When I look up after stuffing my pack this morning there is a moose staring at me. It’s a cow, and she’s not too close for comfort, so I take her picture. I’m glad it’s not the bull I saw across the lake last night, he looked big. I heft my pack and start towards the trail when I see the bull by the outhouse. He IS big. He stares at me too, his lofty antlers swaying. There’s a tree between us, which is okay by me. Just then the cow spooks and trots off. The bull moves so he’s between us, as if to say, “Hey bub, yer upsettin’ the lady.” He stands with his butt toward me, a little closer to the trail than I care for. I wait. After a while he takes a few steps and starts grazing. I sneak past. I have to admit it made my heart race.

I climb up to Pitamaken Pass and have breakfast with a great view. It only gets better as I cross the divide and traverse south to Dawson Pass. At the south end of the range I can see is a jagged tooth of a peak that looks especially formidable. I wonder if I’ll see it again later.

On the way down to Two Medicine Lake I meet two CDT hikers from Israel, Sarah and Oshi (misspelled I’m sure). They started at the Mexico border on May 1, and have been flip-flopping all over the place. I wouldn’t have pegged them as through hikers at all, but Sarah recognized my maps and stopped me. I may very well run into them again in Wyoming as they continue their multi-flop hike.

There is a store at Two Medicine Campground, so I have lunch and Huckleberry frozen yoghurt for dessert. Then I start my second climb of the day, 2200 feet to Scenic Point. This is probably the best view over the plains I will get. They just spill out into infinity. The horizon is hazy – someone at the campground said it might be from fires in British Columbia.

When I reach East Glacier I call Ann. She got a room in town because it’s close to our first wedding anniversary. We thought we might not be able to do anything special because of our tight budget, but she decided on one last splurge and I’m glad. We have our favorite pizza and beer, watch cheesey movies, and tell each other how wonderful our marriage is. It’s been the best year of my life.