DAY 1: The Packing Up Day
I honestly don't know how we planned on eating so much food. We had so much food piled in the middle of the floor waiting to be packed! Maybe it's a female trait to never want to be cold or hungry, who knows. WHAT I LEARNED is that not everybody in the trip needs to buy a 40 pack box of granola bars from Costco. We did get most of the food packed into the llama panniers, with each gal carrying her own lunch for the day. WHAT I LEARNED is to pack your own lunch, and not let someone else pack it for you. I don't know how I was going to eat that 10lb lunch in one day...

We had to borrow a horse trailer, as since acquiring more llamas we have not yet acquired a large enough trailer to take them all with us. WHAT I LEARNED is not to go pick up a borrowed horse trailer in the dark. I won't go into it, but it was something to do with the wrong size ball and no light hook-up. Just imagine...

But we managed to get everything packed up, and all us gals had to carry were our own clothes and other odds and ends personal items (and that lunch...)

DAY 2: The Bright And Early Leaving Day
Two of us gals actually did really well catching the llamas and getting them in the trailer and ready to go just as the sun was getting up. The morning was looking great! The problems with the trailer since fixed, we started over the pass, assuming that the other part of our crew had left much earlier to get an earlier start. WHAT I LEARNED is that if there is a guy in the car (our shuttle driver to take the truck and horse trailer back to Red Lodge) just let him drive, especially if you are pulling an unfamiliar horse trailer, or you just might learn a little more than you wanted to know about driving a truck over the pass.

So we get to the trail head, where one of the gals was to wait and help us pack up the llamas, and the other gals and dogs were to start hiking ahead of us. No body around... Hmm, so where could they be? So we load the llamas, thinking that they had gone on ahead, and that we should hurry and catch them. Just as we were close to packing up, here comes the other car-load screaming into the trailhead! They're here finally! Okay, so they did have good excuses for getting a very late start. One of the gals, being the very helpful, good person that she is, worked on a down computer and got it up and running before leaving town. (Just goes to show you what nice people we have living in Red Lodge!)

Okay, so we are almost ready to roll, and two gals decide to start the trail from the hikers trail head, so there is a bridge over the Clarks Fork River, and they don't have to get their feet wet right away. The rest of us were to take the stock trail head with the llamas, and ford the river crossing. All is well, all is packed up great, the river crossing wasn't too deep, and we planned to meet the other two along the trail to Kersey Lake. What a beautiful day, perfect temperature, no rain in the forecast, no bugs to speak of, and no people on the trail! Wait, no people on the trail, weren't we supposed to meet up with the other two gals? Hmm, maybe they got a really quick start, and are way ahead of us. So, lunch time rolls around, and we still have seen no sign of the other two, not even footprints. So, the guess is now, that they are not ahead of us, but behind us and we should stop and wait for them. Out two hour lunch was wonderful, very relaxing right by Russell creek, watching the little fishies and taking pictures! We didn't do much damage to those 10lb lunches a piece, however. We are now starting to get a little worried about the other crew - are they hurt? Did they really get started? Did they start at the right trail head? Did they get eaten by a bear? Of course, we all think the worst, but try not to vocalize it. We blew our safety whistles and called and whistled from atop a hillside, to no avail (we later find out the other two were trying to classify that shrill, whistle sounding bird). We decide to keep the llamas going, go find a campsite somewhere above Russell Lake, and then bring empty Llamas back to pick up tired hikers and dogs. WHAT I LEARNED: Don't leave from two different trail heads at two different times with two different groups of people, and expect to meet up. Also, make sure the other members of your group know what your whistle sounds like...

