Day 38: Straight Creek to Benchmark Trailhead (Augusta)

Everything that could go wrong did. Rain tapped against our tent throughout the night. When we woke, a ceiling of gray dark gray clouds shut out the sun, eliminating any chance we would be able to dry out our wet gear. 

We packed up and began hiking quickly, anxious to reach the trailhead and get to our next resupply town. But in our haste we missed a key junction, hiking almost three quarters of a mile down the wrong trail before realizing we were heading in the wrong direction. 

We trudged back up to the missed junction at the Straight Creek crossing, a ford. A doctor recently advised Sierra to keep her feet dry as much as possible, so we switched to Crocs instead of crossing in our usual way, just wading across in our hiking shoes. It was a mistake. The current ripped the Crocs from my feet, carrying them swiftly downstream. Sierra tried to chase after them, but ended up losing one of her own Crocs, falling in, and partially submerging her pack in the process. Meanwhile, the Crocs had floated miles downstream, far out of reach. 

By the time we finally got back on the trail heading to Elbow Pass, we had lost almost two hours. So much for our dreams of an early day into town for our resupply. 

The rest of our hike to the Benchmark Trailhead was mishap free. Our friend Wired hiked through The Bob a few weeks ago, and Sierra was excited to discover a birthday card Wired had left for her at the trailhead!  We were also delighted to see Grandpa, who will be enjoying time in The Bob and Glacier National Park for the next two weeks before taking us home. 

Once in town, we headed to Mel's Diner for ice cream. After cleaning up at the Bunkhouse Inn, we enjoyed pizza at the Lazy B.