Somewhere Near Paradise, Montana

Flathead River

I am going to be walking to the north of some of the bigger towns in Montana, and I never heard of most of the places I am walking through, so I will probably track my progress by the towns south of me for a while. I have been walking along the Flathead River for the last week and will continue to do that for about five more days. In about three days, I should pass north of Missoula. I am fifty miles into Montana, 650 more to go.

When I turn away from the river, I will walk along the south side of the National Bison Range toward the town of St. Ignatius. From there, it appears to be more than sixty miles to the next town. A person could disappear out here and never be found.

I thought maybe I had passed the Continental Divide already, but the Flathead River runs west to Lake Pend Oreille, which feeds into the Columbia River, so not yet. However, by the time I get to Helena (165 miles away), I will be on the other side. That might have something to do with the sixty miles between towns.

In seven days in February, I have walked over 77,000 steps, at least 10,000 every day. I have actually walked over 11,000 each day, but yesterday I took a walk and FORGOT MY PHONE, so those steps don't count. I won't do that again.

I could adjust my steps, but my phone is the official keeper of steps, and I know from many harsh years of work that having to keep track of manual adjustments is a pain and a source of error, so it's my fault I forgot my phone and I need to not do that.

Weather in Western Washington is not exactly ideal this time of year, but it got up over fifty degrees today, and the days are getting longer, so the walking is becoming more comfortable.