Wide open spaces was the theme of today as we passed Butte and Helena, MT. Large ranches with horses and cattle. Our trip of free living came to an end this evening in Bozeman,MT We arrived to temperatures lower than expected and found an RV park to stay. Shadow and I walked in the park office with our down jackets on, wool hats, and gloves. The gentleman laughed at us when we told him why came off the road. "It's all about acclimating, but cold here is 20 below" he said. A quick run down on winter hooks ups and we were off to find something warm to eat. I found an outfitter in town that I couldn't pass up and stayed an hour after they closed talking shop. They specialize in light weight hiking gear and went above and beyond showing the latest and greatest innovations. Check them out at www.prolitegear.com. Next was of course the Montana Ale Works for dinner. With some awesome local brews in our bellies we headed back to scout out our next move East.
I would also like to mention that today is a big day in history for Shadow and I. Today a year ago we climbed Mt. Katahdin to end our 2,181 mile journey of the Appalachian Trail. Nimbus Dodger, a long time friend from Nashville made it to the Canadian border today completing his trek on the Continential Divide Trail. I find this day to be appropriate to announce our plans in 2013. As many of you know the AT changed our life and we find ourselves in search of a new adventure. Being that the hiking season in the States is over due to on coming winter we have set our eyes on New Zealand. Beginning January 5th we plan to board a plane for the land of Kiwis. In 2011 the country officially opened it's first thru-hiking trail and it's the talk of the hiking community. With lessons learned from the AT we are not calling this a thru-hike, but merely a tour of New Zealand...for 5 1/2 months.
Country Mouse and Shadow
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