July 17, 2012 - Shaggy Saw a Bear

Day 33
Contouring trail near Fowler Peak trailhead
Elev: 5500 ft
Miles: 26
Trip: 573

Methinks the new shoes are treating my feet right, because today was the first day I hiked 25 miles without limping into camp. Hallelujah for supportive footwear! The miles cruised by again today over fairly easy terrain: rolling hills, nice soft dirt trail, peaceful pine and fir forest. Very different from the High Sierras, like paddling down a calm river is very different from hang gliding over a mountain range. I like this kind of hiking, but it can't compare to the John Muir Wilderness.

In other news, Andrew saw a bear today! I was busy looking at the trail to avoid tripping (my usual hiking style) so I miss it. He thinks it was a yearling. Bummed to have missed seeing a cute teenage bear. Of course, tonight is the first night we haven't hung our food bags. It's at our feet, with bear scat a few dozen yards further away. There are no low-hanging branches on these dead fir trees, so we're stuck freezing at every sound, sure that branch snap was a hungry bear homing in on our food. I'll just hope the yearling Andrew saw is too shy to come near humans. Otherwise...we will have an interesting night.

Shaggy says:

     The wind roared all night and this morning it even looked like aa storm might be in the makings. Poofy clouds were forming and blowing in from the West.
    We talked a lot today about Canada. I told Lauren that it is important to me to try and make it. She wants to make it, but wants to have a good time while making it. Its such a hard compromise for both of us. I know I can hike 20 a day and still have a lot of fun, but 20 takes us a bit longer and is a bit harder than going solo. I wouldnt trade my hiking partner for anything, just hard to both agree on how we will hike. We are going to try to make it, 20 a day average. It wont be  easy. The hardest thing is that if we want a day off, we need to do four 25+ mile days. Whatever will be, will be. I get burned out thinking about miles, but if we want to make it, we have to think about it and act on it.
   We took a lot of breaks today, and still made 26 miles. Camped at 9, after missing a good campsite. The views today were good, but the forests were amazing. Spotted a black bear today, looked like a yearling. Makes me miss working at the Wildlife center in Helena. Bears have so much personality, each one different from the next. As ironic as it is, we are not hanging our food tonight either. There simply is no trees with branches in this dark old growth forest. Just as I had ridiculed other hikers a day before for leaving food out at night. Now its dark and in this quiet night we are hearing branches snap....

"To be quite oneself, one must first waste a little time."

(No pictures today...)