Y2Y 2002 Update #5

September 1 - Today is the day. I have walked a day and a half up the Alaska Highway and this morning with Leslie and my sister, Sue, I will hike to Barney Lake, northeast of the highway, and then north to the Yukon line. We have a good breakfast in our car camp and then shouldering our daypacks we set out up a pleasant little jeep track. Sue's dog, Mesa, is excited about the walk, as we all are, and we thread our way through the forest of mixed aspen, and spruce, and spongy thick moss, passing little pothole lakes and ponds, their waters a rich Caribbean blue and azure green are passed.

The little trail becomes less traveled and ends at the edge of a vast bog. We spend a couple hours of slow bushwhacking around the marsh to a point above Barney Lake's southwest shore. From here I can see that we will not be able to walk the edge of the lake to the Yukon line. Time to pull out the compass and head north.

It is slow walking through the forest, but I'm excited and we head north bit by bit. I'm checking the GPS every little bit. We come to a little clearing on the side of a hill. An old bear den is nearby. The GPS tells me I am here. In the Yukon!

I shoot off the bear-banger and Leslie and Sue give me big hugs. I'm here. Leslie pulls out a big sign the reads "60° North -Yellowstone to Yukon -- Congratulations, Jim". I'm totally surprised, but even more so when she pulls out a bulky stack of letters and cards and hands them to me. These are greetings from family and friends from all over the world who have sent me notes of congratulations. Over the next hour as we eat our lunch I read the messages. Tears flow freely. This outpouring of love and caring from so many folks uplifts me. I feel like I've just gotten a big hug. Their caring makes me appreciate more what I've just done. The past several years of planning, hiking, struggling, and longing have seen me through. I think of all the joys, all the challenges, all the tears, all the miles of wild country between here and my home in the Yellowstone country. Somehow it must be kept wild. Somehow I will do all I can to help it along.

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