Day 5: Backpacking through Montana

Day 5. We are a long, long way from civilization! Solitude and appreciation and humility as we connect with our horses and full blown nature. Today we pass from deep gladed forests to open, steep avalanche slopes of rocks devoid of trees. We feel the raw power of nature in these contrasts. Most intense feat thus far – traversing Switchback Pass! Actually we just hung on to their mane leaning as far forward as possible as our powerful horses boldly climbed the steepest and most rugged of the switchbacks, up the sheer mountain along the North Wall Trail. Talk about humbling!

As we were forewarned, today was the day we ran into patch of bees, a bit of confusion as glasses fell off one, horses anxiously reacting as you might expect with swarms of stinging bees, but all anticipated and taken in stride. Just keep moving when the going gets challenging! Swam in Trilobite lake which felt good and cleansing, with a belled mule joining for a drink at the edge, looking on nonchalantly. Lots of berries along the trail today. Tracy and I share together the reverence for these awe-inspiring wild places. “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better” explained Albert Einstein.