heard so many opinions but You seem to be very realistic on your
comments. Thank you
Feb 13, 2020 - Hiking Dude
@Jason - Hammocks work fine - most campsites have lots of trees.
15MPD is realistic, and you'll probably do more than that many
days.
Getting to the northern terminus is expensive (in my mind). If you can schedule correctly, Arrowhead Transit is cheapest to Grand Marais, but then Harriet Quarles is the only shuttle I know of. You might find a good ol' boy in Grand Marais willing to drive you the 35 miles to the end for a few $$$.
It's a 3 hour drive from Duluth - that's 6 hours and 300 miles round-trip. Maybe your friend would like to drive up the north shore for a day.
Getting to the northern terminus is expensive (in my mind). If you can schedule correctly, Arrowhead Transit is cheapest to Grand Marais, but then Harriet Quarles is the only shuttle I know of. You might find a good ol' boy in Grand Marais willing to drive you the 35 miles to the end for a few $$$.
It's a 3 hour drive from Duluth - that's 6 hours and 300 miles round-trip. Maybe your friend would like to drive up the north shore for a day.
Feb 04, 2024 - John
Me and my fiance are going to Costa Rica for our honeymoon and we
are so excited!
May 02, 2024 - Zeke Mead
Has anyone cycled this Camiño? Sounds like the trail is a road
and if trucks are able to do it, maybe bikes too?
May 03, 2024 - Hiking Dude
@Zeke - Someone could certainly bike part of the Camino de Costa
Rica, but other parts are simple trail that would not be passable
by bike.
Sep 02, 2024 - Susan
I am Ms. Susan from USA looking for
fun. Check my profile:
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