As evening rolls along, we have found a good campsite, started setting up the tents and getting dinner started. We then hear news from a lone hiker, that the other gals are still coming up the trail, and would appreciate some assistance. Excited to know that they weren't eaten by a bear after all, two gals head back down the trail with two llamas to pick up the crew. What I've forgotten to mention so far, is that one llama was packed rather light, with the purpose of carrying an older ailing little dog when she got tired. All of us being dog lovers with a soft spot for ailing ones at that, we agreed to figure out how to manage this. We had rigged a soft sided dog carrier on top of the llama packs, and nick-named it the Taj-Mahal, as it really looked like it belonged on an Elephant in a circus, rather than a llama. (Incidentally, the llama was a very good sport, and didn't mind at all). That first day, we did not have the strap system quite right on the Taj-Mahal, and the greeting we received when the llama and dog returned to camp that first night showed us where we needed to anchor the carrier a bit better for the next day (if the little dog would ever get back in again...). As the llama was spooked by the branches brushing along the dog carrier, the llama took off running down the trail towards our campsite, and the carrier bounced it's way around so it was hanging off the side of the saddle, rather than perched on top. After catching the llama and retrieving the little dog out of the carrier, we all breathed a sigh of relief that the little dog had not had a heart attack (she is an older dog with a health condition, remember), but had really faired very well. The little dog's owner, however, almost needed CPR after witnessing that little venture. WHAT I LEARNED: Back to the girl scout years - always double check your knots, and brush up on your CPR.

Our first evening ended very nice after all, with a filling dinner, good Strawberry cheesecake dessert! It was a bit dark during dinner and dishes, but the weather was beautiful, and we were tired and happy to be together. We made plans for the next day to organize a bit better with actual spots on the map to stop and wait for each other, we promised...

DAY 3: The Day We Got It All Together
Our first backcountry morning was absolutely stunning! Our bear bag was a cinch to get down from the tree, due to our wondrous job of hanging it the night before (not a simple feat in the dark after a really long day, and between fits of uncontrollable giggles), the coffee was brewing and breakfast was started. Due to a recent purchase of a new down, lightweight GIRLS sleeping bag, I was WARM in the morning, an event that hadn't happened in many years of backpacking. So, how crazy was that - the manager of an outdoor store suffering through cold nights without a warm enough bag. WHAT I LEARNED: Good gear really does make a difference, but shouldn't I have known that?

A couple of us ditched some morning dishes and headed to the call of the fish. My therapy has long been a fly rod, and a beautiful, calm morning watching the sun wake up and the fish slowly start their morning feeding. WHAT I LEARNED: not everyone who hikes these hills has a passion for fishing (that still blows my mind!). I came to realize this after a few days of polite smiles and nods after hearing me rambling on & on about fish, and not once did any of them tell me to shut up already about the #@&! Fish. WHAT MY FISHING PARTNER LEARNED: One should tighten the laces of your wading shoes before entering the water, as even those really small fish can cause huge excitement and one could catch a fish and lose a shoe at the same time.

Upon finding some illegal fire rings near where we were camped, we did our volunteer work for the Forest Service and worked to dis-assemble the rock rings and scatter the ashes. WHAT I LEARNED: there are still many backcountry folk that don't follow the Leave No Trace ethics of the Beartooths. I guess my preaching, "on my soapbox" article in August didn't get to everybody in the world.

A crew headed for the trail early, with Tess the wonder dog (named the wonder dog, since we were all wondering if she would ever get back in the dog carrier). We had this great idea of checking in with each other at the top of every hour on little family radios, but found this great idea squashed with the need of all parties having a watch, and working batteries in the radios. On to plan B- meet up at Fossil Lake for lunch.

Our group worked well getting the camp cleaned up, packs packed, fire rings cleaned, dishes done, water pumped, llamas saddled and packed, and the "Taj Mahal" tied on MUCH better than yesterday. Tess was in for a comfortable ride today, once we caught up with them on the trail! During one last sweep of camp for any last little traces, I found a pair of smashed, beat-up glasses ground into the dirt just in front of where our tent was. Wait... those are just like my glasses, I was thinking, in fact... OOPS. Must have put them down while switching to my contacts this morning. Oh well, I wasn't going to let this little problem get me down, as we were having such a great morning! We were packed and ready to hit the trail at the crack of.... NOON! What? It can't be noon already! So much for meeting the rest of the crew at Fossil for lunch.

