Sandals and Snowfields

After filling up with pizza in Bozeman, MT (thanks for the suggestion, Matt and Heather!), we decided to continue driving toward Glacier National Park. Our original plan was to spend the night there (Bozeman), but it was only three and we weren't quite ready to park the car for the evening. There were still at least five hours in front of us before we got to the park. We made a quick stop to fill up in Anaconda, MT, and then made camp at Phillipsburg, MT. Population: not much. 500? It was small. Thankfully, the tent site was cheap, flat, and there were showers. Although the hot water didn’t last as long as the sticker said it would, it was still nice. The place was tiny so it was also pretty quiet.

Morning found us headed northwest, through Kalipswell and past Whitefish to our fourth national park. We found a site just on the west shore of Lake McDonald at Apgar Campground. The utility sink (for dumping our dish water) ended up being a huge, low, square toilet. We both got the eebie jeebies when we had to go in and dump our water. And then flush it.

The next day we explored the park using the free shuttle service. Yup, there was a shuttle so we were able to leave the car parked! It was so nice. There’s only one road bisecting the park (Going to the Sun Road), which means there’s a lot of traffic on it. Just by luck, the shuttle service started the day before we got to the park (July 1st). We spent a few minutes looking at the map and making plans. We decided to take it to the epicenter of the park: Logan Pass. I’m pretty sure that’s what everyone else decided to do, too. We found a bit of shade on a bench and had a lunch of cheese and crackers among a bustling crowd of tourists. After lunch we stopped in to chat with a ranger about hiking options, and then headed out into the masses. Because we got a bit of a late start, we decided to try to hike to Hidden Lake Overlook, a short (three miles, round trip) flat hike to get some fresh, 6,640’ mountain air. The only snafu was that after about a quarter mile the trail was completely covered with snow. And we were wearing our sandals. Air temp: ~75. Ground temp: 32. I tried walking barefoot for a little while. It lasted about ten paces and then my feet were numb.

A couple people had brought sleds, we saw two guys who had skis, but nearly everyone was wearing boots (we did see a handful of others who had sandals on). After a third of a mile we had left most of the crowd behind and were able to enjoy the spectacular views of mountains, snowfields, and springtime flowers (glacier lilies). When we got to the viewpoint we sat down to have a drink and a bite to eat. I turned to talk with Rachel and a mountain goat was about four feet behind her. Although it was probably only here because it was looking for food, it was still neat to see. 

When we turned around to leave, we walked past an ewe and her kid. And then we passed another set further down the trail. Cool. On the bus ride back we talked with a guy from Rochester, NY, and a retired couple from Georgia who were driving up to Banff, Canada after their visit here. Jealous. I can’t wait to retire.

The following day we drove to St. Mary’s, on the other side of the park (east entrance). We stopped at a few of the turnouts and gawked (some more) at the majestic views. 

We played some cribbage, went swimming, and watched the sun set.

July Fourth saw us getting up early to hike Huckleberry Mountain. At twelve miles (round trip) and 2,725’ of elevation gain, it was our longest hike of the trip. It started out nicely enough, but then mosquitoes swarmed in for their breakfast. We quickened our pace to get away from the river and soon were gaining elevation, skirting the river valley as we headed up to the ridge. Once we were there, the views into the park were spectacular. We had most of the elevation below us, too, so it was a nice ridge walk along wildflowers to the lookout. After a nice break we turned around and retraced the trail. At one point we stopped and very quickly there was a roaring sound. We both said “Ohmygosh!!!” but by the time we were done it was already gone. The roaring went right over our heads and then we realized it was not roaring but buzzing. This very scary (to us, in bear country) disturbance was not a bear, but rather a hummingbird. Whew. Close call. After calming down and arriving back at the car, I was exhausted from looking for things which would view us as potential dinner: mountain lion, grizzly bear, black bear. And a moose would just trample us if it was having a bad day. We’re fifth on the food chain here.  We celebrated our mortality by eating some huckleberry ice cream when we got back down to the lake. Mmmmm.

With some disappointment, we packed up the following morning and continued our trip west, heading to North Cascades National Park.