Hilgard Peak;

posted by Chris Bangs

Wet Slides,

Turn Around Times

and Alarm Clocks......

What does this have to with a bike, a pair of skis, one pink sled, and Yellowstone National Park?

An adventure?????? Maybe.

Most of the time I don't really know what I'm doing.... I just trust in the process of life to figure it out for me.

-The trying-
-The failed attempts-
-The gentle urges to keep going-
-To keeping pushing up against the tread of rational thoughts-

How flipping cool is it to ride by a herd of Bison on the road; to look in the eyes of the largest land mammal of North America?

The keeper of the plains,
The cornerstone of a continent's eco-system,
The holders of wisdom and knowledge,

I can see the brutal past in their eyes,
Covered with a layer of forgiveness,
And the sacred journey we all must share,,,,,,, into the future.

I want to stop and pet them, and tell them that I love them;
but they're big, and they have horns,
and they don't need me to coddle them.

So I keep going.....

So many thoughts go through my head on a 100 mile bicycle ride........

May 3rd;
3AM;
Jump on my bicycle that weighs about 150 lbs with the trailer and the gear.
AND RIDE!!!!!!!!

102 miles in 14 hours

Though the dangerous Gallatin Canyon at dawn,
Climbing gently for the first 90 miles all the way to West Yellowstone and Hebgen Lake.

Spinning wheels,
Wet, sweaty, and cold.

Mild hallucinations,

And where did it get me?
Physically, mentally, spiritually!!!!!!

It brought me to a place of pain and struggle,
A place that smells of courage and fear.

A place where it's cold and the wreckage of winter glows in the daylight.

A place where my mind and body suffer,
and my spirit soars!!!!!

This is the place where I find myself dreaming awake.

Like I've written the story myself,
and invented the world.

This is the place that bring to me a feeling of awe,
Where everything is magical,
And if my alarm clock would just go off on time........

I'd live to see the adventure through.

But not all things are meant to be.

Some things are only a possible future,
and failure happens whether you like it or not.

• skis
• ice axes (2)
• crampons
• rope

      √ Check!!!!!

BUT,,,,,,
This was as close as I got to the peak. A long look across the valley to the beautiful Hilgard, highest peak in the Madison's.
Highest peak in Montana outside of the Beartooth's.

Dangerous snow conditions prevented me from skiing into this basin, and claiming this peak as my prize.

This is what I'd have to live with;

The failure of an idea,
The benefit of having dreamed,
The accomplishment of trying,
And the spark of life igniting inside me!!!!!!

This is what peace looks like!