DAYS 44 & 45 - Moran, WY - 869 miles from home

Over the weekend it rained, it stormed (lightning on the mountain top, oh my), it even hailed. We crossed the Continental Divide on Day 45 at nearly 10,000 feet. We were photographed and filmed by our wondrous documentarian Elijah Reed and his pal Löic (they'd joined us for the weekend). In the early morning hours, Elijah filmed a grizzly up close and personal on the road not five feet in front of him. He was in Löic's car, foot on the pedal, ready to gun it as needed. Later that day he saw an elk and a moose. I saw a mysterious raven and a bald eagle. Kate found a sodden note on the side of the road written, apparently, by a young woman named 'Ellie' to her older counselor 'Ford.' Oh goodness, sweet quite transparently unrequited girl crush. (Ford, why and when did you discard this note? Kate's and my hearts broke in unison. We remember being fourteen too too vividly.) Ellie wrote: "You taught me that here's no I in teamwork." Well, that's right Ellie. Sending you blessings wherever you are! You can do better than Ford - don't worry!

Every moment of this pilgrimage is a microcosm of the whole. And figuring out how the team works - that's just about everything. Just where, exactly, does the "I" fit in? How do Kate and Bob and I manage tight spaces and open schedules? How do individuals honor their own needs and give each other grace in the process? How do we all learn to soften up instead of lock up? - And speaking of locking up: what do we do when things break, like the backdoor of Libby, the lock of which seized up yesterday in the frigid and rainy late afternoon...? (We'll be finding a locksmith today, friends.)

We are covering a lot of ground these days, splitting our daily walks into two stretches of 15 miles each, and moving through this vast and glorious terrain. Every moment feels crystalline and almost impossible in its clarity. The inner reaches of the heart feel increasingly mysterious - but also spacious and less chaotic. Bob and I have two more weeks with Kate - just long enough for our teamwork to become ever more precise clockwork. This morning, getting up in the cold and getting coffee, oatmeal ready, teeth brushed, ablutions completed - we purred and hummed and also laughed. We're as ready as we can be for our next encounter - human, bison, bear, bird, hail and sun. We're as ready as we can be for the macrocosm to this microcosm that each moment truly is.

I'm not sure this view ever gets 'old.'

And suddenly, there are colors. Those reds! Those yellows! And of course the endless blue (which will become storm clouds, of course....)

The beauty of rolling hills; the massing of stormy clouds.

The hailstorm is about to start - just you wait.

Hell no. I had 4 more miles I could have hiked - but enough fun for one day.

My raven. Hopped right by. me - swung his head around. Kept hopping. (Only two eyes on this guy, though.)

Elijah filming Kate.

Löic, camera in hand, triumphant!