We arrived in Maiden Rocks on Wednesday, August 1st. We drove from Missoula that morning and found the camping/climbing area mostly empty. We would have never known it existed had we not serendipitously met Kylar, a guy we crossed paths with in Lander, WY. What started as small talk, turned into a conversation about our trip and where we planned to climb. Kylar not only told us about Maiden Rocks, but also sent us an electronic version of the guidebook (includes maps and descriptions of the routes). We spent Wednesday night and Thursday morning exploring the sharp, tall rock faces. On Thursday afternoon, we headed towards Big Sky, MT to spend the night with Matt Dietrich. When we arrived, we introduced Mogli and Honey and took them for a walk through the woods. Mogli has been wearing his muzzle whenever there are other dogs around, removing any possibility of him doing harm. It has been helpful for Tom and my anxiety in those situations, and it actually seems to improve his overall behavior. The rest of the night was low-key; eating dinner and hanging out before going to bed.
Matt wasn’t originally scheduled to work on Friday, but ended up agreeing to a short overtime shift. Tom and I took advantage of the time until he was off, to practice yoga and catch up on a few things. That afternoon, the three of us and our dogs left for Bozeman. When we first got into town, Tom and I ran a few errands while Matt took Honey to a vet appointment. After meeting back up we decided on some evening climbing at Bear Canyon. The night was beautiful and the area offered really fun climbs, of which we did 2. Although we had enough energy and sunlight to stay longer, we figured that it would be best to pack up. A few other friends were gathered for a BBQ and we didn’t want to keep them waiting. We had a great time that night, catching up with old friends and meeting new ones.
We slept in the driveway of our buddy, Nick’s condo, which is situated on Bozeman’s ski hill. On Saturday morning, we drove to Colin Cooney’s house where we made breakfast before spending the day floating on the river. The Yellowstone River offers a peaceful ride with amazing views of the mountains. We hung out at Colin’s house that night and camped in his driveway.
We didn’t do much on Sunday since we were all feeling worn out from the day before. In the early afternoon, Colin took us for a walk through his property which covers 100 acres. The dogs were able to stretch their legs, while we took in the fresh air and impressive hillside views. Courtney, Colin’s wife, had worked the night shift and slept until we returned from our short hike. We hung out with her, talking and playing games, until she had to again return to work. That night Colin, Tom and I made dinner and watched a movie before all passing out.
Tom and I got up on Monday, eager to explore more of Montana. We were nearly ready to hit the road when Mogli emerged from a patch of tall grass with watering eyes and a foamy mouth. It didn’t take long before the smell of skunk reached our nostrils, confirming that he had been sprayed. Not only did this postpone our departure, but also made for an unpleasant cleanup. Tomato juice was the only remedy that we were aware of which, unfortunately, wasn’t readily available to us. We Google searched an alternative and found a mixture comprised of; baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and dish soap, ingredients that we were likely to have or be able borrow from our friends. After collecting the necessary items, we began his de-skunking. The process required steadying Mogli while aggressively scrubbing the concoction into his coat. Fortunately, it proved effective; significantly alleviating both the odor, and our disgust. Finally on the road, we headed towards Bear Canyon, the same place we had been with Matt on Friday. Since our morning had come and gone, we wanted to go somewhere close and familiar. We climbed late into the afternoon and once finished, made fried egg sandwiches in the camper. After driving a little over an hour and stopping for groceries, we arrived at a campground on Canyon Ferry Reservior. At this time of night, the only way we could enjoy the outdoors without being eaten alive by mosquitos was to go for a ride on our bikes. Although it was a beautiful night with an equally beautiful sunset, we immediately locked ourselves in the camper at the end of our cruise. The downside of our campsite, was the bay that we parked in front of. It stank due to it’s stagnant, alge infested water, and attracted large numbers of persistent bugs. Luckily, the wide camper windows allowed us to watch the sun go down while we relaxed behind their protection.
After hiding out the night before, we got up and enjoyed the water by taking a quick dip and skipping rocks. The alge was thick and more noticeable in the daylight, deterring us from hanging out in it for too long. That afternoon, we hiked up Mount Helena where we climbed multiple tall routes. Tom on-sited his first 5.12a, completing a major climbing feat. On-siting means that you walk up to a climb, and without knowing anything about it (aside from it’s grade), climb it without falling. He came off of the wall and was beaming. His determination had paid off and the result was a hard earned check mark on his list of personal goals. I shared in his excitement, while simultaneously feeding into the lie that I deserved the same victory. After watching Tom complete it, I envisioned each move and told myself that I had what it took. What I failed to remember, is that you can’t know what to expect or how you’ll manage, until you’re in it. I followed him up with very different results, and allowed my pride and confidence to be crushed. After falling not once, but over 10 times, my mental and physical frustration snowballed into a crippling breakdown. I questioned my ability to finish, looking for any excuse to avoid the lesson that life was trying to teach me; perserverence in-spite of disappointment. Being someone that sets a high bar for herself and will do whatever it takes to reach it, I often wrestle with defeat. At times, this is the driving force of my motivation, but it can also illuminate my deep seeded fear of failure. Unfortunately, that night I allowed it to do the ladder. Of course, finishing a hard climb is not my key to happiness and neither is making millions or a name for myself. The truth is, part of this trip has been a search for what that key is and whether or not it even exists. Tom and I wake up almost everyday with no specific agenda, void of distractions that come with the so called: “daily grind”. After completing 3 months like this I feel like I still have unanswered questions that weigh on me some days more than others. During moments such as; struggling up a climb that I had imagined overcoming, I allow it all to come crashing down at once. I am not the victim in the situation, but recognizing how much of life is out of my control makes me feel uncomfortably vulnerable. Although these times can be difficult and, and if I let them, debilitating, they are the ones that teach and stretch me the most. Because of that, I am extremely grateful for each one, and in hindsight, wouldn’t trade a single one.
