“I wonder if that tree branch will hold my weight,” I thought as I wiped the sweat off my face with my sleeve. Grabbing ahold I pulled myself up over the rock ledge. Half-way up Piegan Pass and I was bushwhacking out of fear and stubbornness.
Read the rest at The Trek!
Occasionally, I submit pieces to The Trek. It’s a hiking website.
Kindness matters
Truckin’ on
Tree
Bears. Bears. Bears. There’s “danger bear” signs. Rangers giving bear presentations. Bear sighting notifications at the camp ground. And you have to have bear spray. I freaked out on bears before I even started down the trail yelling, “Hey, bear!” every time a bend in the trail came in sight.
I survived. It does put a bit of an edge on the old walk though. My new line is: “This is a public service announcement…with BEARS! Thank you to The Clash for that one.
Just stumbled through the first afternoon trying to stop looking up at the mountains. Camped at Gable Creek. Glacier is on a strict permit system, so I didn’t get what I wanted which made day two a little bit longer.
Day 2 was a climb to Red Gap Pass (7200). Took most of the morning in a fierce wind. I was pushed around repeatedly. As I neared the pass, the wind gusts became intense slams that staggered me. I could hear the bursts coming up the mountain, getting louder, building and building, and then each one would rock me forward or backward depending on where I was on the switchback.
I was happy to finally make the pass. A cairn marked the top. It was past time for lunch, so I was looking for shelter, but there was nothing at the top. So down it was. But I couldn’t find the trail. It just petered out on me. Sat down and had something to eat even with the wind. After that I went back to the top where I last had the trail and came back down again. I found the turn I’d missed. It’s easy to miss when everything is broken rock.
Poia Lake was the next camp. Big mountain lake. Buggy and windy. Spattering of rain throughout the night. Quick 7 miles or so downhill into Many Glacier. I saw theses old bear scratches.
Many Glacier is where a lodge was constructed in the early 1900s for worldly travelers. This is a shot from the back. Pretty nice looking place.
Michelle picked me up and hauled me back to where she and Maggie are camped. I’m now standing in line to pull a permit for the next leg through Glacier National Park.
Thank you, love, for this chance. This gift.
Know you’ll be in my heart every single step.
Love.
Kindness matters
Truckin’ on
Tree
I won’t scare you with posting a before I walk photo. I will have one taken though, so I can post it at the end of my walk. Before and after photos can be pretty funny. A long walk will drastically change your body. Hiking 2800 miles will put on some serious stress. When I get back, I’ll have testing done to identify any deficiencies, so I can address them immediately.
I will put my 238.6 pounds out there. I have to be careful not to lose too much weight too quickly on this walk. Protein is a specific concern. I’m taking several eating precautions to try to slow down the inevitable.
Beans, rice, and cheese
This dinner staple is full of protein. I’ll be eating it three to four times a week. Before you say, “You’ll get sick of that,” please remember you’re talking to the guy who can eat Vidalia onion and tomato sauce sandwiches for a month straight. Food is food for me on the trail. I’m happy that I’m just eating.
Nuts and nut butters
Peanut butter and cashews are staples. Peanut butter ends up on tortillas for lunch and in peanut noodle dinners. Cashews and almonds show up in breakfast, snack, and dinner mixes.
Oil and butter
Lots of my pre-packed meals have individual .5 oz packets of olive oil. When I don’t have those to add to each meal, I’ll buy butter. A plastic container holds a butter package fairly well, and the calories are awesome to add to each meal.
Milk
I have whole powdered milk in each mail drop. Whole powdered milk is good stuff. Three heaping tablespoons makes a creamy cup of milk. I will add it to my oatmeal and my Carnation Instant Breakfast packets.
Underway
On the SS Badger headed across Lake Michigan. Took a scenic route through Wisconsin and spent the night in Duluth.
Now waiting for petco to open because Althea “Bad Dog” Toldme chewed the zipper on her crate and rendered it useless for containing her. Margaret might have had a bit of lax supervision going on at the time that facilitated the infraction. Both were almost summarily executed at the AmericasBest Inn, but Michelle intervened before I could get it done.
Maggie wasn’t happy she wasn’t in yesterday’s photo, so here’s a beauty of her in feral condition. It’s what thru-hikers look like after a month on the trail. Going to miss that pumpkin head while I’m walking.
Scrambling like crazy. Gear is finally checked and checked again and checked again.
Shed tears as I said, “Good-bye” this afternoon. Incredible people I worked with at Walkerville Public Schools. It was a fantastic 21-year run.
My gear list is up at The Trek. Check it out. No dollar information going up from me. No way I’m telling what the prep for this thing cost. Still a bit heavy, but hopefully I’ll drop the spikes quickly and be able to let go of the fleece. Spice kit is probably a bit much. It will drop weight and I’ll see what I want to replace. I was surprised at how much my rain jacket weighed. Everyone of those little things adds up to a lot of weight.
I mailed my return permit for Yellowstone back with the required signature.
Threw some tortillas into the last two mail drop boxes to be sealed. Tortillas are amazingly compact and last a long time without spoiling. Boxes through south Colorado are sealed and addressed. Who knows what happens after that.
Tomorrow we hit the Badger, a car ferry in Ludington, to head over to Manitowoc and the start of the drive west to Montana.
It’s money time.
Kindness matters
Truckin’ on
Tree
Michael Sweet 