Devoted to Tradition we EXPECT to find PEGLEG’S GOLD
©Bert Gildart: Not far from where we’re camped there’s a marker stipulating that if we are here hoping to find Pegleg’s gold mine then we must add ten rocks to a designated pile. Because we believe in legends, by now we’ve most likely added several dozen rocks to the ever growing heap.
Let those who seek Pegleg's gold add ten rock to this pile.
Folks like us who search for Pegleg’s gold are actually searching for a mine said to have been discovered by Thomas Smith. It is written that the man “salted” the desert with a peg leg as he searched for gold. In other words, Smith once searched this area for gold, walking on one leg that was good and one leg (a pegged leg) that was bad. Legend has it that he did indeed find gold but died before he heralded his discovery to the world..
Smith searched the area for gold that now bears his name around 1866. He lived near the Pegleg campground, so his gold mine really could be within a few miles of our Airstream. Because we believe the story, we hike the hills almost daily.
Devoted to tradition, Janie adds one of the 10 mandated rocks
What that means, of course, is that Janie and I and the companions with whom we are now camped may well be on the verge of the discovery of gold. Every day we search improbable areas, but most importantly, we add more stones to this ever growing monument of rock. Surely adherence to tradition will soon be paying dividends.
However, I’m not sure we’ll tell anyone what finally happens.
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AIRSTREAM TRAVELS SIX YEARS AGO:
*Sunshine Skyway Bridge (Tampa, Florida)
4th ed. Autographed by the Authors
Hiking Shenandoah National Park
Hiking Shenandoah National Park is the 4th edition of a favorite guide book, created by Bert & Janie, a professional husband-wife journalism team. Lots of updates including more waterfall trails, updated descriptions of confusing trail junctions, and new color photographs. New text describes more of the park’s compelling natural history. Often the descriptions are personal as the Gildarts have hiked virtually every single park trail, sometimes repeatedly.
Big Sky Country is beautiful
Montana Icons: 50 Classic Symbols of the Treasure State
Montana Icons is a book for lovers of the western vista. Features photographs of fifty famous landmarks from what many call the “Last Best Place.” The book will make you feel homesick for Montana even if you already live here. Bert Gildart’s varied careers in Montana (Bus driver on an Indian reservation, a teacher, backcountry ranger, as well as a newspaper reporter, and photographer) have given him a special view of Montana, which he shares in this book. Share the view; click here.
$16.95 + Autographed Copy
What makes Glacier, Glacier?
Glacier Icons: 50 Classic Views of the Crown of the Continent
Glacier Icons: What makes Glacier Park so special? In this book you can discover the story behind fifty of this park’s most amazing features. With this entertaining collection of photos, anecdotes and little known facts, Bert Gildart will be your backcountry guide. A former Glacier backcountry ranger turned writer/photographer, his hundreds of stories and images have appeared in literally dozens of periodicals including Time/Life, Smithsonian, and Field & Stream. Take a look at Glacier Icons
$16.95 + Autographed Copy
February 5th, 2014 at 1:02 pm
[...] hour later we pulled into Pegleg (Pegleg’s Gold)and since that time have been settling in for what will surely be a stay of at least several [...]