oak hill flyer: glacier
given this record setting summer of heat and drought in austin, there is no where else on earth k and i would have rather been last month than outdoors in a tent for five nights in a state that borders canada. six months ago, i knew very little about glacier. now having been there, i can understand what i have been missing out on. two weeks later, and i am still hopelessly in love with the sights, sounds and memories of the trip.
i'll keep this short, tough as that might be.
complete photo sets (flickr)
day 1: st. mary
k, sonya and i spot our first bear within the first minute of driving into the part from great falls (it would be the last bear we see of the trip). we arrived at GNP near sunset, with just enough daylight to setup camp in the frontcountry and meet k's friend kristen and her family for a picnic dinner. a welcome and appreciated sight after 8 hours of travel, indeed!
day 2: rising sun, highline
after i returned from getting our backcountry passes (first in line, a reward for arriving 30 minutes before the ranger station opened), the entire party drove to logan pass for a 5-hour nature hike along highline. at a relaxed pace, we listened to our biologist (sonya) and botanist (cathy) tell us everything there was to know about every animal and vegetable around. we lunched at the side of the trail courtesy of kristen's family, with a wonderful vista to enjoy. money could not have bought a better introduction to the park. the evening found us at the st. mary star party, where we enjoyed the perseid meteors and several star tours, led by a well-educated staff.
day 3: upper two med
k and i woke with the sun to enjoy a 45-degree, 14-mile run along going-to-the-sun, along which we had a view of triple divide peak. in the afternoon, we drove south to two medicine to begin our four-day, 25-mile backcountry circumnavigation of rising wolf mountain. we overnighted in upper two med (~5500 ft. elevation), five-plus miles away from our car.
day 4: no name
in the morning, we backpacked four miles to no name lake (~6000 ft. elevation). the afternoon drizzle was a good excuse to nap in the afternoon. the evening was highlighted by good dinnertime company with other campers and a jump into the 50-degree waters of no name. that night's sleep would be the coldest of the trip (~40 degrees). we went to bed nervous with anticipation of the day to come.
day 5: dawson pass
to arrive at our final campsite (old man lake, ~6000 ft.), we would need to make a 2-mile, 8000 ft. pass around flinch peak known as dawson pass (seven miles of hiking altogether). k and i woke with the sun for a full day of climbing and adventure. at elevation, temps were around 40 degrees with 30-60mph winds and sun. mount phillips, the old man valley and pitamakin valley unveiled themselves around blind turns with high drama, each view upstaging the previous. words, pictures and video fall woefully short: it was an experience of a lifetime. the decent to our campsite was lined with thousands of wildflowers, as if it were confetti tossed along a wedding aisle or finish chute. i can close my eyes and be immediately drawn back into the rush of that day.
day 6: old man lake
our final seven miles of hiking were a gentle decent along the dry fork valley, with waterfalls and huckleberries aplenty. a male spruce grouse made for a surprising 60 seconds of self-defense, as he became aggressive while i was taking his photo (who knew how high i could jump with a 45 lb. backpack?). our journey concluded with no injuries nor illnesses, but plenty tired legs and smelly clothes.
a mile or so after dawson pass, still at 7000 ft. elevation, we encountered a male solo hiker coming the other way. he was young--full beard, trucker cap, hiking poles--and moving at a quick pace. we stopped to talk. i broke the ice by asking "nice day for a solo hike, huh?" his first words to us, with a gigantic smile on his face: "F*CK YEAH!" i about rolled off the mountain out of humor; it was exactly how i was feeling at that moment as well. more eloquent words have never been spoken.
thanks to kristen's family for being such wonderful hosts for our first two nights. thanks to k, a better travel companion i could not ask for. and may god forever bless glacier national park.
Post a Comment