Well here we go, we are all a bit tired and know we probably bit off more than we could chew with this hike, but we will survive!
Sad/happy faces before we start Belly River Trail. It is 8.7 miles to camp at Cosley Lake. The trailhead is about 100 feet from the Canadian border.
I am in wildflower heaven on this trail. There are also butterflies everywhere.
Break time in a lovely wildflower field.
This was a fun part of the trail, a seasonal walking bridge that avoids a river ford. One hiker at a time on the way across.
Are we ever going to find our camp? Cosley lake is right here, but the camp is just about a mile to go.
Time to make dinner on our little camp stove. Fires are not allowed at this backcountry campground.
Sounds gross, looks gross, but tastes amazing! Maybe we were just really hungry :) Olivia thinks the mashed potatoes taste like broccoli cheese soup from Panera Bread and it feels like home.
We made it through the night, but didn't get much sleep. On our hike out we came across a ranger walking her horse down the trail. Olivia wanted to steal it and ride it back to the car. The ranger had just spotted a black bear off the trail, but we never did catch a glimpse.
Ryan took a little side trail for a nice view of this waterfall. Olivia, Brayden and I continued to hike on.
Lunch break at a campground near the ranger station. Brayden's side view to see the size of his pack.
Olivia was on a mission for the hike out. I had to keep up with her and we talked about everything we could think of to help keep us moving and attention off our sore feet, calves and hips.
Ryan and Brayden caught up with us about 15 minutes from the car. It was starting to sprinkle and we could hear thunder in the distance. Brayden got his mind off his sore feet by thinking of imaginary cookie dough ice cream that was waiting at the car. Olivia said she was never so happy to see a car in all of her life, but also said, even though it was really hard hiking 17.5 miles, she was really glad she did it! It warmed my heart.
And then it started POURING rain. Thankfully we are in the car, driving back to our camp. We cleaned up and had dinner at The Belton in West Glacier. We had the most attentive water boy named Vio from Romania. We had a lot of laughs with him.
Driving miles: 191
Hiking Miles: 17.5
No comments:
Post a Comment