July 28 - Back to the Continental Divide with six days of food. Originally I'd planned fifteen, but friends will meet me at Benchmark trailhead with the remaining nine days, so it is nicely split up. I walked some brand new trail out of Rogers Pass. A father and son were working on some trail maintenance. Then a nice bushwack over Green Mountain before dropping into Lewis and Clark Pass where Meriwether Lewis and his group crossed on their way home. Here, too, are travois drag marks still evident from the crossings of Indians who used to make regular use of this pass. I camped by upper Alice Creek and took a bath in its icy waters.
July 29 - It was a gray day, but in the morning the clouds were high. I climbed to the crest of the divide and began walking a lovely trail up and over each knob and point. The sky, like a watercolor of washed grays and blues, made the views all the more stunning. With mountains all around me, I kept gazing toward the distant plains.
Along the edge of the mountains is an area called "The
Front". It is where the Rocky Mountain Chain meets the
plains. Special in beauty, with reefs of mountains tilted up like
waves over the relatively flat, rolling plains. Special for
wildlife like Grizzly Bears, Wolves, Elk, Bighorn Sheep and
Mountain Goats. When looking at corridors for wildlife, 
the Front must be given a priority. Unfortunately, it is very much an
endangered habitat as oil and gas interests plan road building
and drilling activities in the heart of the area.
The clouds dropped lower with each passing mile until the rain came. I was near Bighorn Lake where I donned my raincoat and covered my pack. The clouds enveloped me and I walked in the misty rain. It was mystical. The burn of 1988 had left many ghost trees; trees still standing, but bleached and gray. In the fog these dead trees looked even more haunting, a work of art left only for cloud walkers to see.
July 30 - The trail up Middle Fork Canyon gave out and disappeared just when I needed it the most, to get me up the headwall and up to the ridge. I bushwhacked up the steep mountain and eventually topped out below Crow Mountain. I'd been here before, 21 years ago, and would retrace my route for a ways.
I walked the
crest for a ways before dropping down another sideridge into
Cooney Creek, up the North Fork, and then up Dabrota Creek. I
left the trail again and climbed up into a high basin below
Scapegoat Mountain. In 1976 Bud Cooke was the postmaster in
Lincoln. He told me of the route up Scapegoat Mountain and I'd
used it in that first traverse of the Bob Marshall Wilderness,
then again in '79 when I walked Mexico to Canada. Here I was
using it again, one of my favorite high routes. I made camp that
night just below the divide, praying for a clear day to come.
July 31 - It seemed like all the days and all the miles of this entire trek have led up to this day, this place and this incredible wilderness that surrounds it. How do I describe climbing Scapegoat Mountain? It was much more than a simple ascent; more like a pilgrimage. The morning was cool and clear and calm. I sat up there and felt and outpouring of love, exhilaration and of inspiration. That spot filled me up.
When I was on my way
back down from the climb, I still had a vast, untouched basin to
walk. It was full of flowers and rock, giant sinkholes and snow.
Here, too, was the wreckage of a plane I'd passed all those years
ago. I climbed another ridge and walked for miles above
timberline, views in all directions, feeling small in all those
miles of untouched land.
August 1- Back on a trail today. It was a short, 5 mile, day. Done at the South Fork of the Sun River I camped in a clearing next to this gem of a stream. Washed clothes and took a bath. The first song of this trek was completed . It's called "Turn Around".
August 2- Cool, clear morning. Perfect for an easy 8 mile walk down the river to the Benchmark trailhead. Here, I resupply with friends, John and Tamara. A great visit with friends of wilderness.
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