Day 1 - Chief Mtn customs to Mokowanis camp junction. Daily mileage: 14
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| Chief Mountain - Trail start |
After spending the morning before my train left puttering around my house and almost shaking with nerves, I condensed my life for the next two months into 17 pounds in a mid-sized backpack. I hopped the train in Edmonds, and 15 hours later, departed in the town of East Glacier around 10:00am. It took about 4 hours and 5 different hitches, but I made it to the St Mary's visitor center for permits, and then out to the trailhead at the Chief Mountain customs station. I waited for a ride in the town of Babb for two hours. The girl working at the cafe said I looked pathetic and gave me a free drink. Score one for the pathetic guy!
I finally got a ride with a neuroscientist from Butte, MT heading to Calgary. I asked if he knew the Orizottis (Tyler is a friend from college), and of course he did. Everyone from Butte knows the Orizottis. Anyway Tyler, Rob Bartoletti says "hi". He was nice enough to take the long route home and drop me right at the trailhead. I took a picture to commemorate the start of my adventure, and headed west around 3:45pm.
I could only get a permit for the campsite at Mokowanis junction, which meant I had to cover 14 miles before dark. I hiked hard, and surprised myself by getting to camp around 8:00. I was exhausted, but still managed to put away a 4 cheese pasta with vegetable medley and tuna. Not nearly as gourmet as it sounds. Trust me. I topped it off with an expired payday bar that I took from Craig's leftover pile. Booyah! I quickly set up camp and am writing this now as the light fades. I'm feeling much better about this trip already, and I think it's going to be quite the epic journey.
Day 2 - Mokowanis camp to Lake Francis. Daily mileage: 19.5
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| Trail up to Stony Indian Pass |
I woke up around 5am to the roar of birdcalls. I think they might have been louder than any birds I heard in the jungles of Central America. I took my time getting moving and didn't hit the trail until 7:30. The trail up Stony Indian Pass was beautiful and nicely graded. I saw some bear prints in the soft mud near the pass, and the view down from the pass over Stony Indian Lake was stunning! Glacier National Park certainly has some epic views.
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| Stony Indian Lake |
It was a long, brushy descent down to Waterton Lake, but I was feeling pretty good when I rolled into the beach at the south end. I took a few minute break and refilled on water before starting off toward Lake Francis. Of course, just as I got about 2 miles from comfortable looking shelters at Waterton camp, the rain started in. I huddled under a tree for about 30 minutes hoping to wait it out. I began moving during a brief break and bumped into another hiker named Andrew. We got to talking, and spent the rest of the day walking and waiting out rain showers under the trees. He joined me at Lake Francis along with another nice guy named Giles. He was spending the weekend hiking to escape a family reunion. Now that sounds like a guy I can relate to!
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| Waterton Lake |
After we all had some dinner, the rain and hail started up again, now stronger than ever. The water came rushing down the trail and funneled right into the site where Andrew and I had set up. Luckily, we used his ice ax to dig some emergency trenches and diverted most of the water before everything got swept away. I spent the next hour standing under a tree with my arms folded feeling bad for myself at having such hard rain so early in the trip. Of course, the storm passed and the sun came out for a beautiful sunset before it was bedtime. We all walked down to the beach and watched the light fade on the mountaintops towering above us.
Day 3 - Lake Francis to Polebridge. Daily mileage: 16 miles
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| A chilly, wet ascent |
I awoke to clear skies and a beautiful rainbow in the waterfall coming off the cliffs above us. Andrew and I got hiking around 8, and were immediately soaked from the waist down by the overgrown trail that was still wet from last night's rain. After a short easy climb, we reached Brown Pass, where I had planned to stop and dry out my wet gear. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes were so bad that you could barely breathe without sucking a few in. This was Andrew's stop for the night, as he was planning on climbing some of the nearby peaks, so we said a quick goodbye and exchanged contact info. Hurray for my first hiking friend!
The rest of the hike down and our to Polebridge was fairly uneventful. I found a nice sunny spot at a river crossing to dry my clothes and take off my shoes for a while. More waist high brush ensured that my pants and shoes were soaked through, but thanks to my dirty girl gaiters, I was able to keep all the dirt and leaves out of my shoes. I can't remember who recommended these to me, but they've been worth every penny of the $15 I spent on them. My only regret is that I got skulls instead of the batman symbol. What was I thinking!? They're incredibly dorky looking, but also super convenient. It's like wearing fanny packs on your feet!
OK. Anyway, after 16 miles of hiking, I stumbled out into the Bowman Lake campground, and waited about 15 minutes to get a ride the 7 miles down to Polebridge. As luck would have it, I got my second ride of the trip from a super cute girl. Haley was really sweet and I'm hoping that I might have convinced her to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Haley - here's the plan: work until next summer and then quit to hike the PCT. When you finish in September, come down to Seattle and we can get married or something. Deal? Deal! Good. Done.
Anyway, Polebridge should be a classic hiker heaven. It consists of a general store, a bakery, a bar, and a funky little hostel. If it wasn't only 50 miles from the trailhead, I would have definitely taken a full zero day. I met a nice couple on their honeymoon, and then played volleyball with the town baker, a raft guide, and the mercantile workers. After stuffing myself with 3 different pastries, a pork cutlet dinner, 5 different local beers, a monstrous bacon breakfast sandwich, and a second breakfast provided by some new friends at the hostel, I finally had to move on.
Yes, I just proposed to a stranger on the internet.
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| Bowman Lake |
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