The Western Road Pt 2

So it has been raining here for a month straight - something very unusual indeed. And of course, slightly hinders my hiking routes and abilities. A hike in a gentle rain to a mild rain is a beautiful thing. Some of my favourite hikes have been this way. But in a downpour, that is a different story.

So i have been pretty limited so far to sticking to the car.

Until today!

I started off with a 12 mile hike today. Not a bad intro hike. This first hike began at Taggert Lake and wandered about from there. I love this hike because whatever bushes grow there are the most fantastically pleasant fragrant bushes! If they could bottle it, i'd buy a case!

The wildflowers are just starting to bloom. These arrow leaf balsomroot are fairly prevalent thus far, and frequently turn whole fields and hillside yellow.

A few of the trails had to be shut down due to lots of bear activity.

I love the wildlife here. Not only are there squirrels and marmots, but otters, badgers, big horn sheep, moose, elk, coyotes, wolves, eagles, bears, mountain lions, bobcats, and more. Ah! There is no place better!


The clouds let up today. (for the most part). But there is new snow on the mountains. This is going to make it hard to do the several high mountain and canyon hikes I was hoping for...

There is still snow in the mountains. This is fairly low. I have never seen snow this far down this path before. Though with the rain and upper 60's this week, there will be very very high waters everywhere here.

This gorgeous moose came out of the willows and swam across a shallow lake to the other side, where I came upon him again later in the hike. Watching a large animal swim is so fantastic. The water was up to his chin/shoulders at the deepest. And he is a tall creature! This was the 2nd of 2 moose i saw today. Both bulls.

Also spotted: herd of elk, 2 bald eagles in flight, several marmots, several antelope, some pelicans, and

a very large lovely healthy black bear!

I get to hit the trails again tomorrow am, and will have some more pics up soon. There is little to nothing like being in the mountains - these mountains. Some kind of connection lives here, some kind of divine presence calls this home. At least for me. Every time I am here, i feel i am home - home in the rightness of the universe and my soul. Home where God is ever-present and frolicking with the bears, flying with the eagles, meandering with the moose, and fluorescent in the flowering hills.

"I just wanna melt away into your grace/ I just wanna drift away into that sacred place/ where there's no more you and me/ no more they and we/ just unity/ unity." - Trevor Hall