Here is a GPX file of the Big Sky Super Butte Alternate, in case you need it.
The Trail Creek Fire is still burning, and growing. And, the CDT is closed in that area to avoid the fire. So, I’ll be hiking one of the biggest alternates on the CDT, the Big Sky Super Butte Cutoff.
This is the “official” CDT route. The X’s mark the part of the trail that is closed and the blue line is the official reroute around the fire.
This is the route I am taking. As you can see, there are many options. I’ll be figuring out which route is best as I go but I definitely will be avoiding that big loop out west toward the fire.
Really, it seems like there are a lot of fires west me. So, it’s best that I get moving south, and fast. Yes, all those numbered circles are active fires as of July 21st, 2021.
The Big Sky Alternate heads southeast out of Butte, as you can see. We’re really avoiding the biggest fires this way.
I’m currently in Butte, Montana. I already started the Big Sky Alternate. Since Helena I hiked south until just before Butte, where I hiked southeast rather than hiking into Butte.
I know I said I’m in Butte, but that’s only because Whitehall didn’t have any open motel rooms, so we hitchhiked to Butte.
As long as you stay within 50 miles of the Continental Divide you’re on the CDT, technically.
So far it’s been a nice mix of road walking, double track, and dirt singletrack. We even got a little bit of rain yesterday while walking the road into Whitehall.
We’ll get to hike across all of Yellowstone this way, too. I’m pretty excited to be avoiding the smoke as much as possible.
Oh yeah, I skipped a blog entry, too. The stretch between Lincoln and Helena was hot and dry with back to back to back to back 10-25 mile water carries. It was mostly in trees and smokey. The end.
Sam Schild 
