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in the wilderness before it was designated, but said the
land has taken it back and it would be hard to find. He
described the Lee Metcalf as "unique and it's not for ev-
eryone because of how rugged it is." I had to agree with
him.
The creek crossings were deep and cold, which was wel-
coming on the ninety-degree day. The trail disappeared
several times and I had to stop and get out my maps to
orient myself in the right direction. Deep in the wilder-
ness, I encountered two outfitters on horseback who
seemed surprised to see me. "Lady, what are you doing
back in here by yourself?" one of them asked. They told
me nobody had been back in the area for years except
for them. The encounter reinforced just how remote this
place really is.
Reports of a downed tree dangerous to horses had me
hauling in tools to fix the issue the next day. Once off
the main trail, the amount of bear scat had me talking
out loud. The vegetation was thick and the trail became
lost—a recurring theme in the Taylor-Hilgard. I made
my way up a steep switchback and started to see trees
with their bark shredded like newspaper. A bear had
marked over 13 trees in the area in the last week; the sap
still held its fur and undercoat.
As I kept hiking further back, the terrain became more