We weren’t in a hurry to go anywhere or do anything on Wednesday, so we eased into the day with reading and playing the guitar. We had spent the night on the same reservoir, but at a different campground. Our neighbor’s name was Nate, and he had been living there while he looked for affordable housing. He mentioned that he loved being outside, but that at times it got lonely. As a result, he would loiter near the camper with his dog buddy incase Tom or I were ever free for a chat. We both did what we could to make him feel accepted, but didn’t always have the energy for his limitless jargon. As we drove off that afternoon, we were happy to have met him, but just as happy to be on our way. Tom had found a nearby trailhead where we attempted to run/bike. Only a half mile in, we had already walked a majority of the steep terrain. Although we had hoped to be on a trail, we accepted that the one we had chosen was not conducive. We instead ran through the nearby, small town that included a bar and a vacation trailer park where we stumbled upon a sandy beach. This is where we cooled off and ate lunch after running and biking in the heat. After lunch, we drove to Townsend, MT where we planned to spend the night. Fortuitously, Colin was driving through for work and was able to stop and hang with us for a bit. Once we parted ways with him, we drove a little ways out of town to an area called Indian Creek. We were able to camp there that night before climbing it’s walls the following morning.
We climbed for a while on Thursday morning before packing up and heading towards Big Sky. Prior to hitting the road, I had the brilliant idea of rinsing off in the creek, next to where we were parked. We were right off of the road, but since we hadn’t seen more that 2 or 3 cars drive through, I figured that I was safe to walk over there without any clothes on. Of course, right as I was about to step down into where the stream sat, I hear Tom yell: “Trucks are coming”. Sure enough, around the corner comes the first truck. Since I had nothing on and was only carrying a small, camping towel, I did my best to pretend as though I was invisible. This attempt looked more me scrunching up into a ball and hugging my legs, looking in any direction other than directly at the passing truck. Almost immediately after, a second truck passed and I could do nothing but hold steady. I wouldn’t say that it was my most embarrassing moment, but it was definitely up there. That night, we climbed with Matt in Big Sky and made dinner at his place.
We slept in the camper near Matt’s place, planning on all climbing together the next day. Unfortunately, we ate up a bunch of time running errands in Bozeman and ended up going for a walk instead. It was a hot afternoon, so none of us lasted long before calling it good. At that point, Colin was off work and invited us over to hang out. On the way to his place, we made a pit stop at Madison River Brewery, which was somewhere that Tom had wanted to visit for old times sake. Once we arrived at Colin’s, we made dinner and played a round of frisbee golf on his 100 acres that was freshly mowed.
We spent another Saturday floating the Yellowstone River. It was fun having Courtney, Colin’s Wife, and her friend Jordan with us. We stopped for pizza on the way home, which we stuffed our faces with before spending the night hanging out and laughing.
We all woke up together on Sunday and shared conversation over hot cups of coffee. Since we don’t get to spend much time with Tom’s college buddies, it was nice to enjoy common morning rituals with them. None of us were in any hurry to do anything, but eventually, we made plans to go into town for breakfast. I took off on foot towards the highway to get a short run in before they caught up to me, driving. After eating, we spent some time at the beach then played pool at a nearby watering hole. Matt had met us to hang out for the day, but still needed to drive back to Big Sky to prepare for his week of work. After a round of pool and a couple of beers, we hugged Matt goodbye and drove back to Courtney and Colin’s place. There, we attempted to play a round of frisbee golf, but a short rainfall pushed us inside. We had a really nice night spent with the two of them, eating dinner, playing games and lastly, watching a movie.
Monday morning came with the small amount of anxiety, that I have found, comes with leaving a place where we have settled for a while. It’s easy to forget that we are nomads when we are in a familiar place or with close friends for an extended period of time. It was apparent that both of our feet were dragging, delaying getting back on the road and deciding where to go. Our camping permit in Glacier National Park didn’t start until the following day, so we had some time to kill before then. Once showered and packed, all we had left to do was give hugs, and say our goodbyes.
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