June 15th, 2024
Mile Marker: 9.7
Miles Hiked: 11.48
We woke up this morning around 6:30 AM and packed up our belongings and got some breakfast at the Whistle Stop Restaurant. We weren’t that hungry but knew we needed to fuel our bodies for today’s hike.
Once 8 o’clock hit, our shuttle arrived to take 5 of us to the border. Three of us are on the same permit; Journey, Me, and Whatever (one more will join us later tonight). The other two in the car are Bob and Ross. Bob is out for his triple crown and this is Ross’s first thru hike!
Our shuttle driver was named Wyatt and turned out to be the husband of the woman who drove us around yesterday. Wyatt is also a member of the Blackfeet Nation and shared more about his experiences and culture that I loved to listen to. He also mentioned he went to Haskell college in Lawrence, KS and claimed he had a bit of culture shock with all the partying that occured in college towns.
Wyatt talked about Covid and how majority of the park was closed to visitors and how they were able to experience the park with just themselves and family members. He also talked about how close the community is and how elders are held in high regard and taken care of.
He shared how his family goes into the mountains to pray with them. How everything you see is connected, the trees, the mountains, the rocks, the plants, the streams, us; we are all connected.
As I felt the nerves arise on the hour and a half drive, I felt comfort listening to him talk about his ancestors traveling through these mountains. I felt peace knowing more of the history and told myself to remember to be connected to the trail, that this is a special place that goes back many years.
We arrived at the border around 9:30 and of course took a ridiculous amount of pictures with the monument and started our trek.
5 of us hiked together at first and then for majority of the day it was 4 of us: Journey, Me, Whatever, and Ross. Hiking mostly in that order along the trail.
I felt hyper aware as I was constantly looking around to see if I saw any bears or moose. Advice given from Wyatt was to make sure to keep your head up and not get stuck looking down.
As I tried my best to do this, I found myself stumbling over rocks and roots so it was a new learning curve. All of us agreed, it’s so easy to get stuck looking down while hiking.
We all talked for a lot of the hike today and when we were quiet for a while one of us would yell out “Hey Bear” or clap our poles just in case.
I felt more at ease when we were in the open areas and could see around but majority of the trail was in dense forest and rounding a curve always felt a little nerve wracking in case a bear was around the bend.
I enjoyed hiking with others, it made me feel more safe than if it was just Journey and I.
We hiked to Elizabeth Lake Head which was a mile or so off trail but we are required to stay at the campsite on our permits so we will have shorter days to hike.
Today we hiked 11 and a half miles and I felt relatively well physically but could tell I was a little more out of breath due to the elevation.
I can feel sore shoulders already and remind myself it’ll take a couple weeks to get used to the weight on my back. But it’s all part of the journey.
We got to camp early with the shorter miles around 1:30 PM and quickly set up our camp and grabbed a bite to eat before the cold rain came in. Later on, Journey and I went and got more water from the lake and a couple minutes later, I realized I had taken a few gulps of water from my unfiltered water bottle. Immediately my mind spiraled with fear of getting sick over night. Tomorrow we have our first big pass to climb and I really do not want to be sick for it. But, I just have to take it in strides.
If you can’t tell from reading this, my mind still ebbs and flows of feeling out of place and back at ease. Anxious about bears and in love with the views. I’m hopeful eventually I can get rid of the anxiety and fearful thoughts but just riding the emotions as they come and working on my positive self talk.
I can do this.
Oh by the way, I removed Ozzy’s eyes for this bit of trail since you are not supposed to lock eyes with grizzlies and I’d rather not chance it. 🤷🏽♀️
Iz and Oz
Izzy + Ozzy 