It has been pretty weird seeing the northbound CDT hikers starting (or preparing to start) their hikes while I still have a couple months to go. Even with a couple months left before my start, preparations are starting to pick up. I did a couple hikes along the Ozark Highlands Trail (OHT) during the last month to test out my new gear. They were great trial runs and I’m really glad I was able to get them in. I’ll put some links to blogs about the hikes at the end of this blog. Late last week I started printing off maps to carry along on the CDT. Over the weekend I took my first load of stuff to storage. I’ll likely take another load at the end of the month before my house goes on the market at the beginning of May. My last day at work should be June 1.
I was excited to find out a few weeks back that the east entrances to Glacier National Park (GNP) will be open this year. That means I will be able to follow the official CDT alternate route that starts at the Chief Mountain border crossing. I could have made it work otherwise, but it will be great to hike the CDT through GNP. I still don’t have a specific start date set yet. I probably won’t have an idea on that until early June.
So while seeing others start their hikes makes me really want to get out there, it’s nice to be able to start more of the preparations myself. I’m sure my start date will be here before I know it, and I’m looking forward to running into the northbound hikers at some point 🙂
OHT: Woolum to Ozone Trip Report
OHT: Woolum to Ozone Shakedown Thoughts (Lessons Learned/Gear blog)
OHT: Ozone to Lake Ft. Smith Trip Report
OHT: Ozone to Lake Ft. Smith Shakedown Thoughts (Lessons Learned/Gear blog)
Brent Umphlett Photography Blog 