Wind storm over the Scapegoat Wilderness

What a day!

Epic hiking through miles and miles of rough country - nine miles in total. Whistling for bears, wading through many streams, and the monotony of walking up and down long miles over so many saddles and ridges.

Each day someone jumps into be the "leader of the day", taking up the front and leading our group in hiking, wake up, dinner, and chores. We also have a "naturalist of the day" who keeps up with what we saw on our hikes, picking wildflowers, observing nuances others might miss and researching plants, animal, geology, and so much more along the way. It is a great system and makes everything run much smoother.

Our camp that evening was stunning, here, under the shadow of Scapegoat Mountain. It is a wild and feral place in the heart of the great wilderness. Brooding clouds and dense stands of pines in late afternoon made the mood ominous and foreboding. And then everything was calm. The calm before the storm we found as big clouds drifted in bringing ferocious winds that night that nearly blew our camp away...