Bond Lake

What does one do when they find themselves w/ an entire holiday weekend off and not a single plan? Lace up their hiking boots, pack the dog, a tent, and some grub, & hop in their Baja of course!

So that's what I did. As soon as I clocked out of work Friday night I headed home to pack up the Baja, then my roommate, Debbie, & I headed out to the Swan to meet up w/ one of her friends.

We arrived at the trail head of Bond Lake just as the sun was setting and set up camp right there in the parking lot. After cooking filling our bellies on a camp stove meal the three of us settled in for the night. The sounds of nature lulled us to sleep & before my eyes were ready to open, the sun was coming up over the mountain rousing us awake.

Our destination for the day was a 5 acre lake nestled in a 5,400 ft mountain basin 6+ miles away. The trail took us through a beautiful forest of birch trees, maple, and lichen-draped conifers. At the 2 mile mark the trail encounters a beautiful series of waterfalls before beginning the 2,300 ft gain over the next 4 miles.

The hike's payout beyond the beauty of the waterfalls in a spectacular lake tucked right below the top of the Spring Slide Mountain. We stopped here to take in the beauty, a nap, some snacks, and even a swim before turning around and heading back to the starting point.

26 on the 26th

I've been fortunate enough to cross a many number of things off my Life List this year; Westminster Dog Show, New York City w/ my Momma, running the Missoula 1/2 Marathon, Lion King on Broadway to name a few. Today, I was fortunate to mark not only one, but two more off my list.

Today I was able to cross off: Live to be 26 and go skydiving. These are both pretty big events to me. See, I want to live to hit triple digits, 100 years old, so by turning 26, I have passed into the 2nd quarter of my life. As for skydiving, who hasn't held their hand out the car window in the wind, or watched a bird gliding through the air and wondered what it would be like to fly? I can now say that I know.

My alarm clock started singing a little earlier than I care to be up on a Sunday morning, but I jumped out of bed anyways. I had big plans today! After a three hour drive, I found myself in the Middle-of-Nowhere, Montana standing on an air strip. After the introductions were made, the papers were signed, and the instructions given, I was suited up in a cloud print jump suit & stuffed into a little Cessna 182 w/ 4 guys (including the pilot).

Two of the guys in the plane w/ us were working on their solo certifications & jumped at lower altitudes than us. Soon enough though, it was my turn and I was willingly stepping my feet outside of an airplane at over 9,000 ft onto a tiny metal step. Next thing I knew, I was airborne & flying! There are no words to describe this feeling. Fear is what you would think to describe the kind of lunacy that it takes to jump out of an airplane, but complete happiness and a sense of peace are more like what overcome you as your arms outstretch in the wind.

You may need to clean your computer screen for this picture, b/c if there are dust particles on your screen, you may mistake them for me, who is actually the dust looking particle in the top right hand corner. The bigger looking dust particle is the plane. The smaller one below that is me. My tandem master, Mike, & I freefall for 30 seconds, or approx 4,000ft.

At around 5,000ft Mike deployed the shoot and we floated back down to the earth for another 5 minutes or so.

With my feet firmly on the ground, I hugged Mike (he's truly a pro at his job), thanked him for the safe ride, and like a good daughter, called my Momma like I promised her I would upon a safe return.

After Lost Prairie I headed into Glacier National Park for a hike. What better way to end a birthday than heading to one of the most beautiful places in the world? Unfortunately the smoke from the surrounding wild fired made the mountains heavy w/ smoke & limited its views. My cell phone's camera will never do this place justice, but here's a taste of today's hikes.

Followed by watching the sun set at Wild Goose Island. Perfect end to a near perfect day.

Had to Share!

I unfortunately have no pictures to go w/ this post tonight but I had to share!

As a friend & I were descending from the top of Blue Mountain after doing some star gazing (I love August's meteor shower!) we ran into not one, but TWO juvenile mountain lions!!!

*mini freak-out moment here*

OMG! Neither my friend or I had never seen a mountain lion in the wild, so we were both pretty excited to say the least. We were also pretty thankful to see them in the comfort of our vehicle while they played on the road for a minute, before meandering off into the woods to let us continue our travels home.

The Boys are Back in Town

I had the pleasure of spending a few hours w/ my Dad, Brother, & Uncle (dad's brother) this past weekend. Living on difference ends of the country unfortunately doesn't allow for spending much time together, so even just spending a few hours on a Sunday afternoon means the world to me.

Their annual fly fishing trip took them to Bozeman, MT to fish the surrounding area. I was able to talk them into coming into Rock Creek on Sunday (my only day off for the week) so that I could bring them lunch. After spending some time near the river, I was able to convince them to drive back into Missoula w/ me for some dinner at my dad's favorite restaurant in Missoula, HuHot.
 
The trip to Missoula wouldn't be complete w/out a little visit to the Big Dipper for some of my family's favorite Huckleberry ice cream. Although to be perfectly honest, I'm not entirely sure the visit to Missoula would of happened at all w/out the promise of Big Dipper.

Just as soon as they came, they were packing back into their car to return to the streams that fill their dreams at night. I hugged, and kissed them all goodbye (tears included) then headed to Missoula's Symphony in the Park.

Clearwater Lake Loop

Clearwater Lake lies beneath Ptarmigan Mountain at the foot of the Swan Mountain Range. The 120-acre lake is completely surrounded by a lush, old groth forest.

This lake was one I was trying to complete in my "Day of Hikes" but was unable to do so before the sun went down. So after work today I headed out into the forest w/ Bosco at my side to hike the trail around this beautiful lake. The crystal clear waters do nothing compared to the beautiful view of the mountains that surround it. I think I'm going to have to come back here some day & camp at one of it's hidden sites next to the shore.