Harpo and I were looking for a challenge. Tho we have been enjoying the daily route finding and navigational challenges of the CDT, there was still somewhere we hadn’t gone – choosing our own route south, off the beaten path. So we decided, after several days of conversation, to try the Big Sky route.
Diverging from the CDT just after Butte, MT the route will take us south thru the Tobacco Roots and Spanish Peak mountains, the Gallatin National Forest and Metcalf Wilderness. We’ll end up traversing the northern rim of Yellowstone and making a long loop around the eastern side of the park, rejoining the CDT at the southern entrance.

We’re not the first, and I’m sure not the last to attempt this reroute. The Onion originally mapped it during his yo-yo in 2007 and others have documented variations. Tim at the Base Camp outfitter in Helena, MT was integral in helping us get the right maps and understanding the country.

 So using two anecdotal tales and three maps, we’ll head south into the less known!