A Week in the Great Bear Wilderness in Verse
By Alex Newsom, Hungry Horse Wilderness Steward Intern
Monday July 14 - Gateway to the Wilderness
A yellow-rumped warbler hopping branch to branch
Stromatolites dancing like turbulent eddies
Frozen in time as roadside outcrops amidst breaks in alder gates
Eerie wolf howls accentuated by dusk driven mists
The step from a road once logged to a trail now lightly tread
Is one of quiet wonder and quick, brushy obscuration
The orange elastic wood of a tree long since fallen
Tightly grasping our lancetooth, demanding sacrifice
The sting of cow parsnip and thistle upon your skin
As the Swainson’s thrush warbles and the fog rolls in
Tuesday July 15 - Challenge
Awakening to raindrops drumming upon the tent rain fly
We set to walking with determination brighter than the forecast
The apparent rainforest swallows our steps
Swimming through brush we are battered
Slipping
Tripping
And falling
Unforeseen circumstances lead to plans changed
Unexpected new acquaintances share words of value
Offering accommodations for slow recovery
A woodfire stove burns red and yellow
Drying our gear and our moods to mellow
Wednesday July 16 - Return to Granite Creek
A new day dawns with layers of trees punctuating the fog
The ghastly croak of a concerned raven sets our start
We walk a trail we’ve tread before with renewed perspective
The looming trees become familiar faces
And the once fruitless bushes provide plump, purple delights
Hooves clattering like canned thunder breaks the calm
A pack string saunters by
Ears flicking, tails twitching, riders swaying
The ups and downs of the Great Bear hold true
While spotted sandpipers flutter over river waters blue
Thursday July 17 - the Castle Moat
To reach the fortress of rock, you must cross the Middle Fork moat
Rapid currents pulling at trembling legs
Tools swinging wildly as feet reach desperately for safety
The elation and pride of reaching the other side
Help to fuel the uphill climb
You push onward and up through the hush of thimbleberry leaves
Until you touch the sun
And descend into the bowl once carved by glacial ice
Meadows of waving grass and artists’ colorful brushstrokes greet you
A serene lake bursting with pirouetting trout is augmented
By the scent of campfire-roasted fish
Clouds hugging the peaks attempt to storm the castle
While our tools dance with the dirt as we alter the flow of footfalls
After we brave the waters once more of a river wild and scenic
The celebratory burst of wild raspberries upon our tongues
And the invigorating chill of the welcoming wind in our lungs
Friday July 18 - All in a Day’s Work
Back and forth goes the saw upon the morning log
Helping to pump blood though cold, bloodless fingers
Our legs dampened by the leaves greeting us as we walk by
A moment of recovery to the sounds of tent construction
Transitions to the joy of collecting rocks of all shapes and sizes
Wedging
Stacking
Connecting
As we complete a puzzle without knowing the final picture
The feel of sweat dripping down the brow, as you uproot and tear
Ripping up earth so others may circumnavigate a crumbling cliff
The crisp call of a red-tailed hawk echoes betwixt the canyon walls
Followed by a hushed silence
You start to feel a welcoming sense of belonging in this wood
Trekking along the paths where giants once stood
Saturday July 19 - Many Waters as One
Splash - a frigid reminder that the day has begun
The invigorating cold racing up from stiff submerged feet
Quickly crossing and climbing to reach a yet unseen junction
To the sound of rushing water below
We turn around to climb and cut
Clearing a way through hangup, log, and branch
Amidst this microburst of wood meeting metal - a discovery
The first thimbleberry of the season
Shockingly red amidst the sea of continual green
Shattering what you thought you knew of fruitful flavor
Back to work, you move along the ups and downs of the trail
Views of not so distant peaks, only a junction away
The sight of Big River flowing into the Middle Fork like two friends reaching for one another after a prolonged absence
There is connection in the water, as it continues to flow
For whomsoever it touches, it will always know
Sunday July 20 - Portal
The feeling of fingers frozen belies a draft in your sleeping bag
Urging you to extricate yourself from the soft comfort of sleep
A final morning in Wilderness is somber and still
Until it is broken by the cacophony of crumpling
Jamming
Packing
Although lighter than the initial cargo of food, fuel, and rainwater
The aches do not take long to set in as you set out
Leaves rush by, dizzying in their multitudes and peripheral velocity
Each rocky up-slope seems like the finale despite their successors
Remembering to look up from your plodding feet
You are struck again and again by the beauty of what you see
Layers of mountains and trees
Burn scars and renewed growth
Rocky edifices and shifting skies
Your ears open to the calls of the nutcrackers, warblers, and thrushes
The uplifting breeze and soothing shade upon your skin
Who is to say where Wilderness ends and you begin?
Alex is joining the Foundation as a Wilderness Steward Intern this summer season. During their undergraduate program in Las Vegas, Alex volunteered with Friends of Nevada Wilderness and was introduced to the value of wilderness stewardship and our direct linkage to public lands. They graduated from Western Washington University with a Master of Science in Geology in December, 2024, focusing on dacites erupted from the Three Sisters (Klah Klahnee), Oregon. Exposure to the wilderness and geologic splendor of Montana through working as a teaching assistant for a field mapping course inspired Alex to pursue further connection with the state and apply for an internship with the BMWF. In his free time, Alex enjoys reading, trail running, nature photography, birding, and playing guitar.
By Alex Newsom, Hungry Horse Ranger District Wilderness Ranger Intern