Day 2: Backpacking through Montana

Day 2. Met Pat and Nickel early in this morning. They are strong. And experienced. And they can be trusted through easy and tough times. Loyal, too. They are the pros. They are the two horses for Tracy and me for the next seven days. And we met the 13 huge pack mules who will dependably carry our food and tents and supplies and everything else for the next 8 days. Now off on Route Creek Pass headed to Wrong Creek camp (13 miles), soon saw bear, alternating woods and open spaces, anticipation building for the big climbs ahead. Power and grace of the mules working in harmony was the most amazing! We are beginning to taste the wildness and feel the grandeur. A little bit behind our motivation for the journey is caught in the words of American naturalist John Burroughs, “I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.” What a rich inheritance from past generations are these vast and spectacular publicly (you and me and all of us) owned lands.