23 August 2017, Wednesday After our fresh-baked lemon bread breakfast and a conversation with our neighbors from the Billings area, Bev and Cliff, we are off on a car tour of the most scenic highway in America (per Charles Kuralt.) The Beartooth Highway exceeds expectations! If ever you have the chance to drive it, do so. We wind through sharp switchbacks up the rocky, pine clad slopes. As we round
22 August 2017, Tuesday Basin Campground and hike to Gertrude Lake We spend the morning cooking up our cardamom coffee cake while O reorganizes his daypack. Meanwhile, I get out trail snacks. After breakfast we drive (slowly) up a very rough forest service road to the trailhead for Gertrude Lake. It is already 12:15 when we begin our hike. Much of the forest on the ridges here was burned in
21 August 2017, Monday Basin campground and Shoshoni WY It is quite dark when the alarm goes off at 5 am. By 5:20 we are on the road. Following Helen’s advice, we take the more eastern route towards Shoshoni in order to avoid Cody traffic. We keep an eye out for a place to get coffee in the wide open Wyoming ranch land. Finally, around 6:20, we unexpectedly find a
20 August 2017, Sunday It was refreshingly cold last night. O even got out the extra fuzzy grey fleece blanket to put over our down quilt. Despite our night’s sleep, we are both pretty tired today. Perhaps it is from driving nearly 1000 miles in two days. As expected, the family at campsite 5 packs up and leaves this morning as we are in the midst of reorganizing Vincent. We
19 August 2017, Saturday. We breakfast at Days Inn and get some coffee for the road at the Starbucks across the street. By 8:45 we are driving west once more. We cross into Mountain Time and gain an hour. Shortly after we cross into Montana we stop at a windblown rest area. With the low humidity and high winds we decide this is a perfect location to dry our tarp
18 August 2017, Friday Vincent was pretty well organized by bedtime last night. This morning we have a substantial breakfast at The Chocolate Mousse and are on the road at 8:35. Only our tent and tarp are still soggy. They will have to wait until Montana to dry. We drive westward and southward through Minnesota, from the forests and lakes of the north to the rolling green prairie of the
17 August 2017, Thursday It rained. Hard. All night long. In the gray morning light we wake to a soggy campsite, but inside our Big Agnes tent we are (temporarily) dry. O dresses first and dons his rain suit. He dives out of the tent and under the tarp. I stay behind to pack up the contents of the tent. It is an excellent morning for hot oatmeal and left
16 August, Wednesday 2017 We have an unexpectedly bright morning. The coming rain is still off to the southwest, and for the time being we have mixed sun and clouds and a pleasant breeze that is keeping the mosquitoes away. (Speaking of which, I am seeing numerous red-brown smudges on my journal, the remains of last night’s battle.) Last night we had an owl chorus around our tent. (Who cooks
15 August 2017, Tuesday Slim to Little Loon to East Loon Bay to Little Indian Sioux River to Lower Pauness Another warm sunny day begins. It’s almost too warm for the Boundary Waters. Once again we had the entire lake to ourselves last night. Once again we are on the water before 9 am. As we near the take out we pass two canoes, 6 humans, and one corgi who
14 August 2017, Monday Eugene to Steep L to South L to Section Pond up the stream, over the beaver dam to Slim Lake We are once again on the water by 9 am after breakfast and a brief morning rain shower. Our first carry is into beautiful Steep Lake with its rocky shore and impressive rock overhang. We take a detour from the take out to explore the area.