MAGIC MONTANA
CDT Day 56: Mile 2589.5 – 2614.5 (25 miles – 40 km)
Tuesday June 11, 2019
Hammer was right, it will all get better. And today it absolutely did.
The sound of birdsong and a woodpecker drilling a tree were our wake up alarm this morning. Being such a warm and pleasant night we both slept really well. It wiped away the hardship of yesterday.
Today was predicted to be an overcast day, but without any rain. It was a pleasant surprise to see blue sky as we set off from camp. And almost as soon as we left our campsite and climbed a short distance we had distant views of snow capped mountains. From here the day just kept getting better and better.
Healthier forest, soft pine needles underfoot, blue sky, birds singing, distant views of snowy mountains, what’s not to like, I was completely reset. And when the wildflowers started to appear my heart was overflowing. All day we rolled up and over grassy meadows interspersed between healthy pine forest.
Hiking felt so easy today with so much to occupy our attention. I guess the only setback that slowed us down a bit was the numerous blowdowns we had to negotiate. Otherwise an absolutely perfect day on trail. We both remarked how today was the first section on this trail that reminded us of sections of the PCT around Northern California.
My happy bird – singing its happy tune accompanied us most of the day. And even now as the sun is about to set it is singing somewhere nearby. One day I may even see what it looks like.
Isn’t it amazing that you can hear a bird so often, and yet never lay eyes on it? I am sure the bird you are referring to is the same one that I have heard so many times and yet never seen. And it is such a cheerful sound that it lifts my spirits every time I hear it. I think of the saying “happy as a lark” and wonder if that could be it, because it always sounds so cheerful and happy.
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I heard the same bird on the PCT. The sound of its chirping always lifts me out of whatever funk I’m descending into.
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