Date: 2010-03-14
From: campsite in Miller Gap, just N of Dockery Lake Tr.

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: overcast clouds

9:35 pmI'm soooo tired right now! Today I woke up knowing I had lots of time to hike, so I layed in my hammock as long as I could. Eventually, nature called too loudly for me to ignore, but I was thankfully able to wait until the rain stopped. It was a cold start, but I eventually got packed up and rolling.I hiked quickly through the cold, for a while enjoying the rain-free hiking. Did that last? Of course not! Before long, I got some rain. As I started the climb up Blood Mountain, I began to see fresh snow. This increased on the way up, and soon I was hiking in the snow, both on the ground and falling from the sky. Amanda and I had planned to stay at Blood Mountain Shelter if weather was good and we might get a sunrise. As I hiked, the decision was abundantly clear- I was heading to Neels Gap!I was supposed to wait for Amanda up at the shelter, but I got very cold very quickly when I stopped there for lunch. I sent word with a southbound father and son pair (Thank you SO much, guys!) that I was hightailing it for Neels Gap, 2.4 miles further. I felt like I flew down the mountain! Arriving at Neels was really fun, because I immediately ran into Zipcode, Steve, and Moonpie (formerly Mike). The hostel was full, but there were other options. Thanks to Cheeks, who came and found me, Amanda and I are now cozy, warm, and DRY, sharing a nearby cabin with him and Mojave. I even have clean laundry and had pizza, a cheeseburger, and a diet coke for dinner! Woohoo! I feel fabulous, and am really looking forward to taking off with my dad (and dry gear!) tomorrow morning. Yay hiking!10:30pmSo, I've been avoiding writing about something that I found out about yesterday, because I didn't know quite how to write about it, but I'm just going to go for it. The world lost an amazing young woman last Wednesday. I had the great pleasure of getting to know Casey when she came to Big Sky Kids camps the last two summers. Last summer, I stood with her as we watched three bull moose during a hike in Glacier. She was SO healthy, and I believed with every bone in my body that she had dominated in her battle with cancer. As I talked with Casey, I thought of how exciting it would be to see all the wonderful things she would do in her life, and I was excited to see her and her mother, Rosemary, when I hike up their way in late summer. I was a couple of miles south of Woody Gap yesterday when I returned a call to Lisa, the BSK Director, assuming that she needed advice on a camp issue. I'm still shocked and in disbelief. Casey, I've thought about you a lot the last two days as I hiked, and I just can't believe you are gone. Rosemary, I am so very, very sorry for your loss. To any member of the BSK family who may be reading this, I am so sorry for your loss. I don't really know what else to say. Life is just so completely unfair sometimes. The one thing I do know to do- put one foot in front of the other and hike on.Author's note, added 3/19/10: I have known far too many children whose lives were cut short by cancer. My general way of dealing with this is to lose it and grieve on my own, compose myself, and write well-composed letters and memorials. "Well-composed" is not what this hike or this journal is about, so I decided to type up this journal entry exactly as I wrote it as I tried to express myself that night. I think about Casey every single day. I would like to add to the stuff above that although her life was much, much shorter than what seems fair, it WAS exciting to see the things she has done. She went out there and grabbed every little bit of life that she possibly could, and has inspired me to do the same. Casey, I am so very grateful for the many ways in which you have enriched my life. Postscript, March 15, 2011: I continued to think about Casey everyday for the rest of my hike (or darn close to it). Her zest, persistence, and tenacity continually inspired me to keep on keepin' on, and I am forever grateful to her for helping me make it to Maine. Thanks, Casey. Lots of Love to you and all of the Big Sky Kids. Y'all rock my world, truly.