I won't miss 2020, but I'll remember it

 

Being able to use public lands made 2020 half-way bearable.  This was our Scapegoat Massif trip

There's really nothing good to say about the Year 2020, except perhaps that President Donald Trump was defeated in a bid for re-election.

The Covid-19 Pandemic overwhelmed every aspect of life beginning in early March.

My wife Katie and I have taken this contagious virus very seriously and have been in lockdown since then.  That has meant we've shopped online, including groceries, not had guests, worn masks, practiced self-distancing, not gone to Church, and avoided restaurants and indoor spaces where there are crowds.  We have not seen children or grandchildren in person for more than a year.  We schedule Zoom visits with relatives and friends.  Because our Neighborhood Council refused to give up meetings in person, I resigned from the council.  I continue to serve on the Great Falls Historical Society Board, but only through Zoom digital meetings. Okay, we do see people when we do our daily walks in the neighborhood, we regularly see friends at a distance, outside only.  I miss my coffee house, and having friends and family over.

Luckily, we live in a place where public lands are plentiful, and we've probably done more hiking and skiing than in any other year I can remember.  If we hike with anyone else, we drive separately to avoid getting in anyone else's vehicle.

But, we had to cancel a scheduled trip to Scandinavia (we lost more than $1,200 so far), and have had to cut out our regular trips to Canada to see friends and sights since the border closed in April.  The East Side of Glacier Park was closed, and for the first time in memory we didn't get into Many Glacier or the Two Med.

To make matters worse this year, my Mother died at age 94, just a week prior to the Pandemic shutdowns, and Katie has been dealing with injuries from our October 2019 car accident in Minneapolis and a broken toe!

We did do a lovely 5-day backpack trip into the Scapegoat Wilderness to the Scapegoat Massif via Welcome Pass, and I took a 6-day, 84-mile backpack trip on the Continental Divide Trail between Lookout Pass east of Butte to the Seymour Lake Trailhead in the Anaconda Pintlar Wilderness.

I spent considerable time in the Little Belt Mountains, visiting and revisiting spectacular places, and am near completing a guide book on that central Montana Island Mountain Range.

I will not miss 2020, but I'll certainly remember it.