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2 July ~ 2007

Searching maps and trail guides, I found another trailess valley, south and to the west about 40 miles from the one I visited two weeks ago. In this one a trail went part way up, and then disappeared. I made it up fine, and spent two days in a gorgeous alpine basin. On the way back I went too high from the route I came in on, and had to traverse a very steep ridge with a full backpack on. The worse part was the loose soil and rock. I had to be real careful to keep from going into a slide, and I am not sure I would have made it without my trekking poles to maintain a steady hold on the mountainside. Even they were not enough to keep me secure in a couple of spots, and I scooted down on my butt, trying like heck to keep myself slowed in a controlled descent.

When climbers do stuff like this they have themselves tied down to manage the danger. It was one of those times when you concentrate absolutely on the task before you, 100 percent into the moment.

When we got to the bottom and I took off my pack to drink some water and rest, and to change my socks before I got blisters, I talked to Ben and Maggie about it 'We made it, that was really something. That was scairy, mountain dogs'

Yeah I know I am eccentric, but actually I think that talking to those two is a good thing. What would be really weird is to spend several days with a couple of smart mountain dogs like Ben and Maggie and not talk.

I don't recall all that I said to them on this trip. I know when we get up high and look out over a valley I might say 'Look at that, that is beautiful.' When I spot deer or elk down below I tell them to 'Look at the deer,' "Do you see the elk?. They scan the landscape. Ben is usually the first to locate it, as long as the animal is moving.

I have done this for so many years that they have quite a few words that they understand. Elk, Deer, Coyote, Raccoon, Grouse, Rabbit, Fox, and Buffalo, (from our Yellowtone visits) are some. They also understand snow, water, stream, lake, tent. When we are off trail and they are out in front I help direct them by saying 'this way, over here,' or 'up, go up,' as well as 'down, go down. They respond immediately.

The night before a trip I tell them we are going to the mountains. When up there I tell them 'you guys are mountain dogs, you are good mountain dogs, Ben and Maggie.'

These two have been my close companions since 2001. Maggie was born in December 2000, and became mine in February 2001. Ben was born in July 2000, and came to my house in July 2001. In August 2001 them and me went on a backpack trip deep into Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, where they both but their nose in a grizzly track in trail dust that was so fresh you could see wrinkles in its footpad. We have not spent a night apart since September 2001.

The trailess valley we explored was worth the effort, especially since I made it out ok. It was full of wildlife - sign everywhere, and we saw countless deer. Early in the morning on one of the nights something was circling my tent and calling. I couldn't quite figure what it was, but my best guess was a fox, trying to tell Ben and Maggie that they were in its territory. When I first heard it my fear was it might be a bear cub, and I spent quite a while looking out the mesh of my tent for any sign of movement around the tree where I had my food tied.

It was a very full moon, and I dreamt a lot. The first night I had two dreams about bears, which made me wonder if one was outside somewhere. Its not uncommon for me to have premonitions while dreaming. I don't consider it unusual. I think that anyone that spends a lot of time outside in nature becomes sensitive to things that are beyond our understanding.

Check out the photos below - this was a trip of a lifetime, again. I don't take for granted the mental and physical strength it takes to get up to places like that, and I am very thankful for it. Knowing that one day this all will change and I won't be able to get up there, and that someday these beloved dogs might not be with me, makes it all the more fulfilling, to be up there now, with them.

You should see the affection Ben and Maggie have for each other. A couple of nights when we were in the tent, ready to go to sleep, I saw Ben go and stand over Maggie and lick her face, and wag his tail. She returns his lick, and also wags her tail.

Just before sleep I lean down to Ben, who is at my right at the base of the tent, and stroke his head and talk to him before sleep. I then do the same for Maggie, who is next to me.

I used to do the same for my other dogs, Bud, and Boogie, and Cody, who travelled these same mountains with me, and who all three are now watching from heaven, and I like to think are with us. I took some of Bud's ashes with me, like I always do. I put them on the ledges just in front of where Ben is standing, in the photo below. Its a way of honoring how much he loved the mountains, and celebrating his life.

(to see a 700 pixel wide image of the above image, click here; to see a 1400 wide pixel image of the above picture, click here.)

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