From Glacier National Park 2011
We just came out of- you guessed it, another six days of backpacking in Glacier National Park. We covered another 60 miles of trails, saw a lot of exceptional scenery and burned a bunch of calories! Glacier has to be one of the most beautiful places on the planet, certainly our favorite park, even though there are so many wonderful places that we've enjoyed, Yosemite is another one. There are "must sees" in a lifetime, we think so anyway.
We didn't waste any time getting a permit- we planned out a route and got in line at 6:30 the morning the day before to be sure we got the itinerary we wanted. It covered as many high places as we could, deep in the mountains. We stayed at 2 of the campsites we stayed at last year since we'd enjoyed them so much along with a section of trail called Ptarmigan Tunnel where the CCC tunneled through a mountain with the trail- it really is a marvel and the red rock formations stunning. A few minutes in to the first day of hiking, I was looking around instead of watching the trail, stumbled on a rock & took my first digger ever with my pack on. I scuffed up my knees only to do another graceful stunt re-scuffing them 2 days later! Jon says he's lost his regard for his ballerina & her super balance. I don't know exactly what was going on but I did learn that your poles don't help you once you're airborn!
From Glacier National Park 2011
One night we stayed at Kootenai Lake, where there were 4 moose hanging out in the water eating and grunting, the whole time we were there. It was so funny to hear their noises, even after we'd gotten in the tent for the night- they were still standing with their heads underwater eating, then snorting and grunting when they came up for air. There were also loons calling, 2 swans and a raft of ducks. It was a really peaceful spot. We had to hike 15 miles to get there that day and Jon injured his back that morning while bending over to make the coffee. For a while it was touch and go as to whether we could continue our itinerary but as he'd noted before, his back feels best with his backpack on. So we moved as much heavy stuff to my pack as we could to make his lighter and then he proceeded to hike all day in relative comfort and each day it got a little better. We took frequent breaks so he could rest it. We have discovered Cliff Builder Bars from a guy we met at Yosemite. They are marketed for I think construction workers but they are great for hiking and we find that every afternoon we look forward to taking a break and devouring one. The chocolate mint is fantastic. I'm trying to figure out how I can justify continuing to eat them even when I'm not hiking!
Glacier is unique in the way their campsites are laid out. They have the best backcountry planning map of any of the parks we've visited with all the backcountry sites identified and you can easily plan your route among them. Then you have a site reserved on your itinerary at that campground which has anywhere from 2-5 sites. Each campground has a separate cooking & food storage area since there are plenty of grizzlies in Glacier. They make a seating area from logs and position flat rocks to cook on and have either boxes or poles to hang your food. It is usually in a pretty area, away from the campsites. On the one hand it takes away your freedom to choose your own spot or camp where ever, whenever you want, but at the same time it eliminates wondering whether you'll find a spot when you want one or at all, you don't have to carry around your used TP, and you can meet some great people since you end up gathering at mealtimes in the food prep area. The first night we were at Granite campground and of the 6 of us there, one guy had worked for Roche selling diabetes supplies in Germany when his contract ended and he'd pre-negotiated a 32 week severance when it did so he was traveling all over the US hiking and doing fun things. The other guy had just sold his personal training businesses and took off from NC driving straight to Glacier to hike. He was on day 9 backpacking and planned to do a lot more. Both were really interesting to talk with and see that there are lots of people out here doing what they dream of. The other 2 had taken the train from Olympia, WA which is a popular way to come to Glacier.
From Glacier National Park 2011
Another thing Glacier does is on the day before & of that you pack out, you can stay at a backpacker's campsite in the normal campground so you don't have to worry about finding a place to stay. So yesterday we packed out, set up our tent, took long, free showers since even though they say you need a token, we remember from last year which showers don't really need one. Then we got huckleberry ice cream where mom... you'll like this..... you POUR YOUR OWN in a nice big cup as much as you want for $2.50! We tapped ours down so there wasn't a speck of air in that cup, just solid ice cream, then sat out on the pretty porch looking at those beautiful Many Glacier mountains. Then we ordered a pizza with the money we didn't spend on a campground and ate it in the camper in the parking lot since it wouldn't be very good to make a big meal in the parking lot! Then today, we got going early and are headed across the very large state of Montana! It is ALL about wheat. Pretty dry except for occasional oases here & there. One thing we were thinking is that people are so worried about bears and cougars when we tell them we're headed out backpacking. Well, we've seen no less than 100 white crosses today just along this road- we've been driving all day but still, Montana places a cross wherever there's been a death to supposedly remind you to drive safely. Frankly, we have enough signs in this country in my opinion & I get the point. Why not plant a pack of wildflowers there instead? But, it does put the bears in perspective when you consider it. Plus, the speed limit is 70- we can't go 70 with our ancient rig but people do take this speed limit seriously- they've got places to go! We just can't see where that is! Anyway, when you get to a town, it often decreases to 55 for a speed zone. Like that is a safer speed- too funny!
We are planning to head to Roosevelt, Wind Cave & Badlands parks on our way back home. We don't have much time left but these are pretty much on the way and it would be nice to see some prairie lands and the supposed interesting Badlands area, along with Mt Rushmore. We caught up on the news today and wish everyone would just get along, that our economy would improve and that the hurricane will turn and head out to sea! I hope this isn't a prelude to a busy hurricane season this year either!