My Trip To the Bitterroot Wilderness
My dad has been going on a week-long, 50-mile hike with his friends each summer since high school, and when I was in sixth grade I joined him. I had been wanting to go for a few years, but my mom had me wait until I was older. The hike that year was in the Bitterroot Wilderness to Big Sand Lake. Since this was my first hiking trip I was super excited, but also nervous because I had never been on a trip like this where we had to pack and carry everything we needed for the whole week, and I had never done that long of a hike.
The first day, we drove to a campsite near the trailhead. This was my first time meeting most of the group that l’d be with for the next week. The group was mainly my dad’s friends, but some of them brought their kids too so that gave me someone to hang out with. There were four kids in total; I was the only boy. That night the girls and I caught frogs by the river and started what would become our nightly ritual of playing Hearts.
The next day, we officially started our hike. The scenery wasn’t great though as a fire had swept through a couple of years prior. The campsite we stopped at was relatively small and we had to clear the ground to set up our tents. There was a tiny creek though that drained into a deep pond which was great for jumping in.
Day three found us packing up and hiking to the next camping spot which was on Big Sand Lake. The lake was beautiful and had a big beach surrounding it. The sand was ideal for building sand castles and a sand bar extended into the lake which was the perfect spot for playing frisbee. Unfortunately, during a game of frisbee, I fell over a dead log, reaggravating a previous thumb injury. I didn’t let that hold me back though from having a good time. That night we cooked smokies over the campfire and ended the night playing Hearts. The group hadn’t planned on staying a second day on the lake, but we loved the spot too much to leave it so we stayed an extra day.
In the morning my dad’s friend offered me some bacon and because I love bacon, late it all, not realizing it was meant to be shared with the group.
Needless to say, I didn’t live that down. After breakfast we decided to do a day hike up a nearby mountain. I was feeling more comfortable and confident by this time, so I went up on my own and reached the peak first. The view up top was gorgeous and we had lunch up there. The night ended with the girls’ and l’s nightly ritual of Hearts.
Day five was the hardest day. We started that morning hiking up a mountain, then found ourselves going through thick brush with a lot of fallen trees and no trail to follow. The ground was also soggy which made hiking through everything extremely difficult. I rolled my ankle hopping down from a fallen tree, and I’m pretty sure all of us kids cried at some point that day because it was so difficult. After making it out of the mud, and walking for what seemed like forever, our campsite finally came into view, but it was nothing like the beautiful lake we had left for the area had been ravished by fire. The one bright spot was a river that flowed next to the camp so we could bathe and get fresh water. There was no game of Hearts that night.
For day six we hiked along the river to another campsite. Everyone’s moods were better so we spent time walking down and playing in the river once we pitched camp. It was a pretty relaxed day; I think everyone was still tired and sore from the day before. That night we played our last game of Hearts for the week.
Hiking out the next day, I felt relieved because I was heading back to civilization. I was excited for shade and a real shower. Although the hike had been hard at times, it was also a lot of fun and overall memorable because it was my first true wilderness experience.
Gavan is a graduating Senior from Sandpoint High School. They submitted this essay for FSPW’s high school scholarship contest. Stay tuned for more winning essays from students across Idaho and Montana.
