Friday, July 25, 2025
End: Kinuseo Falls Campground
Route (km): 43.0
Total (km): 167.4
Hours: 13.7
Total (hrs): 80.4
I woke up in my camp spot in the meadow, knowing that if things went well, I would be finishg the Great Divide Route today. I packed up my gear, knocking some ice off the tent, and started hiking at 6:30.
It was relatively easy going on my way up to Paxton Pass. Here I finally got some more water, and I found my phone wasn’t working. I tried to get something on the screen to no avail, and had to continue without taking any photos.
Navigating the rocks and ice on the descent from the pass wasn’t a problem, and soon rock cairns appeared marking the trail down to Monkman Lake. It was wonderful to find the iconic photo spot looking down on Monkman Lake, but I couldn’t take a photo.
The trail was marked well from here, though overgrown, and I hiked down to the lake. What a feeling to be there at the camp! The off-trail portion of my Great Divide Route hike was over.
I hiked on in light rain, finding the trail to be quite overgrown at times. This got me thinking about the difference between off-trail and on-trail hiking, given that I was still getting soaked by wet bushes.
I continued on, meeting the first bumans in almost a week at Trot Camp. We talked, thnen I continued on. I was only going 4 km/hr, possibly because my pack was still heavy with uneaten food, possibly because of the state of the trail.
I finally made it to the Kinuseo Falls Campground and signed the epic logbook with previous GDR finishers. I met Randy, who brought me food, and Kevin, who very graciously took me home with him to rest.
I spent a full day recovering and talking with Kevin and Birgit, what a treat!