I woke to hear a distant whistling sound I don’t recall hearing before. I thought it was maybe a hunter whistling for dogs, but I would soon learn the truth.
This little section of trail was surprisingly popular. I met at least half a dozen people going north just after lunch. Most of them told me they had spent the preceding night at the cabin at Government Meadows. And that I would be guaranteed to see elk there. So I decided I would stay there as well.
I arrived pretty early in the afternoon. It wasn’t that far. Soon I could hear tons of elk bulls making herding calls in every direction. And the overtones of those calls were precisely the whistling I had heard that morning. Soon I saw a small heard of cows crossing the side of the meadow. My first elk sighting!
I had the cabin to myself, so I went to sleep just as it was getting dark. I set an alarm for 4:45 in the morning so I could get up and out well before first light and have enough time the next day to make up for the short mileage I had done that day.
Later in the night, I heard mice scurrying up and down the walls. So I didn’t have the place completely to myself. But they didn’t chew through any of my straps, so I didn’t mind them.
Total distance: 14 miles
One reply on “Sep. 29: Hiking less to hike more”
Those elk could hear you breathing!
And……I still don’t see how you can sleep with those mice running around.