Mon., June 6 - Jim called again last night after I posted for the day. He just had to share one more story. A man and his dog stopped by Jim's picnic table to tell him that he might get wet. It seems that the park has irrigation sprinklers and he warned him they would probably go on in his spot. So Jim moved his tent about 20 feet away and hoped for the best. He also said that his feet have felt better on this trip than on any other hike - now the sandals just have to last!
We talked around 8am and Jim reported that it was a beautiful day - not at all like the forecast. It was bright & sunny and he was waiting for the post office to open. As far as he could tell, the sprinklers did not go on last night.
We did not talk again until around 5:30pm my time (3:30 in Montana). Yes, he said goodbye to State #10 today and crossed the Yellowstone River into Fairview, Montana. Actually the river was not the state boundary as he expected - the "Welcome to Montana" sign was actually about 3 miles from the bridge. And this bridge had a very wide shoulder, so much safer for pedestrian traffic. The first thing he said today was that it had been a tough day and there was no way he could walk tomorrow! This was not the planned rest day, but I guess you have to be flexible. His legs are very tired, so I guess 3 days of 20+ miles has caught up with him. He is at a great park in town - with a swimming pool (about 150 kids in it at the moment), showers, restroom and picnic tables. The bad news is that all of the facilities close at 8pm - so no restroom after then. There is also a choice of restaurants in town, so this won't be a bad place to spend an extra day.
His visit to the Alexander post office was successful - his re-supply package and 4 notes awaited him - thank you, Marcia P, Carol G, Sandy R and John G - you are so kind to think of the weary traveler. Today was another cloudless sky with the sun beating down all day.
His instructions ahead of time were to check in at City Hall to let them know he was camping in the park. While we were talking he was waiting for someone to get back to the office (a note on the door said back at 4pm). She arrived and he hung up for a few minutes and then called me back. He started the conversation with today's moral - "Ask and you shall receive". He told the woman about his restroom/shower dilemma. She called the swimming pool manager and sure enough they are going to make special provisions for "Hiker Jim".
We talked again briefly at 7pm and he had his tent set up right next to a really long picnic table. This will be perfect for resting tomorrow. He was about to head to the Double Barrel Saloon & Casino and then on to dinner somewhere.
We talked again at 9:15 and the Saloon turned out to not only be a decent bar (great happy hour prices), but also an excellent steakhouse restaurant - wonderful dinner. He said he was very disappointed in his body (mainly legs) but his new motto is "one day at a time". He does think that a day off his legs tomorrow will do wonders for him. How strange that on most hikes it is his feet that cause problems, but they have been fine this time.
Miles Today - 22.....Total Cumulative Miles - 263.5
Tues., June 7 - REST DAY ....We talked around 10am after Jim had a great breakfast at the local cafe - a really busy place. He slept well last night until a thunderstorm woke him up. He did get back to sleep, but it must have rained for a while since there were big puddles everywhere this morning. Fortunately, the rain had stopped by the time he wanted to get going. The wind was strong enough to dry out his tent from last night's storm.
One interesting thing he noticed in the cafe were two groups of 4 men each playing cribbage (one of our favorites) at tables. The cribbage boards and cards are furnished by the cafe - he suspects that it is a daily occurrence. As expected the pool house at the park opened at 6am (water aerobics) so Jim was able to take his shower nice and early. So far, his legs are feeling fine. He was also able to read a newspaper at the cafe - something he really misses while away.
He did remember to tell me a story from a few days ago. He was coming out of Grassy Butte (in the Badlands) and saw a sign "Big Horn Sheep Crossing Next Five Miles". I cannot say that I have ever seen such a sign! I did ask him if he ever found out how the Badlands got that name. He did see it on a sign - the early French (from Canada) explorers called this area "Bad land to cross". At some point it must have been shortened.
Jim called at 1pm and said "I'm not happy" - what now thinks Jane. Well... his stove is not working all of a sudden - CRITICAL PROBLEM - no stove, no hot water, no hot water, no cooked food. It worked fine the last time he used it. There is really no way to tell if it is the stove or the fuel canister. He is expecting a new fuel canister at the next P.O. in Culbertson on Thursday. So... off goes Jane to Eastern Mountain Sports to buy a new stove (talked to Jim while there to make sure I got the right one). Then home to pack it up - then to the P.O. to express mail it to Culbertson. So much for what I planned to do this afternoon!
Since he is in town for a meal tonight and breakfast tomorrow, he will only miss one cooked meal tomorrow night when he is camped wherever - also will miss his coffee or tea and hot water for washing up (YUCK). Hopefully he can get a sandwich before leaving town to take with him for the evening.
We talked again at 3:30 so I could tell him I had been successful. He had walked to a local grocery store for a banana and apple for his lunch - fruit is a rare treat on the hike, so he was happy. He spent much of the day in his tent reading and doing sudoku since it was too cold to sit at the picnic table. I could hear the tent flapping in the wind as we talked.
We talked again at 9:15pm after Jim got back from the restaurant - another great dinner. He said it was really cold there - he plans to bundle up in his tent - he actually wore 5 layers to go to dinner. Tonight he met a very nice couple at the bar (Ken & Carolyn) and he really enjoyed his conversation with them. They are celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary this week - CONGRATS! Yes, they did ask to be added to hike distribution. Ken is a retired history teacher and he told Jim that he would really enjoy the Fort Union National Historic Site, which Jim is planning to visit on Wed.
Ken & Carolyn also said that their daughter lives in western Montana and they should keep them in the loop as he plans hiking in the rest of Montana - she will probably be able to help him with a place to stay - people sure are incredible.
It did rain while he was in the restaurant but stopped before he left to go back to his tent. Of course, now everything in town is all messy and muddy. He said that Fairview reminds him exactly of what a TV western town looked like. I was able to report the successful Red Sox score to Jim as we were talking.
