Montana Is a Big Place

 

I am only familiar with a few larger towns in Montana that can serve as landmarks along my way: Missoula, Butte, Helena, Bozeman, and Billings. Of those, Missoula is the farthest West, and after 16 days of walking in Montana, I am still just a shade west (and a bigger shade north) of Missoula. 85 miles in, and I am just about to pass north of my first city landmark. I walked all the way through Idaho faster than this.

I am near Saint Ignatius, Montana, a bustling metropolis of over 700 people, and onto a stretch I referred to in my last post, where the next town is over 60 miles away. Even then, the next "town" is something less than a town; the Internet says Ovando, Montana is a "census-designated place," home to 71 people as of the year 2000.

I have hit at least 10,000 steps every day in February, and 47 out of the last 50 days, going back to the day after Christmas (Christmas Day was not so good.) During that time, I have walked 53,000 extra steps beyond 10,000 per day average, and my deficit from my slow start is down to 26,000 steps, so I am feeling good about getting that down to zero sometime in March.

I get my 10,000 steps most days by walking with Arlo each morning, then walking with Arlo again in the afternoon, then walking with Arlo while talking with Mike in the evening. Part of the reason I started slowly in October and November was that Arlo did not like to walk at first, and it took me a long time to get him to want to go with me. That meant if I wanted to walk, I had to leave him with Jackie, so he made it harder for me. However, in time he learned to be a normal dog who actually likes going for walks, so that makes it easier for me, because I have a reason now to go, and someone (a dog someone) who encourages me to get going.