Back in 2000, when I started working at NatureBridge, formally known as the  Headlands Institute, as an environmental educator, Cleve, the Education Director back then, brought scholarships for women educators to take the NOLS course. He personally talked to me about NOLS and encouraged me to apply for the opportunity to take the backcountry rock climbing course. A few months later, I entered the world of rock climbing in the Wind River Range and NOLS community. My life has changed ever since then. I was encouraged to take the NOLS instructor course the following summer. I became a NOLS hiking and climbing instructor. I met Liz who was one of the instructors on the climbing seminars I took to be qualified to be a NOLS climbing instructor in 2003. She was influential in so many ways from her calm and confident teaching styles and solid climbing skills to the inclusive leadership style she shared with us and excellent communication. She quickly became one of the women role models and mentors at NOLS. We reconnected again in 2018 when she asked me to go backcountry rock climbing at the Cirque of the Towers, a beautiful area in Wind River Range and known for its challenging climbing and backpacking routes. We climbed three routes: K-crack, Mitchel, and Lizard Head. There are not many climbers who would be willing to climb backcountry rock routes. Route finding, weather, altitude, heavy pack and remoteness all makes it very challenging. I was grateful for the opportunity and we had an amazing time together. It was one of the most, if not the most, memorable and incredible climbing trips I ever taken in my life.

For me to come back to Lander, spending time with Liz and returning to the Wind River Range was like coming home. Liz and I stayed up late and talked for hours. We didn’t go to bed until 11pm. That was pretty late but we had fun. The next day, she kindly took me back to the CDT and said,”I’ll walk for a little bit with you.” She was my first friend who walked with me on the CDT! Even though it was a short distance, it meant a lot to me. I told her that I would text her when I finish the CDT in Glacier. She said, “Well before that! Text me after the Winds and send me pictures of where we went!” We said goodbye and it was just me again. As I watched a beautiful sunset, I felt excited for hiking into the 180-mile stretch of the Wind River Range from Lander to Togwotee Pass near Dubois: one of the most remote areas of the entire CDT.

For the next 5 days, it was a whole new world of hiking. This section all the way up to Green River Trailhead became one of my most favorite parts of the CDT! The temperature was in the 70-80s- the perfect temperature for hiking. It was mostly sunny with a clear blue sky and yet there were a lot of tree covers that gave me shades. Climbing and descending up and over the passes felt easy even though it was still above 10,000-11,000 feet. I was cruising through the mountains. There were plenty of creeks with clear and clean water. I appreciated it so much that I didn’t have to worry about water anymore. I passed many beautiful alpine lakes and I was finally able to dip in at the end of the day for the first time. Finally, the CDT was becoming more like a normal hiking experience! 

In the evening of day 2, as I was hiking into the Cirque of Towers alternative routes, I ran into a NOLS Adventure Course group at Little Sandy Creek. The adventure course is for 14-15 years old students and they had so many questions for me! I told them that I used to teach for NOLS and asked them about their experience. “This is only day 2 for us,” said one of the students and they said so far so good! I chatted with the instructor and students for a little bit and told them that I was so happy to see them in such a special place. The next day, I entered the Cirque of Towers. I left my camp when it was still dark and I loved seeing the silhouette of the trees and the mountains on the sides of the Little Sandy Creek. Slowly, the dawn came and everything was a magical scene. The birds were singing. The sound of the creek was soothing. The first light on the granite was stunning. As I moved up, the alpine meadows were filled with wildflowers. Numerous lakes surrounded with the towers of granite were gorgeous. I went up and over two passes then there came the Cirque! 

As I approached the third pass, Jackass Pass, I recognized the huge boulder where Liz and I hunkered down for the thunderstorm and Mitchell Peak where we climbed. During the descent from Jackass Pass, I remembered the iconic waterfalls and the valley where we set our basecamp. I was home.

I made it to the 4th pass of the day- Texas Pass and on the way there, saw a porcupine coming down on the trail, moving slowly and awkwardly. I descended the steep hills from the pass and I hiked along many beautiful lakes then merged with the CDT.

There were so many beautiful lakes and meadows. In the morning of On day 5, I walked through Lower and Upper Jean Lakes which became my most favorite lakes on this stretch. It was an epic! I took my time to enjoy the gorgeous meadows full of flowers in the morning light, water falls, and the towers of granite. This area reminded me of Mt. Daisetsu National Park in Hokkaido Island in Japan where I spent a lot of time doing research. The Ainu, Hokkaido Indigenous people, called the area “Kamui mintara,” meaning “the Garden where Gods (Creators) Play.”

From there, I picked up some speed and descended down along Trail Creek then it merged with the Green River. As the name indicates, the river was milky green! The valley slowly widened and soon, looking up the towers of rocks surrounding the valley. It was like Yosemite Valley of the Wind River Range! I was in awe of the beauty and breath-taking views of the valley.

It was about 2 1/2 miles from the Green River Trailhead when I saw a group of three flyfishers sitting on the ground next to the river. One of them looked at me and asked, “Are you Miho?” I said, “How do you know me?” He said, “Dan people, you know, want you to know that they’ll see you in Yellowstone!” Dan people! The trio- Dan, Liz and Shelly from Buena Vista, CO, gave me a short ride across the dam at Twin Lakes when I was hesitant to cross that dam bridge. They were hiking out to the Green River Trailhead about 2 hours ago and saw the flyfishers. Apparently, they left a message with them knowing that I was coming through the area. I remember them talking about coming to Yellowstone in July and potentially meeting up again. Dan said, “Better keep up with your schedule!” I began jogging to the trailhead with a hope to see them but of course, I didn’t catch up to them. But I ran into the Green River Campground host and left her a message to Dan’s group in case he was camping there for the night. 

