We ascend easily through a cut-block, but as soon as we hit the trees, we hit the snow as well. It quickly becomes one of those hikes where you strategize - "let's hit that patch of ground there, cross the creek where there's only a little bit of snow, it's not too deep here, let's try this" - and our tracks zig-zag up the hill. As we gain elevation, we're treated to the
occasional view, glimpsed through the tall pines. We stop for a break and Morley suggests we try out some cambian - a layer of pine that is edible - and he starts stripping away the outer bark. It tastes sweet and cool, but none of the trees he tries are quite ready, so they all leave a bitter, pitchy aftertaste. The snow gets deeper after. But when we finally reach the peak - 1500 metres - it's all worth it. The view is incredible. The mountains, the giant reservoir and its beaches, the trees descending down below us, the snow covering the ground. I grin and we take hero shots in the snow, before turning and heading back down.This is a pretty crazy place, staying at Fort Graham, 9 hours from the nearest town. While I do have to keep constant vigilance to make sure my little girl doesn't pick up a loaded gun or watch the trophy hunters skin a
dead black bear or get eaten by a grizzly, it's moments like this, looking down at the sheer size of this landscape and feeling a part of it, that make it worthwhile. The other night, for example, Roger and I took off down to the beach on the quads, and when we first got down there, two moose watched us from their drinking spot at the lake. Looking out on a scene like that, the sun going down behind the mountains, the open beach stretching out in front of us, sharing the view quietly with the moose, puts everything in perspective.
