Smooth Sailing

We stuck to the west side of the park today. The east side still has a few closed trails, but honestly, I didn’t want to drive the extra hour to get to the east side because that meant a morning alarm. I’m holding strong to no alarms until I go back to work. ​Lucky for us, the west side still had places and trails for us to explore. Case in point.

We hiked a much more manageable five mile trail through a forest and next to McDonald Creek. The ground was packed dirt and my knees thanked me. My toes think new hiking shoes are a future purchase. 

After our hike, we drove to West Glacier to connect with our guide for a float trip down the Flathead River. I found my rocks. 

Our guide said that the river would be super busy. It’s 85 degrees, summer, and a Saturday. This was our view for most of the float.

We then returned to Apgar Village where I got one more taste of huckleberry ice cream.

We made it back to Whitefish for dinner, World Cup games, and a huckleberry pastry. 

We have a very early morning to get back to the airport. Wes is already planning a return trip for a backwoods camping trip. What a great weekend trip! 

Huckleberry Highs

​Today’s highlights are brought to you by huckleberries. This wild berry can be incorporated into everything, and I’m here to try them all. Thus far, I’ve had the huckleberry hard seltzer. A clear win for me after a long hike. Huckleberry icecream. Another clear win for me because icecream is one of my favorite food groups. And huckleberry cheesecake. I mean why not? 

We drove the Going to the Sun Road today and made a few stops. First stop was McDonald Lodge.

I really wanted the iconic shot of the red,  purple, and green rocks. This is what I got. I guess the lighting was not working in my favor. 

A bit further down the road we found a look out point with mountain goats! 

Another stop gave us even more beautiful views across the valley. 

Then we made it to Logan Pass for our big hike on Highline Trail. We could not have timed this any better. We got a coveted parking spot with no trouble! We were limited to three hours, so we knew we didn’t have the time to go all the way to the chalet. But the first 2/3 of the hike is the best part anyway. The garden path on narrow trails with steep drop offs is not for the faint of heart. But the views! The mountains!  The mountain goats! The wildflowers. 

My feet may never recover. I have blisters on almost every toe. My knees  and ACLs are toast from the uneven, rocky terrain. I’m pretty sure I was also dehydrated on today’s hike, so I got back home and recovered with a Diet Coke and a beer. That should feel great tomorrow! 😕

I thought I’d stay up to watch the sun set tonight, but it’s 10:00 and the sun is still shining. I’m too tired to even consider another 20 minutes. Maybe tomorrow…

Weekend Get-a-Way

​We have been awake for 21 hours, but it seems like days. But let me tell you, we have done more in these 21 hours than most people do in a day! We caught a 0515 flight to Denver, a 0745 flight to Bozeman, drove five hours to Whitefish, drove another hour to Glacier National Park, hiked six miles, went grocery shopping, and now I’m laying in bed wishing I booked that AirBnB with the hot tub. My feet and knees are so sore, and I still have two full days of hiking to go! But our spontaneous weekend get-a-way to hike in Glacier National Park has begun, and I plan to squeeze every minute out of this trip! 

We opted for the long drive because our flights to Bozeman were purchased with points and thus, cost us only $11.20. We drove through forests, fields of lupine, cattle farms, small towns, and canola farms. 

Our first hike in the park took us to Avalanche Creek and then to Avalanche Lake. It was a fairly easy six mile out and back hike. We encountered a huge mule deer walking the trail with us. We had burgers and beers in a park restaurant. I ate every fry with no guilt; my 15,000 steps earned it!

On our way out of the park traffic slowed to a crawl for a grizzly bear. By the time we got to the spotting, though, he had disappeared in the trees. You better believe we carry the bear spray, but you’d be surprised at the number of people on the trail today without bells or spray. And signs are posted warning visitors of recent bear activity! 

We have decided going to the park later in the day is the way to avoid crowds on the trails, long lines at the entry point, and increases our likelihood of seeing animals. So tomorrow we are sleeping in and taking our chances at finding afternoon parking at one of the most popular trails (when we hope everyone else is leaving). Fingers crossed!