Wed., June 8 - We talked briefly at 8:15am while Jim was heading to breakfast. He said the temp was 48 and mostly cloudy, although he could see a few breaks of possible sun. He was looking forward to a great walk today, although he was expecting to still have a lot of truck traffic - doesn't know when that will end.
Jim left me a message at 3:45 when he was about 2 miles beyond Fort Union. He said he spent about 2 hours (guess he did like it) there and that he was feeling well after the rest.
However... the ranger at Fort Union told him something VERY DISTURBING. The train that Jim plans to take from Glasgow, MT to Minot, ND (for his flight home) has not been running due to serious flooding issues. This is even more critical than the non-working stove - at least I could send him another one. Based on the message, I spent a lot of time on the phone with Amtrak. As of now, they hope to resume service on June 14, but it is a day to day decision. Jim needs the train on June 16 - sure hope they can resume by then. I have no idea what we would do to get him home if the train isn't running.
We had no more contact today other than a few aborted phone calls which indicated bad service. I did get a text message that said "OK". I guess I have to be satisfied with that.
Unexpectedly I got a call from Jim at 8:30pm - "Guess where I am - in a pickup truck with Ron & Krista". R&K are the couple from the Alexander Park who were about to get married (they did on Monday). They drove by Jim while he was walking and recognized him and stopped to chat. They told him they had rented a camper in Bainville, MT, which was up the road about 3 more miles. They offered him the use of their shower, which was much appreciated. He still didn't have cell coverage, so they drove him far enough to get coverage and he was able to briefly tell me the details of the day. Today was the longest mileage of the hike so far - 27 miles, the last 15 on a gravel road - not so pleasant in his sandals. He was having trouble finding a place to pitch his tent - nothing but farm fields and oil rigs. R&K told him that there was nice park in Bainville so that is why he went so far. R&K had cell coverage, so we arranged for me to call them after they all got settled at the local bar, which I did at 9:30. Jim said he had a good day today - chilly in the morning, but no wind, so that helped a lot. He talked a lot about Fort Union National Historic Site - he really liked it a lot. A ranger there (Woody) has hiked some of the Appalachian Trail so they had a lot to talk about. The role of Fort Union was as a major trading post for the Indians and fur companies in the 1830-1850's. It was totally torn down in 1867 in order to build Fort Buford. then it was rebuilt in the 1980's based on historical pictures and data. Jim said it was a fascinating snippet of history.
He also mentioned that he is quite concerned about his sandals lasting - they are getting quite worn in places - that would really be an issue.
Miles Today - 27.....Total Cumulative Miles - 290.5
Thurs., June 9 - First thing I did was check Amtrak and now they are not resuming service until June 15, one day before Jim needs to get his train. Hopefully this date will stay solid. We talked about 9am (my time). Apparently last night Ron & Krista decided to drive Jim to Williston, ND (about 1/2 hour) today to go to WalMart and buy an emergency pair of sandals! Since it is a 24-hour WalMart, they arranged to pick Jim up at his tent at 6am - they arrived at 5:30!! They bought the sandals and were at a breakfast place in Williston when he called to reassure me about his footwear.
We talked again about 12:15 and after R&K dropped in back in Bainville, he dried out his tent and got on the road a little after 9am. It was sunny with a brisk tail wind moving him along. He was shedding layers as he went. There seemed to be a lot less oil tanker traffic so far today. He hung up when he saw a bicyclist coming toward him because he wanted to talk to him. He called back a little while later. The cyclist had seen Jim when he went by in his van and stopped the van and took his bicycle out of the van and rode back to Jim just to chat. They walked together back to his van (about a mile away) so they could talk. His name is Doug and he is a retired diplomat from Ontario. He told Jim that he just likes to travel around seeing things, which is why he wasn't on a major highway. He was in the general area to attend a wedding and visit a sick brother, but was also just traveling around. He told Jim he was a great believer in "living the unexpected" (sound like anyone we all know?). Doug really enjoyed Jim's story.
He said that today was a gorgeous day so far and the road has a decent shoulder to walk on - always a plus.
We talked again around 5:30 and he was in Culbertson after about a 5 hour walk. The clouds had moved in mid day so the first thing he did was set up his tent in the town park next to a picnic table which was under a roof. He wanted to get the tent up quickly since it was looking like it might rain. Then he went to the post office and his re-supply package was there, along with the new stove and 5 letters (thank you, Sheri K, Carol G, Mary S and Sandy R).
He then went to check in with City Hall as he had been instructed to do. He got to chatting with the woman working there and told her his upcoming route - Culbertson to Brockton on Friday and then to Poplar on Saturday. She said "be careful" since you will be on the Indian reservation (which he knew) and apparently there are a few people who don't have enough to do, so they might bother people camping there. I have always worried about this portion of the trip. Jim told her that more than one person had cautioned him, but what choice did he have. She and another man in the office decided they were going to "fix it". She called her priest at the Catholic church in Brockton to see if he could help and sure enough, he said Jim could stay in the parish hall. He has the priest's name and phone # and is supposed to call when he gets to town. Then the man said he knew someone in Poplar. Sure enough he called and Karen & Milo will let him set up his tent in her yard or he might even want to sleep in their shed. He has directions and it is only about 1/2 mile off his route. It sure sounds a lot safer than the original plan of tenting in an unknown place.
Jim said his legs are tired as he expected they would be after yesterday's long day of walking.
We talked again briefly around 9pm after Jim had the "most delicious cheeseburger he has ever had" at a local bar & grill. There had been a brief rain shower but it stopped before he went to dinner. I could hear chatty birds in the background as well as a couple of freight trains.
Miles Today - 15.....Total Cumulative Miles - 305.50
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