Snorkel - Continental Divide Trail Journal - 2010

News from the doctor about Frog's hurt foot

At the beautiful Helena library, the librarians told us how to take the public transportation (though it was clear they had never taken it themselves) and gave us some phone numbers and maps. I called about reserving a ride, and was told just to wait at the bus stop. We waited for an hour at that stop, and when the bus hadn't come, we stilled waited. Finally, we saw it across the street turning towards us. We waved at the driver--just to make sure he saw us. And then we watched him drive right past us.

We were pissed, but decided to walk to our destination--2 miles away--instead of waiting for an hour for the next bus. Helena is hot and has few trees and is sprawling. Frogs' hurt foot could barely take the pavement. We walked and walked in the heat, and when I pointed out the bus transportation headquarters across the street, in a rage, Frogs crossed the busy street to give them a piece of his mind.

When we made it to the PO, we had 4 boxes--Jim Wolf's books (finally!), Frogs' sleeping pad, our bounce box, and a food box that was forwarded from Lincoln (we hit it on a Sunday). We had enough food that we decided not to trek another 2 miles to a grocery store, and I sent home my ice axe and crampons (how funny I must have looked walking down the 100 degree streets of Helena with them).

Dejectedly, we sat outside the PO, trying to figure out how to get to the clinic, 2 miles away with Frogs foot. A woman exited the PO, and said "You look like you're backpacking somewhere. Need a ride?" And she gave us a ride to the clinic and said she'd give us a ride back to the pass!!! The driver, DD, had just finished traversing the Bob and was feeling sympathetic to hikers. She gave me her number and ran some errands while waiting for Frogs. I waited a long time for Frog to get out of the clinic. I sat on the grass, bummed that Helena was so spread out that we'd ended up taking a zero and watching lightening form up in the stormy hills where the trail is.

Frogs came out dejected. "It's broken. They showed me the x-ray. The two weeks off helped accumulate calcium. It's right near the nerve." The doctor, who had done the AT, really advised him to stop. DD came by, and was kind enough to take us to get crutches and calcium supplements, and as it rained, suggested we could spend the night in her guest house. We decided to stay, and had a wonderful time. What kind people are on this trail and they come to us when we need it the most.

Entry 11 of 11
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