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Usually, after being on vacation for a week, I'm ready to go
home and get back into the swing of things, to go back to work and sort
through the piles of crap on my desk and the ten-thousand voice and e-mails
(both personal and work related) that have been left for me during the course
of the week. Usually, I start to miss being home, where we can sleep in our
comfortable bed, surrounded by our cats, whom I have started to miss terribly.
We almost always miss being in our bathrobes and taking showers together.
Not this time. When I woke up that morning - our last day in Glacier National
Park - I realized that I wasn't ready to go home. I could have stayed in
Montana, surrounded by all of that beauty, for another year and been perfectly
content. I was having too much fun, and I didn't want it to end.
Fortunately, our flight didn't leave until 6:00 p.m., so John and I had plenty
of time to do our last bit of exploring before we had to leave for the
airport. After checking out of our cabin, we drove up to Logan Pass so that we
could do two more hikes that we had been meaning to do: the
Hidden Lake
Overlook Trail, and the Highline Trail.
The Hidden Lake Overlook Trail proved to be a very enjoyable hike, though it
was very crowded. It began behind the visitor's center and continued along a
boarded walkway for about a tenth of a mile. Then, the boardwalk disappeared.
It was still there, but it was covered in snow! To think, it was already late
July, and we were hiking in snow! Of course, since I don't have much
experience hiking in snow - my only experiences being the
Lava River Tube,
Kendrick Mountain, and
Parker Canyon - I had to hike cautiously to keep from
slipping and falling on my butt.
The hike also took us through alpine foliage, as we were above the tree
line...at only 6,500 feet! (Keep in mind that Montana's 6,000 feet is
different from 6,000 feet in Arizona.) After we reached the pass, where the
snow began to thin out, we were able to see these fragile plants which
struggle to survive against the brutal winds that sweep the mountaintops. We
also encountered a family of mountain goats, all of which were in various
stages of shedding their winter coats. They were busily grazing on the tundra,
and though they were aware that we were there, they didn't seem to care that
we were watching them and taking pictures of them.
Finally, we came to the Hidden Lake overlook, which consisted of a platform
and three or four educational signs pertaining to Hidden Lake. The lake was
set at the base of Bearhat Mountain, in a small U-shaped valley, tucked away
as though hiding from human contact. The creek leading away from it wound
around the bend of the mountain, disappearing from sight.
We could have continued along the trail and descended to the lake, but we
really didn't have the time to do so, not if we wanted to do part of the
Highline Trail. So that was where we turned around. On the way back to the
visitor's center, we had to hike downhill through the snow. For me, this was a
slow process as I didn't have a technique for doing so, at least not until
John told me that I should dig my heels into the snow.
John, of course, wanted to go sledding, so, on the way down from the pass, he
climbed up the slope of the ridgeline and slid back down to the trail on his
rear end! All of the other hikers stopped to watch him and laugh at his antics
- he was hilarious!
Before going on to the Highline Trail, we stopped at the visitor's center to
do a little shopping - I still had to buy John a one week anniversary gift! I
bought him two card games that we could take with us into the wilderness: one
is a trivia game called "Oh Wilderness!" and the other is called "The Food
Chain" and can be played like War. Now we would have something else to do in
the wilderness at night other than watch the campfire and drink scotch.
After putting our purchases in the car, we began hiking the Highline Trail,
which is one of the most famous trails in the park. This trail follows the
ridgeline of the Continental Divide, along the Garden Wall. It goes on for
many miles and eventually comes to a chalet, where backpackers can make
reservations to stay while in the backcountry. (While planning our trip to
Glacier, we had read about the chalets, and we thought about making
reservations to stay in one. However, they are very expensive, and we weren't
guaranteed to have a private room together, so we decided against the idea.)
We only covered the first two miles of the trail as that was all we had time
to do.
Almost immediately, we found wildlife along the trail. At the trailhead was a
mountain goat, standing in the middle of the trail as though he were a
greeter. Nearby him, there was a hoary marmot running through the trees,
trying to hide from us. A bit further down the trail, we encountered another
marmot. This one was sort of sluggish, and as he crossed the trail, he nearly
walked across my feet. Later, John had a good scare when a ground squirrel
dashed over his feet while running for cover; he jumped backwards, startled by
the little guy. Towards the end of our hike, we found another family of
mountain goats. One of them was sitting with its baby on a ledge overlooking
the trail. I stared at him curiously, and the goat stared back at me in the
same fashion. I didn't dare try to touch the creature, lest I get head-butted
by him. I just watched him from a distance of about two feet while John took
pictures of us. For me, it was a wonderful experience to be that close to
wildlife, to be able to watch them without them running away in fear or taking
a threatening stance against us.
I was starving by the time we finished hiking that trail. (Actually, I was
starving before we hiked the trail.) We stopped at Lake McDonald Lodge and ate
lunch at the family restaurant there. Then, we drove one more time into Apgar
Village, to go to the visitor's center. While we were there, we purchased the
National Parks Edition of Monopoly. Instead of streets in Atlantic City, there
are national parks for sale, the highest priced parks being Yosemite and
Yellowstone, and you can buy tents and ranger stations (instead of houses and
hotels) to put on these properties. The railroad lines are replaced by trails,
and the utilities, electric and water, are replaced by "Edison" and "Hot
Springs". Though it wasn't the type of game we could take with us into the
backcountry, we would have something new to add a little variety to our "board
game" nights at home.
By the time we left the visitor's center, it was time to say goodbye to
Glacier National Park. It was already after four o'clock; our flight was
scheduled to depart at 6:05 p.m., and the rental car was due back at 5:00. As
we drove through the park entrance in West Glacier, I asked John, "Do we
really have to go home? I don't want to go home now!" But I knew that we had
no choice but to return to Arizona - after all, someone had to pay for all of
the fun we had there!
We made it to Payless Car Rental on time, even after making two stops - one to
get gas, and one to buy huckleberry preserves at one of the roadside stands
along the highway. (We bought three jars of preserves - one for his mother,
one for my mother, and one for us to enjoy.) After completing all of the
proper paperwork, one of the sales representative - the same one who had
picked us up - drove us to the airport.
And thus we left Montana, bringing with us some wonderful memories, about ten
rolls of film, and lots of cool souvenirs to share with our families. As the
plane took off from Kalispell Airport, I was sad that we had to leave, that we
had to return home to reality after spending such an adventurous week in
Glacier National Park.
Oh well. One day I know that we'll be back to enjoy another amazing adventure
in Montana! Return to
Heather & John's Big Adventure. |
