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!
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