This was a trip I had my eye on for a few years. It was going to be a high milage trip, in fact the most I had ever done in one trip.
I found a couple willing participants to join me and we set out from Cascade Saddle on the Idaho / Montana border. On the first day we needed to make just over 20 miles to the first water source. With no water on the trail until we reached the river, my pack was the heaviest it had been all year carrying 4 liters of water. It was a grueling first day. About 17 miles in, one of my hiking partners had bad blisters on both feet. It made the last few miles a real struggle.
The 2nd day we took it easy and just hiked up the river until we found a campsite that we liked. It was nice to get to enjoy the river most of the day. We hoped by taking it easy it would give some time for our feet to heal up.
The 3rd day it was time to get down the trail a ways. We ended up going just under 18 miles to Heller Creek and were in a great position to finish the trip. It was another taxing day, but we all made it.
On the 4th day we intended to get up to St. Joe Lake. I had been waiting all trip to get there. I really wanted to spend the night there. Right away things went off the rails. The trail disappeared on us. We thought that we might be able to bushwack our way up to the lake or do a road walk, but the injuries suffered on day 1 had caught up to us. My hiking partner finally threw in the towel and our other partner hiked back up to the saddle (the short way) to get the truck.
The trip didn't end the way I had hoped it would, but it was still one to remember.
Here is our trip video. Thanks for watching!
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Originally Posted by TallPaul
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