Steve Howe Jen's doing well in such challenging conditions, especially considering that it's only her second backpack trip. She rises early, starts the fire, and makes the coffee while I pack up our frozen camp. There's a deep satisfaction to the teamwork. A hint of anxiety accompanies the journey, as well. We stick close and move carefully.
Whistles dangle around our necks.
The Absarokas are a remote, powerful land of steep, crumbly mountainsides, deep timber, and big rivers, with scavengers aplenty to mop up any mistakes. And winter lurks in the background, waiting to pounce. But for now, this particular storm is clearing. The night is an unruly but grand one. The fire dances wildly in the clearing, and it looks like good weather across the pass.