The hike to Fossil that morning/afternoon was beautiful! It was a gorgeous day, no wind, no clouds, no people, and no bugs. Knowing that the rest of the group really truly was ahead of us today and that they were waiting, we set off at a pretty good clip. At the top of one of the steeper pitches, one gal was convinced that she and her llama had bonded. We didn't burst her bubble until the end of the day when we explained to her that all of the llamas and people alike were huffing and puffing up the hill, and that the "blowing in her ear" was just a matter of her ear being at the right level.

As we approached Fossil Lake, we met up with the earlier crew, napping in the warm sun on a big flat rock. We were all not so silently relieved to actually meet up as a group, and we were all in much brighter moods than the previous day. One gal's eyes were a little wide, however, and she looked relieved to see us. Come to find out, she had been visiting with a fellow who was telling her bear spray stories, completely convincing her to carry bear spray at all times.

The time of wonder had come... Tess the wonder dog was tired and in need of a ride for the rest of the day. We were all very proud of her for doing such an awesome job of coming all that way both yesterday and today, and some of us were wishing we were only 20lbs, and could climb on that llama for a ride. So after a big dose of Dramamine kicked in (enough to make us all relaxed, much less Tess), we poured her into the dog carrier, and marveled at the wonderful job we did stabilizing it this time. Hopefully the days of the dog/llama acrobatics were over. We all took off happily down the trail, happy to have Tess content on the llama, happy to have the tough climb of the trip behind us, and happy to have a beautiful afternoon for picture taking. Due to our "crack of noon" start, our day was waning, so I picked up the pace a little in order to reach a good campsite on the far side of Dewey Lake. The llamas, however, had a different idea. The lead llama was convinced that the middle of the trail was a great campsite for the night, and didn't give a hoot that there was no room for the rest of us. After some cussing and coaxing, we made it to a great little hidden campsite, with only the minor obstacle of fording the river to get there. I grabbed one llama's lead rope and started across, only to quickly hit the end of the rope with a jolt. Looking back at the llama and that "You've got to be joking" look on his face, I switched llamas, forgetting that this one had the "highly relaxed" dog on his back. This llama went for it, however, and we were halfway across the river when I heard (or maybe I thought it out loud) "WAIT! TESS IS STILL IN THERE!" Knee deep in the river, standing on mossy rocks, leading a wide-eyed llama with a drugged dog on his back, I decided to make a dash for the other side. Breathing a sigh of relief upon reaching the other bank with our complete load intact, I realized that Tess was no longer relaxed, and having a non-relaxed dog on his back had stressed out the llama a bit as well, and it was taking a bit to convince both of them to calm down so I could help them part company. Between sideways hops and skitters by all of us, I managed to unzip a small hole in the dog carrier, and Tess made a flying super-dog leap into my arms. By this time, the rest of the ladies had convinced the llamas to come across the river, mostly due to the "bonding" of one such lady and her llama. WHAT I LEARNED: Never burst a bubble of a "good" thing going until the end of the day, as it just might come in handy.

After a good dinner, a couple of glasses of wine (thanks to those llamas for carrying the wine for us!) and a good dose of ibuprofen, I came to the same state of relaxation of Tess earlier in the day. The almost full moon came out, and those of us that were still awake stretched out on the big flat rocks and marveled at the vastness of the stars. WOW... what a reason to come along on a trip like this!

DAY 4: Morning At Dewey Lake
Another morning dawned beautifully at our little hidden campsite at Dewey. It was a general consensus that this was the favorite of all campsites! The sun was creeping up orange on the snowfields way up high, and down at the lake everything was still as can be. Of course, there was another morning of fishing on my part, which wasn't real productive as far as fish goes, but very productive in setting back the inner stress level. What a place to be... just to be.

