Mountain living was a big inspiration to starting an expedition across the US. I built a small, one room trapper cabin with the help of my horse on my property in the Snowy Mountains of Central Montana. The cabin had no plumbing or power and looked like a museum with grit mills, oil lamps and an antique typewriter. It was a very peaceful place until the cougar scared the horses at night or when the dogs ran off a hungry bear. The cabin was built in a sheltered area below a pure cold spring that was piped up to the cabin. Even during a blizzard with 60 mph winds, the cabin area was silent and still. The horse corral wound around the surrounding timber and the horses were just outside the door.

The first couple years at this mountain paradise were spent living off the land. In the summer, the inside of the tiny cabin was filled with wild plants hanging up for winter drying. All the game was canned for summer and in the winter, Mother Nature's icebox kept the meat frozen. Any spare time was spent honing survival skills or studying nature. Living off the land is a hard, full-time job. Wild edible plants come and go with the seasons and some of the gathering time lasts only a couple of weeks. Knowledge of the plants is crucial. Meat is plentiful and easy to harvest for the skilled hunter. After a good taste of wilderness survival, I searched for work instead of stalking the wild asparagus. This gave me more time to study and enjoy the freedom of the mountains.

Summertime was spent exploring the mountains. Since there was little grass on my 20 acres, I packed all through the mountains finding grass and enjoying total freedom. My only concern was keeping my stomach and that of my horse full. Periodically work was available at local ranches or I commute with a neighbor to work construction. It was a good balance of living off the land and working. I would find a camp close to work that had water and grass for the horses. After a week or two I moved on. The urge to just ride off, never to ride the same trail twice, was strong in my heart.

I started to prepare for a cross-country expedition when Gretchen responded to an article I had written in a horse magazine. Her plans to ride cross-country were identical to mine. After romantic correspondence, Gretchen and I were married and she moved to my mountain cabin. A real greenhorn with the right attitude of natural living. Before Gretchen moved in, I put in a sink, finished my 5 year-old outhouse and even bought real towels! Gretchen never even camped before and now she was living like a pioneer. Our first argument was over a gas-powered Coleman lantern. Gee, I thought everyone new how to light one??

We spent our last Montana year packing, camping and delivering eggs on our smooth-riding Peruvian Paso horses. The highlight of our life was mail day twice a week. This was about a 10 mile ride that took the whole day and sometimes two! We took different routes each time. Many were simple deer and elk trails. We visited neighbors enroute and the visits usually lasted several hours. In the mountains, you just don't drop in and say howdy. You have dinner, play cards and gossip! One time I ate at 4 neighbors' houses on the way home from mail. I was so full but everyone was cooking my favorite that day. When I rode to work with a neighbor, Gretchen and I rode down the mountain to meet him. Gretchen led my horse back home, cooked dinner and then rode back with my horse to wait until I was off work. Pioneer cooking takes several hours especially with a wood cook stove. She made an old cowpoke dinner called short ribs and cornmeal dumplings. She left the Dutch oven sitting in the wood-fired oven while riding to get me. By the time we returned to the cabin, the meal was done to perfection after the fire slowly died. It was so good that I almost ate myself to death! I ate 7 of the 8 servings!

Social life in winter revolved around the moon. We visited friends and as the moon rose, headed for home. The silent, ethereal moonlit ride seemed mystical and felt unreal. The light was bright enough to read a book and every landscape detail was visible. The temperature may have been well below zero but our warm clothes made the night outing a pleasure. Our horses knew every trail back home and riding was basically just sitting. Even on the blackest night, the horses maneuvered through our secret short cuts through the timber. We loved to ride through the many old homesteads scattered in the area. One icy winter ride was spooky as we rode by an old homestead. There were farm implements sticking out of the snow and all the trees were covered in thick hoarfrost. The hardship life of the pioneers was evident and we almost felt the presence of their ghosts.

Montana is where we started and hopefully where we end. We cherish our Montana experience and look forward to our return. For us, it is an easy and rewarding life with few problems or worries. I truly believe that a person should do something to help society and felt almost selfish by my uninhibited lifestyle. It was time to go out into the world to help somehow. Our quest has brought us close to many people. We hope to put all our lessons in life together, to help bring horsepacking into the 21st century. We hope to do all we can to help keep our trail-riding privileges and rights intact. Without riding the back-country trails, the quest is gone