July 11th, 2024
Mile Marker: 593
Miles Hiked: 23
I woke up this morning well rested and didn’t hear Mr. Deer much during the night like I expected.
However, the mosquitos were up and at em and were swarming the outside of our tents already.
We decided to pack up as much as we could, put on our rain gear, make breakfast, and get moving.
While eating breakfast 3 separate guys passed by our campsite and I was shocked, where did they come from? Yesterday, Journey and I only saw two people who were not thru hiking the entire day. We talked about how this was the most wilderness I had been in before. On both other trails I was bound to see multiple people all day. The trail works in curious ways. Always people ahead and behind you but you never know it.
Both of us were feeling pretty exhausted from yesterday’s climbing but knew we needed to get out and get it done.
We had two large climbs to start the day then smaller ones throughout the day. The climbs felt entirely harder than yesterday with tired legs. Maybe we over did it just a smidge.
After the second climb we came out onto exposed ridge and we could feel the heat sucking out our energy.
A big difference with Journey and I is that his body can handle cold well and mine can handle heat relatively well. However, this was an oven kind of heat where it felt like there was little shade to get away from it.
After about 8 miles Journey was feeling the heat and frustration of the mosquitos so we found a tiny piece of shade and wind to decompress and get positive energy back into our body and minds.
We scratched our initial plans of trying to push big miles and decided that we have enough food to go slower today and get into town a day later.
We then reevaluated the main 3 factors; nutrition, hydration, and sleep. Journey hadn’t slept well the night before so we relaxed, ate, and he had some cold coffee and hot chocolate to help give him some energy.
To help explain the difference in our bodies… I started getting cold goosebumps after a while of sitting in the wind and shade and Journey was just barely cooling down. 🫣
We walked down to an ice cold spring and saw Karma who was waiting for his partner. Journey soaked his shirt and then at the following creek I did the same. Journey also decided to soak his legs and cool off as much as he could.
Today was all about enduring. There wasn’t too many views and it was very exposed and dry.
Most of the day was through burn which I find myself surprised that Montana has had so many burns? I felt like on the news you only hear about California or Colorado.
We also see a lot of this flower around! It’s beautiful! I think it’s called Bear Grass.
Journey listened to music during the burn stretch and I let my mind wander. We didn’t let out a single “Heyo” all day. We only saw bear scat twice and it looked pretty old. Plus we have been told by many locals that grizzlies aren’t really in this area until we get closer to Yellowstone.
I didn’t find myself thinking about any one thing in particular. Mostly hoping Journey would be okay, how many miles to water, and when was there going to be shade to sit under.
One of the thoughts that did roll through my head for a period of time was what a privilege this journey is. Even though it’s hard, we are exploring areas that most people will never walk through nor see. We are doing something that very few people get to do or choose to do and in that there is something truly special.
The last quarter of the trail today was on “easier” terrain but had massive blow downs we had to go over. Usually this is no big deal but we were already crawling along and this made us go even slower.
Finally, around 7 we made it to a lake to camp around the same time as one of the other men and not to long after, Karma and Akela showed up
Finding a camp spot was a bit tricky with rocky ground but we made it work up on a hill and should have a beautiful sunrise!
After setting up our tent, Journey and I put our feet in the lake to fill up water and wash off and we noticed these large leeches swimming around.
YUCK!
I was out of that water quick and was mighty fine not getting back in.
While eating dinner we were busy swatting away at mosquitos and trying to stay sane.
Today was brutal.
However, I find solace in sharing this experience with someone close to my heart. These bad days, the good days, they will all make for many stories to tell. Where we can look back on a day like today and smile because we endured it together.
There is no part of me that would enjoy this solo. Even though it’s tough, we work together to keep each other positive and moving forward. We are learning different ways to communicate effectively and different ways to support one another.
One day at a time. One step at a time.
Iz and Oz
Izzy + Ozzy 