Day 12 – Bob Marshall Wilderness

Today was a comedy of errors. Early on, we ran into unexpected snow, which made our morning slow and frustrating. It never got quite to the point where it was all snow, more like 20 feet of big snow drift, then the same of very wet trail. Climbing the side of each drift was tiring as they were from 4-8 feet high.

Later, a turn that was supposed to be on a river bank was actually under water, so we missed that. And of course, we shortcutted across what we thought was another river but turned out to be a channel in a lake, and the other side was an island! Still undaunted, we swam/waded off the island to the other side and rejoined the trail.

Finally, at lunch I managed to step on my trekking pole, snapping the lower section in half. This is particularly bad because I use a pole to hold up my tent, and of course I just love walking with them. Even worse, I figure I’m a week from being able to order a replacement.

Regardless of all that, the actual hiking on trail that we managed was fine. Doing 20 miles wasn’t too bad, and I’m going to have to get used to it!

Oh, here is a list of songs that I’ve been singing to myself ALL DAY:
-Memories from the musical Cats
-Some song from Little Mermaid
-various Christmas songs, particularly Baby It’s Cold Outside

Pretty impressive, no?

Daily Summary
Date: July 6, 2011
Day 12
Daily Distance: 20.5 miles
Trip Distance: 164.8 miles