We worked very hard, striving to beat that "crack of noon" start of yesterday, and packed up very quickly, and sent half the crew on their way pretty early. This was to be one of the most scenic days (if there is one that's more than the others) on this trip, and those that were more scenery oriented than fishing oriented set out to meander down the trail and take it all in. They set off to the river crossing of the night before, wondering how to get Tess across the river without her faithful llama partner, as we were still packing up. As the discussion went on, Tess proceeded to find a very easy route across, hopping from rock to rock like a little jackrabbit. Problem solved - Super Tess was off and down the trail!

While the rest of us were finishing getting packed up, one gal noticed that she was missing something important - her sports bra. Somehow in the middle of the night, she had squirmed out of her sports bra, inside her mummy bag, and between then and now, she couldn't recall where it was. The rest of us were too busy laughing to help her, and she was not amused. We had to explain to her that those of us who were more "gently aged by gravity" would have missed this article of clothing a bit sooner. The hunt went on, and various bags were unpacked to look, to no avail. The hunt given up, she concluded that if she hadn't missed it so far, then maybe she didn't really need it. Upon unpacking even after this trip was over, this sports bra was never found. She sincerely hopes that some squirrel or bird stole it for a nest, or nests as the case may be, and is living happily in their new condominium.

We packed up and got out of camp at record time, for this trip anyway, and got on our way. We did have to stop after the river crossing and doctor up one set of feet. WHAT WE LEARNED: Don't buy brand new hiking boots and head out on a 26 mile trip! This could result in 26 new blisters! We used a whole pack of Second Skin and Moleskin, almost on just one foot.

The trip that day was spectacular! The scenery is unsurpassable along this stretch, which is not just the opinion of a biased local, but also that of many world travelers. I pulled my camera out to take more pictures and to finish off a roll, when I noticed the picture count was on 45. Not bad for a 24 exposure roll! Wait, that can't happen, can it? So, once I put a roll of film in my camera for the FIRST time on this trip (I just won't think about all the beautiful shots I thought I got in the last couple of days!) I started in again snapping pictures like crazy! WHAT I LEARNED: I need a personal assistant...

We caught up to the rest of our crew just about lunch time, where they were perched on some rocks by the river, making up stories about the gnomes and hidden caves living among the rocks and shrubs along the river. We were wondering what type of shrubs those might be...

After lunch, we loaded up Tess into her Taj Mahal for her drug induced nap, and took off down the trail. At the first creek crossing, a present was bestowed upon the gal with the missing sports bra. Someone had found the elastic band off of a pair of Size 44 white BVDs. Although not quite an exact replacement for the lost unmentionable, we all had a good laugh thinking that must have been one hard "wedgie" to rip the band off those drawers!

Those of us with fishing ingrained in our souls took off like a flash down the trail to our next campsite at Rainbow lake, in hopes of getting some great fishing in before dark. We found a campsite, unpacked what we needed, found legal spots to picket the llamas, grabbed our fishing gear, a bottle of wine, and a bag of trail mix, and headed for the inlet of the lake. We settled ourselves down on a log to "rig up", and shared a great bottle of Merlot. The lake settled down after the afternoon breezes, and was as still as glass. A family of ducks landed, disturbing the calmness with a series of rings in the water, and we all decided that there was nothing more calming in the world. I pulled out my binoculars to survey the other side of the lake, only to find a fellow on the other lakeshore, with binoculars, looking back at me. I sheepishly waved, tipped the wine bottle in his direction, and took a swig. I think he was in awe of my fishing partner's technique, and luck in catching the little fishies along the lake shore.

On returning to camp, we found dinner all ready for us, prepared by the "Scenery group" that were happy to start dinner for the fishermen. We sat around the stove baking brownies that night, going through everyone's life stories and the rest of the wine, as this was our final night in the backcountry.

