Louise Lake | Tobacco Root Mountains | Best Hikes in Montana
It's been just over three months since I last posted a detailed blog (On the Road Again.) Why? Because sometimes I just don't feel like it. Add in the fact that there are a ton of "rules" I need to play by to get myself noticed on the interwebs, and I'd rather do a whole list of other things than be a slave to the cyber machine. In a sense, I still do blog over on Instagram, but sometimes my words over there are not as detailed as they would be over here. So with all that being said, I recently endured my first overnight back packing trip at the tender young age of 44, so how about we write about it!
Backpacking overnight has been something that I've wanted to do for the last several years, but procrastination, not making the time for it, and the unnerving thought of entering a bears' home kept me from fully embracing the experience. Sure I've done my fair share of day hikes, but to be out in the elements overnight, just adds to the excitement of it all
If you believe in omens, sometimes I do, on my way to the Tobacco Root Mountains, a flock of birds decided to fly straight through the path of my vehicle. I took three out, and morbidly a fourth, whom I found impaled into the grill of my truck upon my arrival at the trailhead. Seriously, what else could go wrong?
My chosen destination would be Louise Lake, which sits at the base of Middle Mountain in the Tobacco Root Range. With a gain of 1350 feet in just over 3.5 miles, I knew it would be a slog with all the gear that I had on my back, but much to my surprise, the first three miles or so was done with quite ease. The last 1/2 mile however, my legs, especially my right one, began to give out. I felt the weakness and cramping setting in, as I finally descended my way to the base of the lake. I dropped my bag in a sigh of relief, and set up my campsite. Home sweet home, at least for one night. The dog and I basked in the sunshine, as we did a little bit of exploring. A stream running through a bed of yellow flowers was behind us, as jagged mountain peaks rose in front of us. I was scouting out ways to climb up said peaks in front of us, but I kept reminding myself that I was there to be still and unwind.
As the sun dipped behind the mountain range, darkness finally fell upon us. It was a tight squeeze inside my one person bivy tent, but we made it work. At some point during the evening the winds picked up fiercely. I could hear the lake swishing in front of us, and the trees swaying from high above, as my mind began to race with the thought of, "what if this tree uproots and falls on us?" It wasn't the thought of bears that got to me, it was the thought of the trees above me! Out here, you can prepare all you want, but you're still at the mercy of mother nature! That reminds me, how do you prepare for your dog throwing up in the middle of the night in your bivy tent? You don't, you just hope for the best!
Having slept on and off through-out the evening, we awoke to daylight, as Middle Mountain said good morning to us both. The lake was calm, and the sun cast its first rays onto the peaks. Breakfast and tea were served, as the dog continued to torment the chipmunks (please correct me if I have the wrong species) that we claimed as roommates for the evening. What took us nearly two hours to get up, took us quickly just over one hour to get down.
Would I have done anything differently? I would've taken a lighter load, but now that I'm thinking of it, I didn't really over pack. My sleeping bag was heavy, I can go lighter there, the bear bin that I stashed my food is heavy, I can try bear proof bags, and maybe I should take less water next time and trust the portable tablets that I got to disinfect it from natural sources. While I enjoy roughing it, I also like to be comfortable, so we'll see what happens next week, because I have another short overnighter planned. I could get use to this backpacking thing, occasionally!
For more inspirational tales, thoughts and photography visit me on instagram: @ryan.j.drewes
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