Wild Horse Island...Part 1

We knew when we first undertook this project that it was going to be an adventure, but we didn't fully realize just how much of an adventure it would be.  Our first effort towards searching for wild horses began on a little known island in Montana. The biggest lake this side of the Mississippi, Flathead Lake is home to Wild Horse Island. This is where our journey truly begins. Sitting at just over 2100 acres, the island is expansive, mountainous, and very dry. Home to a very small heard of horses, deer, wild sheep, and bald eagles, the island provides ample space and opportunity for each of the animals to hide deep within its heart.


Day 1 on the island...
It was excruciatingly hot, the temperature hitting a high of around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and the sun was bearing down on us, uninhibited by clouds. Our morning began with a 2 mile canoe trip through Flathead Lake from the closest town with a harbor, Dayton. We maneuvered out of the way of sail boats, wave runners, and yachts, finally arriving at our destination. Like any "good" hikers we started out on the designated trail, however, half way into the 3 mile path that didn't cover even a quarter of the island, we ventured off trail to seek out the wildies deep in the heart of the island. We walked for hours up and down the mountainous terrain keeping an alert lookout for any sign of wild horses. After several hours of scaling mountains with no luck of seeing horses, and running low on water in the vicious heat, we turned to go back the way we had come, or so we thought. That was when the real adventure began. We realized that in our efforts to pay close attention to signs of wild horses, we had failed to pay attention to the direction that we had come in. So there we were, lost in the middle of 2100 acres, on a scorching day, with no water, and very little energy to continue on with. We rested and reconvened, running through our options, and decided to hike to the top of the closest mountain to get a bird's eye view and make our way from there. Hours later, from the top of the ridge, we found the trail which was visible despite the thick pines that filled the mountains. Making our way back was difficult as we hiked up and down through the rolling mountains, but hope and relief work amazingly like adrenaline. Successfully, very little worse for the wear, and much burnt by the sun we made it back to our canoe. The cool water of Flathead was refreshing as we drank from it gratefully. The canoe trip back was peaceful and the breeze on the water was a blessing from our ever watchful Creator as He guided us back home. Discouraged from our lack of success but taking our lessons to heart, we determined to return the following day with an improved plan. ​