The Highline Trail
Being the super athletic people we are (joke), we decided to spend our first day in the park taking a day hike which was about 12 miles or 20 km. It was definitively a first for Caroline who never walked more than a few hours before. All four of us hit the trail, late morning: it was really chilly and despite the multiple layers we had, Caroline was cold. But after starting the hike, we definitively felt warmer. The air smelled so good, filled with mountain herb and tree smells; in addition, the Beargrass was in bloom which added to the beauty of the scenery. We were on top of the world, overlooking the surrounding peaks, it was like we were miles (and years) away from any type of civilization.
We met a few people on the trail but our best encounters was with the local residents: Mountain goats, Longhorn cheeps and Mountain squirrels (picture below for Olivier who loves these guys).
The weather changed multiple times during our hike: from cold and windy, we went to warmer and overcast, then rainy and finally the sun came out. Almost 8 hours after we left, we made it back to our vehicles, feet and knees hurting, tired from the effort but happy as can be from this enchanting hike. Thanks Dale and Holly for pushing us to do this!
Camping with a gourmet dinner
The second day in the park, we felt the pain of our long hike so we took it easy. We took a shorter 2-hour hike, the popular Avalanche trail that takes you to a beautiful lake and after checking out a few other viewpoints in the park, headedback to our camping site. We had decided to have a dinner at the site with Dale and Holly. This was as gourmet as a meal can get while camping: we started off with Huckleberry local bear and Pringles before the cooking started. We made curry rice with broccoli and stepped it up a notch by preparing fresh garlic, onions and carrots to pair and cook them with our can of... Spam! Yes, you did read Spam. It was actually surprisingly good the way we fixed it, a treat to remember for the future. After that, time for Smores on the campfire. Soooo good and the best way to finish a day in the outdoors!
Glad you guys were able to meet up with friends at one of the parks. Perhaps it is for the best anyway, I'm not sure Yellowstone would have been ready for our families together...
ReplyDeleteI just read the last few blogs. What memories it brought back of Glacier National Park. I am reliving some very fond old memories through your entries. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteGod be with you, I love you, Aunt Saundra