I continued for a few more miles toward Gunsight Pass that evening and the next morning, I went over the pass. From the pass, I saw something that I didn’t expect at all- Grand Tetons! I was like OMG! I’m really home now.

I moved from Japan to Tetons in 1999 to go to Teton Science School in Jackson, WY. I had a dream to become an environmental educator and that motivated me to move to the US. I finished the program and since then, I have built a career as an environmental and outdoor educator and an advocate for equity and inclusion in the outdoor industry. Seeing Tetons brought me back the memories of my ambition and dreams, and reasons why I’m still here today.

With the excitement of seeing Tetons and feeling at home, I kept moving because I was excited to get to Dubois to see Beth, one of my dear friends from Teton Science School. 

Past Green River Trailhead, the route finding became more difficult. It went through burned areas with down trees. I started to rely more on my GPS and the CDT official map app to navigate through the area.

On the last day I came out to Togwotee Pass, about 4.5 miles from Highway 26, the incident happened. I was following the CDT sign where there wasn’t a clear trail. This happens often in the area where the foot traffic is so low and there isn’t a clear trail to follow but the trail sign stands in the middle of nowhere. I looked at the map app and figured out the CDT sign was placed wrongly. The trail was actually 1/4 mile north. I made it down the creek, checked the next water source, and learned that there was no water till I hit the highway. I got the water and looked at the map app on my phone a couple of times moving up the hills towards the trail. When I was about to find the trail, I reached for my phone in my pocket. It wasn’t there.

I froze. I was in shock. I said to myself, “I DROPPED THE PHONE!” If I were on the trail, not a big deal. I just follow the trail back to where I dropped and retrieve the phone. No problem. But where I dropped was one of the worst places I could imagine. No clear trail. I tried to see my prints but I went through dried soil, some grass, sagebrush, and no clear trace of where I came from. It was difficult to know my exact path to the place where I noticed that I didn’t have a phone. Still, I backtracked my path numerous times for 2 hours. No luck. I became desperate.

The CDT Coalition partnered with FarOut, the trail app company, to create the official map of CDT. The app is the official navigation tool for CDT hikers these days. The CDT is so remote and less traveled, the map app is the critical navigation tool. Without it, it would be almost impossible to find a way in the wilderness. As my friend Eiko later said, it has become my life line in so many ways from navigation to communication. Losing the phone meant no moving forward for me. I either find it or buy a new phone in order for me to keep going north.

I searched until 5pm. By then, my friend Beth was worried. For emergencies, I carry In-Reach mini, a satellite communication device, and I messaged her through the device that I was delayed. Tim, the local SAR official, texted me to my In-Reach with directions to the highway. My phone was lost but I was never lost even when the trail disappeared. I knew I was approximately 4.5 miles from the highway, the highway was directly to the east and looking at my backup papermap, I located Two Ocean Mountain, a prominent landmark of which the ridgeline runs towards the highway. I made it to the forest road and started walking on the dirt road that was heading toward the east. 2 hours later, I made it to the highway. Then, a car pulled over within a minute. It was Shawn, a good old friend from Teton Science School. I hadn’t seen him for over 20 years. “Glad that I found you,” said Shawn. I was so confused and happy at the same time. He told me a long story short that Beth was in Fort Collins for her last minute medical appointment and asked him to come get me. Beth forwarded my satelite messages with my approximate locations to him and he drove around for 2 hours, looking for me on the forest roads. Shawn lives in Jackson. It is at least 1.5 hours away. I asked, “Did you come here for me ?” He said yes.

Shawn has always been a helpful and reliable person ever since I’ve known him. He worked as the facility manager at the Science School and he is good with technologies. He is also one of the most generous and kind peopleI know. Not being in touch for over two decades and there he was – the moment I needed the help. I could not believe it.

Shawn took us to Beth’s home in Dubois. Soon, Beth came back from Fort Collins and three of us were united. I told them that I would go back to the area to search for the phone. Beth took the half day off the next day and went back to the area with me and spent a couple of hours looking for the phone. No luck. We marked the area where we searched and the next day, Shawn and I went back to look for the phone. I told him and Beth that if I don’t find the phone with Shawn, I planned to buy a new phone. 

I met up with Shawn at the pass and we drove on the forest road and parked the car about a 3/4 mile from where I lost the phone. On the way there, we admired the wildflowers together and enjoyed the hike. Once we got to the area, we started off from the creek where I was sure that I still had a phone then slowly made it toward the hill where I noticed that I didn’t have the phone. About an hour in, I looked toward the hill and asked my body, “Remember the angle I was coming up the hill?” I let my body move with the memory, keeping my eyes on the hills until my body and eyes said to me, “This is the angle approaching the hill.” I stood at the point and asked Shawn to slowly come towards me in zigzag. About 7 feet from where I stood, Shawn looked at me and pointed to the ground with a smile. I said, “What?” He said, “What do you mean “what”?” I thought he was pointing at the flowers since he was doing that on our hike. I moved over and saw my phone! I exclaimed with joy and bursted into tears. We found the phone! I told him later that the last time I teared up was when I finished hiking the Colorado CDT and crossed the Colorado and Wyoming border. It was a miracle I made it through Colorado. Finding the phone out of nowhere was another miracle.

I learned a huge lesson through this experience. Every piece of equipment I carry is critical. The phone has become my lifeline whether I like to admit it or not. I take care of all of my gear very well and still incidents such as this one could happen. I need to pay more attention to my actions and think through incident prevention. The universe gave me this lesson for reasons and I am still thinking about what else I learned from this experience. But for now, I am mostly feeling immense gratitude for my dear friends Shawn and Beth. With their support, the problem solved. I feel blessed that the friendships that I built over two decades ago are still strong and alive. I hope I can show up for my friends like they did.