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The Lady and the Mountain Man:
Isabella Bird, Mountain Man Jim Nugent, and their Unlikely Friendship
At dawn, a brilliant sun bloomed on the horizon, and its golden petals stretched ever outward into the rich, blue sky. Isabella stirred under her covers and gingerly peered out to take in the new day. Jim was just waking up, and Rogers was tending to the horses. The sounds of the animals feasting on their breakfast rousted the mountain man from his bedroll. He stretched and scratched as he surveyed the camping spot. He and Isabella exchanged a look and a smile as Downer hurried onto the scene from nearby, beckoning his traveling companions to follow him. Rogers, Isabella, and Jim complied, traipsing after the excited youth to the ledge of the mountain. Before them lay a spectacular view of silver pine trees decorated in white, far-off snow hooded mountains punching the sky, and low hanging clouds hugging sections of the vast, blue-gray plains. Moved by the indescribable beauty of the setting, Jim proclaimed, “I believe there is a God!” The sincere praise delighted Isabella, and she couldn’t help herself admiring him. She acknowledged the Lord’s handiwork as well. “I felt as if, Parsee-like, I must worship,” she wrote in her memoirs. “The grey of the plains changed to purple, the sky was all one rose-red flush, on which vermilion cloud-streaks rested; the ghastly peaks gleamed like rubies, the earth and the heavens were new created. Surely, ‘the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands!’”
Shortly after breakfast, the four adventurers started off on the second day of their quest to Longs Peak. Isabella rode her horse, but the men walked, leading their mounts behind them. Once the group reached the lava beds, Isabella was forced to walk with her horse in tow. The lava beds were long, rocky paths made up of large and small boulders covered with snow and ice. As the stones tended to shift under their weight, trekking over the rocks was time consuming. When Isabella managed to take her attention off where she was placing her feet, she focused on the varied and vigorous array of life above the tree line. Scattered before her were steep slopes, shattered summits, and precipitous walls. There were also several lakes. The ice on those lakes was frozen so solid horses and sojourners could walk across without fear of breaking through. They decided to leave their rides in an area not far from the lava beds and press on without them. They planned to retrieve them on their return.
To learn more about Isabella Bird and her relationship with Jim Nugent read
The Lady and the Mountain Man
