PNT: Progress & New Gear
After our Greece/Turkey trip in May, we left on a long road trip later in June to escape the desert heat and re-visit some old haunts and explore some new areas. Our first stop was Durango where we took some long bike rides, kayaked and fished in Vallecito Lake and got some good hikes in on Lime Mesa in the Weminuche Wilderness and Bear Creek near Ouray.
Salida, Colorado was our next stop, originally on my “places to retire to” list and a trail town for me on the CDT and Colorado Trail, we had a great time, first at a wine festival, then biking and fishing along the South Fork of the Arkansas River and a nice CDT hike from the ghost town of Hancock to the collapsed Alpine Tunnel.
We enjoyed an Elliott family reunion for a week near Grand Lake, Colorado, visiting and hiking with the grandkids and watching a lot of soccer. We took full advantage of our proximity to Rocky Mountain National Park with nice hikes in the high country and along the Bear Lake Road.
Back on the road, we stopped for a few days near Bondurant, Wyoming near Jackson Hole. Our cabin was in the headwaters of the Hoback River, another great opportunity and location for biking and fishing. Lastly, we spent a week on McGregor Lake near Marion, Montana. Lots of paddling, some fishing and a few great hikes in the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness and Glacier National Park where I practiced my “Hey Bear”. No crowds in these parts!
The great news? On the way home, we stopped and picked up the new addition to our family, Hazel, a 10-week-old F1 Labradoodle. Wow, we forgot the puppy energy and time required for training but her zoomie rampages are very entertaining! A friend said she looked like a Tasmanian Devil – she acts like one too!
Back to the PNT, got my first pick of backcountry campgrounds in Glacier National Park and will take my first Amtrak ride from Whitefish to East Glacier.
New gear: retired my well-used and worn Zpacks Altaplex tent and replaced with a Duplex Lite, a little more room and doors on both sides. Got a new sun hoodie from Royal Robbins, less than 6 ounces and advertised to be “mosquito resistant” – we’ll see! Lastly, just traded in my old phone for the I17 pro model – the camera looks to be greatly improved with a more powerful zoom.