Surviving the Fourth up the North Fork

The North Fork is one of my favorite places to go. Quiet, wild, dusty and population free. I must have forgotten it was the weekend of the Fourth.

A friend and I headed up Saturday with a trip to Bowman Lake planned. The parking lot at Bowman was packed, the trail was packed, and Lower Quartz Lake had tents on top of tents set up in the backcountry spots. Needless to say, the only wild animal we saw was what my friend termed the "sabertooth mosquito."

The ten-dollar 98 percent Deet I had to purchase from the Mercantile didn't even curb their appetites. Every bare patch of skin was fair game. Every time we stopped to rest, we had to hold on for fear of being carried off to some mosquito den and being sucked dry.

But the hike was pleasant, and the end result was well worth it. Even with people everywhere, we all wanted the same thing - to slow down and enjoy ourselves. The trail was dotted with beargrass and calypso orchids, the sun was out, and the water was refreshingly icy.

Stomach rumblings and thirst took over as we headed back. I could see Bowman Lake from the trail and, of course, wasn't looking down. I then proceeded to roll my ankle over a rock. Apparently the Chaco sandals I decided to hike in, didn't support my ankles.

The next half mile was the longest of my life. Hobbling gingerly down steep inclines and over rocks is not my idea of fun in the woods. But a grumpy older woman passed us and quickly reminded me that life is just what you make of it. She bemoaned her three-and-a-half-mile one-way trip to the lake because she didn't see any animals. She told us it was a waste of time as she passed us in a huff.

Really? What about the wildflowers and the huge pristine lake? Life isn't that bad, is it?

I took a deep breath, laughed and continued on. Dinner at my favorite spot was soon to follow. The alpenglow was just touching the mountains as we settled into camp along the river and made a feast out of my favorite camping treat, rice-in-a-bag. As the stars stretched out over us, it was easy to remember that this was what life was all about.

Camillia Lanham is the summer intern at the Hungry Horse News. She is enrolled at the University of Montana's School of Journalism and will graduate at the end of the fall semester.