bridger traverse

About a week ago I enjoyed a perfect autumn day tramping along the top of the Bridger Mountains with my girlfriend Amy.  The two of us had some girl chat to catch up on and I needed some “mountain time” before the emotional project of packing my mother’s things and moving her from the home she shared for decades with my father into the cozy sweet new condo she purchased this summer. Amy and I quickly zipped up the switchbacks to Sacagawea Peak, spotted a goat family during their morning breakfast and then skirted along the ridge to the rocky Ross Peak (the grey/white rocky multi-summit peak just left of center in the photo).  We mis-navigated the summit approach to Ross Peak which added a challenging bit of rocky traversing.  Essentially we climbed up the side of Ross Peak visible in the photo and then scrambled our way around the steep rocky mountain to the opposite side just below the summit.  I called it a “circle the summit” day.  Amy is a brand new mother and we had a commitment to watch her son that evening – thus we skipped tagging the summit of Ross Peak after spending a few hours climbing around the mountain since we still had to descend to Ross Pass and then hike up and down a few more peak places along the ridge before walking down to Bridger Bowl where I had left my truck earlier that morning.  Splendid day!!  The blisters weren’t bad at all and the day energized me for the large focused six-day task of moving my mother into her “new digs.”