Journey Day 371 | CDT Day 34

Entering the Anaconda-Pintlar Wilderness in 1987.

7/15/87

Today was the kind of day that could make you miss your job.

We began on an obscure trail that doubled as a quagmire. Twice I was in over my boots and once even stuck my head in the slimy stuff. But we slowly made our way up the Mill Valley, where the trail became obscure as promised. We missed Miller Lake (saw it later from a subsequent ridge) and bushwhacked our way to the tundra/spring below our pass.

I finally got my long log dislodged. Leonard had camera problems, Liz blister woes. Then we climbed cross country to the apparent pass. At the top, we had our dangerous descent. No good down to be found, we climbed carefully down, taking nearly an hour of high fear. Leonard's pack came bouncing down before him, amazingly intact despite high bounces ending at the rocks.

The guidebook route led us to this precipitous descent.

At the bottom, we took lunch and rested our weary bodies before more bushwhacking. This worse than ever through deadfall, dense pine forest and boggy meadows where I found a hole to step in. After much apprehension, we found our way to the trail!

It took us up to Twin Lakes, Upper and Lower. After one mishike, we found the trail up.

I led, climbing past two deer through more muck, one hole nearly claiming my boot. More climbing, a slight mishike in the meadow before climbing steeply to Storm-Twin Lakes Pass and into the Anaconda-Pintlar Wilderness. Cairns alternated with blazes, leading me up, before taking me down to a creek, then Storm Lake through parks of beautiful wildflowers.

At Storm Lake, turned off by apparent expansion area, hike around. Despite others’ choice, I pick spot on promontory looking at Mt. Tiny. Pitch, cook, visit others, back to tent to organize, crash before dark.