The Hazard Chronicles

Jackson's Review of our backpacking trip in the Eagle Cap Mountains:

Hello! Jackson here. So, we went up and did a backpacking trip. However, I am not going to outline the order of events which transpired, as I'm sure others will do so (ie, Dad and Lindsey). So, rather as a prequel of sorts, I fully intend to describe the scenery we observed and the atmosphere the backdrop devised. With complete disregard for societal normality, I will be speaking as if in a medieval high fantasy setting in an attempt to fully convey the beauty we beheld (And maybe with the slight intention of satiating my desire to write in this descriptive style. Notably, without the artifice of AI). To convey these sentiments from these times, I may take artistic license on some aspects of the trail, however I will try to keep it as honest as I may.  I will also use images from the trail we completed alongside photos from various works of fantasy in order to truly convey the experience. (Any photos not taken from the trail we completed will be labeled -NIH- **Not Included Here**)

To begin, we all sat in the car for four hours, and slept overnight in a campground before we made our way to the trailhead. We donned our packs for the journey ahead. We paused at the trailhead and posed for a photo as a family, after we took the photo, we set off on our grand adventure. Within a brief moment everyone in the family began to split off, as natural. Evelyn, Addy, and I at the front, the others the back. I'm not completely sure how the other's hike went, although the three of us made great time and seemed to have excellent endurance. At one point, the leading group made their way to 'The six mile meadow.' We all waited for each other and ate lunch there before trekking on. We came across  river crossing and sloshed through the fluid before gaining massive elevation. Once we arrived at the top, we set up camp. And let me tell you, it was pretty.

        

Once we all broke camp the next morning, we began the next hike, later found to be roughly a 13 mile journey through the mountains. It started casual, wonderful even. The hike was easy going, and laid back. With a personalized pace, we could go for hours. After a slight bit of work, we began to climb. As we passed through the meadows, the wonderful fragrance from each individual flower filled each nostril with an otherworldly awareness. A high point was soon reached, altitude gained with each step. As I began to gradually travel, the pine twisted to birch, weeds to a soft, arched green brush as if from the dreamscape. In the absence of fatigue, miles where gained upon the soft landscape before arching firmly upward, catching the traveler off guard. Work must be given in order to reach the full altitude, the full potential of this isolated world. After this trudge, the land angled steeply downward.

        

Woah.

        

Alas, amongst the hills a meadow may seem to be. As ye ol' traveler gains progress, thee may enter such a world as if being transported. As of all of a sudden, ye find yourself perched upon a bridge built open rocks, a stepping stone layout. placed bare beneath your eyes the forest expands in but a moment, a soft, lush grass encases the ground as if to prevent an eye upon the floor. As we progress upon the dirt pathway,  rich soil overwhelms your senses, the gentle gurgle of a lazy brook passes throughout the meadow before ducking between the trees once again. The trail traverses alongside that brook, easing into a steepened slope of an agonizing hardship. To complete this section is to crawl over the peak and tread toward the lake in desperation.

Once the lake has been reached by desperate means, the trail switches back upon itself. For a slight moment you continue to progress before the trail ducks into a subtle decline in a gradual sloping valley with sharp cliffs upon its faces. Rustling grasses and shrubbery eases itself gently up the slope and a river cascades into the valley before it lazily weaves through the grasses below. With sky as bright as a bluebird, the scenery certainly has its place. As the valley tapers and eases behind us, the cobbled path makes way to a dirt path, worn down and modern. The shrubbery seems to age 5,000 years to the modern day and we make our way back to six mile meadow. The next day we hiked back the way we came and arrived at the car, leaving the enchanting magical environment behind us

Day one- Mile one

River crossings were abundant

Our warm breakfast rock. Little did we know the frost that awaited us the next morning!

Lindsey rocks the homeless look!

I can't help but see a very centered photo of us.

The top of the pass

Fairytale meadows

Jack was awesome at the river crossings

We all did it in our very own style 😆

Monday morning was crisp to say the least!

Find a tree. Use the rope. Hang the food. It seems simple...

This guy could be find anywhere... in a sleeping bag. Whether it was early morning, or lunch stops, there he was!

The entire trip was magical. Pictures, of course, are a poor representation, but we couldn't help but take scenery images. Here are some of our favorites:

We definitely took a detour to hike to the snow, and we left our mark!

Smoke was not a big deal. The first night it added a surreal, mystical glow that can't be captured

Evelyn's Update:

Evelyn here! Last weekend I planned a trip to Revette Lake with some of my friends. We hiked in and camped, and it was a ton of fun! Many of them had never been backpacking before. 

I seriously love this so much... and they are not wrong. -Rachel

This weekend, before we left for Oregon, I got people together to make food and feed the homeless. This was my third time organizing an event like this, and it was the best turnout so far in terms of people and food, so that is pretty awesome! A lot of my friends plan on continuing these events after I leave.

Additionally, I got to job shadow Mike, who's a CRNA, which made me pretty excited about my future career. 

I drove to Missoula on a whim on Wednesday night after work to see one of Josh's shows with Poise, which was awesome, but we had to stay overnight in Wallace and I barely made it to work in time next day haha. I had a great week!

Have a good week!