Never Summer Wilderness

The name "Never Summer Wilderness" sounds so mysterious and cold. I hoped as I embarked on a 3 day, 19 mile trek through them that they were named with the same intention that Iceland was named- that it was such a beautiful place that the founders wanted to keep people away by naming it something foreboding and unattractive sounding. This theory came to be true. This "wilderness" was indeed one of the most gorgeous places I've ever seen, complete with fields of vivid wildflowers and clear, shimmering lakes. It was a brutal hike, but worth it. I uploaded the pictures in backwards chronological order.

This is our "after" picture. I ended up taking off my boots and hiking in my flip flops towards the end of the trail because of some pesky blisters. We took a route called "Baker to Bowen Gulch."
I decided to take a swim in Bowen Lake. The water was crystal clear and the bottom was lined with lovely soft, silt. It was a spa experience to walk on the bottom. The water wasn't too bad either.

From left to right, Annie, Danna and me. The three amigas at Bowen Lake.

Wildflower glory.

Our tent we rented from REI. It was absurdly complicated to figure out how to set up. This camp site turned out to be an elk potty ground too. I was a little disappointed we didn't see any though. We were surrounded by small streams and the air was so wet we couldn't even burn dry paper for more than a few seconds.

Yes, more wildflowers.

This is Parika lake, the first lake we camped at. We pronounced it like "paprika" because it was fun that way. This is where we discovered much to our dismay that my water filter didn't work, but were luckily able to borrow one from another camp.

Here we are, not very refreshed after not sleeping well at the freezing shore of Parika lake, but excited for the day ahead when we would cross the continental divide.

Leading up to Parika Lake.

Here I am early on in the trail where my hair doesn't look so bad and I don't stink much yet.

We found scores of different kinds of mushrooms. This was my favorite because it reminded me of a video game I used to play.

One of my favorite aspects of the trail was the wild strawberries and huckleberries that were all over the place. They were small, but sweet and delicious!

In all, it was a fantastic journey and I'm glad I went. I breathed in the pine-smelling air like a cocaine addict and got enormously high. It was a natural medicine that I really needed and am still pinging from it.

-Nat