Today we left the desert Southwest and entered Iceland. Verdant, wild green kaleidoscope mountains capped with gray tops and snow surround our campsite this evening. Dark rain clouds move up the valley, dousing us briefly, and then disappearing as the sun refracts off the droplets, turning the land into a shimmer. 

Today was the first day where the terrain dictated a little adrenaline rush, as we scampered up a cliff wall near a small waterfall to the higher reaches of the canyon. That first obstacle proved to be the most challenging of the day, for as the canyon narrowed, it was completely passable, a secret passage from the land of sage and red rocks to an arctic wonderland. 

The wind picked up and the sky turned dark to the west, booms echoing off the massive cauldron of mountains surrounding us. We scampered and put up our shelter, just beating the downpour, snacking and hoping the canyon we were in didn’t flash flood. By the time I’d sliced a couple pieces of cheese, the rain stopped, moving east, rumbling as it departed. 

Back up the canyon we climbed, to the top of a pass, where a herd of Dall sheep watched us from the high mountains above. They had a baby with them, but we were no real threat. The sheep rule the cliffs, which are not where we want to be. We departed as another thunderboom rumbled off the mountains. The sheep seemed utterly unconcerned by the electrical storm.

And so it was for the rest of the day, up and over small pass after pass, dodging rainstorms and testing our rain gear for the first time this trip. To the south of us, high mountains accumulate all the clouds, all the rain and all the booms. This place makes us feel minuscule. 

We descended to a creek bed, which was challenging travel as the creek was too swift and rocky to walk in, but the brush on the sides made for difficult bushwhacking. We forged on, trading the lead, trying to pick a smooth line through the brush, shouting bear calls, looking for somewhere to camp. We found some small hills that looked like nice camping, but the wind raged and made setting up camp unrealistic. 

We headed north, rounded a bend, got ourselves out of the wind and set up camp on a beautiful tundra bench overlooking massive mountains to the south, the very heart of the eastern Brooks Range. Tomorrow we head north, to our cache, our first break and first objective of this winding trail.