Day 132 – 9/1/13 – 12 mi (2415.6)

The plan was to eat cinnamon roll french toast for breakfast, then hit the trail fairly early. The food was delicious, but of course the early part didn’t quite happen. We finally started hitching around 11am. After about 30 minutes with no success we decided to move up the street a bit. En route, we passed a flea market with a bunch of yard sale junk, and also really cute bunnies. Petting them was a great way to kill 5 minutes.

We tried hitching some more, again with no luck. By this point it was lunchtime, so we went to the shake and burger place a block away and got a quick lunch. Let me explain Burly’s cape. His shirt is worn through on the back from his pack rubbing, so rather than buy a new shirt, he bought some fabric in Helena and tried to sew it on as a patch. I’m betting we’ll get to Canada before he finishes this project.

Anyway, after lunch it was back to the road to try hitching again. Finally a truck pulled over for us. The man said he would give us a ride if he could minister to us. Oh boy, this was gonna be a good one.

David told us he’d passed us earlier going the other way on his way home from some archery practice. He went home and prayed, then emptied his truck and came back. If we were still there, it was a sign from God that he should minister us. Ok, sounds reasonable enough. Then he started right in with telling us about how America is being lead by a bunch of Satanists, pedophiles, card turners and homosexuals, and that George Washington was a sinner for defying the British. When he started on about how women should be subservient to men and not allowed to speak in church, Sweetfish skillfully turned the conversation back to George Washington again. It was a really long 20 miles back to the trail. I don’t mean to offend anyone’s religious beliefs, but when it’s implied that I’m going to hell because I have short hair, I have trouble taking anything said seriously.

Back on the trail, it was more up and down on the divide. We were all feeling pretty lazy and took several breaks despite the late start. At the end of the day, we reached some rocky outcroppings, a nice contrast to all the rounded mountains and rolling hills we’ve been in.