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Two worlds 3 on the way7/3/2023 ![]() ![]() I become paralyzed standing in the grocery aisle, spending 15 minutes choosing peanut butter. We walk past each other without truly seeing one another. Whenever I come back into the front country, I feel completely disorientated. And when you watch the full moon rise and illuminate the Missouri River, her limbs extending to greet your face so firmly, your shadow appears and whatever words escape your lips in that moment have never been more true. Because (let’s be honest) when you’re crouched in lightning position with hail pelting your back, you have no choice but to show up exactly as you are. Exploring Montana landscapes with a tight knit community of extremely thoughtful and lovely human beings feels like pure magic wonder-filled, it seems like a separate realm where we get to live out our most central hopes and dreams for our lives, showing up exactly how we were born to be, held and supported by both the land and each other. In July, I interned for Environmental Ethics and soon came running back to join Montana Afoot and Afloat (thanks, Matt!). The fog line followed the ridge line exactly, dividing our known from the unknown, illuminating our path to the summit.įor the past 3 months, I have felt like I’ve been tight roping between two worlds. To our right, we could clearly see past the mountain range to the plains laying beyond. To our left, fog filled the valley so densely that the crowns of the whitebark pine were our only indication the world didn’t end at our fingertips. At the ridgeline, it felt like walking between two worlds. As we continued to climb in elevation, we walked straight into those clouds, seeming to pass through the thin veil between the earth and the universe. Great billows of fog drifted from the tips of Halfmoon Pass, rolling down to greet us in the valley. Climbing out of the drainage where we were camped, we passed through the deep damp of lodgepole forests and whiskey-colored hills sprinkled with the reds of rose hips and purple faded sticky geranium. ![]() On our last backpacking section in the Big Snowies, we summited Great House Peak. WRFI alumna (Restoration Ecology ’21) and field intern Zoe Tanstrum reflects on her recent support of the Montana Afoot and Afloat semester course, finishing in Missoula on October 25. Alumni, Montana Afoot & Afloat, The WRFI Community
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