DAY 5: The Final Day
Our last morning dawned beautifully again. We were either very lucky, very blessed, or living on borrowed time that it hadn't rained yet this trip, nor had we met a pack string of horses in a bad place. We packed up very quickly, and split up again, with those of us wanting to enjoy the scenery heading out quicker, and us fishermen bringing up the rear with the llamas. We met up for lunch again at Rimrock lake, at a beautiful spot right by the lakeshore. We had full intentions of staying together for the remainder of the trip, to help Tess over the rockslide after Rimrock, and since we didn't have a great track record of meeting up at trail heads. But... there were these monster fish cruising the shoreline of the lake, and jumping at a hatch of some sort of bug. The fishing won out, and we sent the scenery crew, with Tess, out ahead, promising that we would fish for about an hour, and catch them. Those fish were big. My fishing partner hooked into one at an opportune time, just as a group of hikers were rounding the corner behind her, and she got to smile and have some hero shot pictures taken before putting that one back! What timing!

Timing later on would come to be a problem. We packed up at our promised hour, and cruised down the trail to catch the crew, and the most probably tired Tess. We were less than a - mile from the end of the rock slide and switchbacks, when we met up with the inevitable - a string of pack horses. Now to equate this to those who are not familiar with the animosity between llamas and horses, just think of a Harley Davidson rally and a Honda Gold Wing rally meeting up at a very narrow stretch of the Beartooth Highway, where one crew is going to have to back up and find a pull out in order for the other group to pass. As the horses went berserk, the llamas were not about to go back up those switchbacks all the way to Rimrock Lake. The horses were turned around by their owners, and backed down the trail to find a pullout where the parties could pass. Of all the places to come across horses on this trail... Luckily, the human components of those parties were still friendly and smiling, and all ended well.

We caught up with the rest of the crew at Elk Lake finally, and picked up a very tired Tess for the final 3 miles home. She gladly went into the Taj Mahal this time, and our tie down job was the best ever. Those of us with the most blisters, most in need of a cold beer, and most in need to get their packs off (the llamas) took off for the trail head. We walked through our one and only rain shower of about 30 minutes, which felt really good.

The truck and trailer were parked at the trail head waiting for us, and a friend was there greeting us with cold beer and sodas. I think Tess would have even drunk a beer at this point! We unloaded the llamas, loaded us all into the truck and trailer (llamas in the trailer, people and dogs in the truck) and headed to the Grizzly Bar for dinner!

Boy, that steak tasted good, even after all of our good food! The other patrons maybe thought we should have had a shower before coming, and the waitress put us out on the patio in a corner, maybe that was a hint. As it was a very busy Friday night at the Griz, we had to park the horse trailer in a spot that required backing up to get out of when we were ready to leave. I was driving, and my nerves were a little tense, due to the fact I don't back up trailers very well, especially after my token beer at the end of the trip, and with a lot of people watching. As I started my 25th attempt to get out of the parking spot, I noticed several cowboys on the porch pointing and laughing. Due to the llama/horse rivalry, there was no possible way I could bring myself to go ask one of these laughing cowboys to back it up for me. So, where was the guy in the car (remember, going to the trailhead) to help me know?

Well, obviously, we made it home eventually, and we all got unpacked, got hot showers, told some funny tales to our families. We have all agreed to do it again next year! Anyone else want to come? We have enough granola bars left over...

Click here to see how Sierra Designs was used by Marci Dye, a person in the know.

This is me and the lead llama Ambush, who is packing all the food. The green boxes are bear-proof food carrying panniers. It's a great scenery shot, and shows that our hike was tough, but not a death march.

The group picture shows all six ladies, one llama with the dog carrier rigged up, and some of the dogs. Tess, the little dog with cancer, is the little black dog in her owner's arms. I am in the blue shirt and hat, 2nd from the right.