lake Mcdonald | Once I wandered

Falling into place. And making dreams realities.

As I mentioned in my last post, I have signed up to cook on the CDT (Continental divide trail) this summer. Lets face it, I'm a very eager person, but I'm also a resilient and driven one. So I'm rising to the challenge. I've started setting goals for myself. It started simple just 12 days ago I was at a mile, very much feeling defeated by my own goals. But, I pushed through and tonight I met 2 goals. 1. To walk 4 miles (my daily goal) and a longer goal of hitting a mile in 15 minutes, I beat that goal by 7 seconds. So I'm incredibly excited about that

I have really enjoyed walking, this week I have been walking with my husband. It’s been like dating all over again, the two of us learning to talk on a more adult level without the kids influencing the conversation. So for an hour each evening we’ve been getting to learn each other again. After 15 years together, that’s pretty exciting. Each evening is a new adventure, the sun never looks the same twice, as it slips down from it’s journey in the clouds to begin it’s journey somewhere else behind the mountains. We’ve climbed steep hills and seen deer feeding along the sides of our path. We’ve crossed rivers , streams and dry creek beds and it’s like the world is awakening before my eyes. I guess you see so much when your driving, but you miss the opportunity to really drink those things in. Like the grass breaking through the asphalt on the roads or city trails. It’s almost inspiring to see such a thing. A little blade of grass can break through something so hard. Which makes me realize, someone like me can do great things too. Keep going, keep trying until you get there. And when you do…there is still more to see, more mountains to climb. I can’t wait.

On Mothers day, my family took me for a two part hike in the little belt mountains. First of all, I was crazy excited to get off man made trails and get back to nature. I was a little daunted at the first trail. I stood below a 184 foot incline the 177 feet of that in the first .25 miles. starting off with a 35% grade. But my kids took it like champs, so I figured I should probably do the same. It took about 20 minutes to arrive at the top of the trail, in which it completely petered out. Not to be put off we followed a deer trail, Road in sight far below us. And took turns calling out “Yo Bear”, since it is spring in the mountains it’s best to be safe then sorry. We followed the path, bushwhacking a time or two until we met up with a second, more substantial trail, where we began our descent to the valley floor, we let the kids play in the creek for a bit, then it was time to head out to trail number two. Substantially easier and much more frequented, this was a walk in the literal park after the Hughesville grade. Even with the addition of early nettles and patchy dense alder growth. The hubby picked me some wild bitteroot to adorn my bandanna head wrap, I think I married very well.

Over the course of the last month, I’ve had the luck to visit some really amazing places. Crystal had me a long on a road trip to Whitefish and we took a little time to walk on the shores of White fish lake, Hungry Horse reservoir and Lake Mcdonald, in Glacier National park. I saw a wolf for the first time in my life on the way home, I had never realized how big they actually are. We looked for bear but saw none.

I never set out to lose weight on this journey, and I’m not shedding the pounds quickly, but I can see a difference in muscle tone especially in my legs and rear. and today I stepped on the scale (oddly to weigh my cat, not myself..I check my weight first then add the cat, he’s 13 pounds in case you are wondering) and I note that I have lost 6 pounds. That’s a seriously awesome side effect of this whole thing!

While the month was amazing, I have to say the highlight was finally, FINALLY getting my pack! I guess, putting it on and wearing it, really hit home. I’m doing this, it’s real. Last year I was a housewife (I still am, and I happen to be a photographer too!) But now I feel like I am so much closer to achieving my goals. That’s a really amazing feeling when you know you are that much closer to doing so. I ended up with an Osprey Via 65, it’s a womens pack, so it fits my shortness perfectly, I love internal frame packs and the way they sit on your hips, I’ll be adjusting to weight over the next month, So it’s a good thing that I got a quality bag. Thanks to those who donated or purchased from my Amazon Wish list. It really takes the edge off. Some of the items I am to use will need to be replaced along the way (for longer trips) and it’s good to have extras.

I’ll leave you and some images from the last month or so. Some of these are available for sale, all the proceeds of my sales go to funding my volunteer adventure, you can learn more in the fundraising section of my site. There are also portrait sessions in there for a substantial discount! Thanks so much for all your faith in me and helping me to get to each goal!

Training trail clips. (Video)