June 18:
76 miles to Polson, MT. 1000-630. I got to chat with Mike some more as he packed up to head out toward Darby. He seemed very intimidated by the 3 pass day required in Yellowstone so I hope he has very favorable conditions. I did a hard sell on the Jackson Hot Springs Lodge & Twin Bridges Bike Camp but the 18 extra miles to the springs from Wisdom might be a bit much after the Chief Joseph Pass climb (7 miles at 7%), whether he does it from Darby or Sula. He gave me a cool bike touring url: www.crazyguyonabike.com & I may try to put stuff there, too. Breakfast at a diner around the corner, repack, head a mile in the wrong direction - typical morning. It was cloudy but not windy so it was easy over the pass into Jocko Valley, where I stopped for a huckleberry shake to go with my standard tuna sandwich. Another climb out of the valley was followed by a fierce 15 minute downpour, at the end of which I stopped for coffee & coconut cream pie (not as good as at The Virginian in Medicine Bow, WY, but I also wasn't high so ...). It was sprinkling & raining more or less the last 15 miles into Polson & clouds obscured the eastern peaks but there was a nice tailwind. The view of Flathead Lake from the bike path along Hwy 93 reminded me of the view of Puget Sound & the Olympics from our Steilacoom, WA, rental: grey skies, still water, islands, & distant snow-covered peaks. In town camping was too pricey so I was gunning for Big Arm State Park when Todd & Debbie drove by with big smiles & an offer to put up the tent in their backyard. They'd lived in Anchorage & Sandpoint, ID (to which one can paddle from here), so thought my travels were a great adventure. She's a massage therapist & he's the Polson city manager after bailing as a Russian business consultant (too much travel), & they've got 2 bright, engaging kids: Sandra's 13 & Story's 11. They came out to chat for awhile, too, before I begged to get my clothes changed & tent set up - I was quite chilled & damp after the afternoon's steady water offerings. They invited me in for a chicken salad dinner & we talked for hours about his previous work in Russia, marriage, differences between men & women from a biologically evolutionary perspective (Rae would've loved it), running ... with their adorable kids sometimes participating politely & intelligently & sometimes shooting each other with Nerf guns! What a great night ... I'm so lucky! Their pooch sat outside my tent that night, protecting me from a marauding skunk.
June 19:
40 miles to Rafael's place in Lakeside, MT. 900-1230. Happy Father's Day! Even though I told Sandra last night that I'd be sure to change in the tent since her room faced the backyard, I managed to be in the middle of pulling on my biking shorts out in the open when she popped around the corner to say "Good morning!" Dangit, scarred for life, I'd guess. They were all so sweet again for the morning send-off. Nice breakfast at Pop's downtown where I met Walker & his daughter, Frances. He & his wife had toured from Polson, MT, to Sarasota, FL, back in the early 90s & are stashing money for a year-long sailing/biking adventure with the kids. No rain & very still today but low, grey clouds obscured Glacier & Mission peaks. Flathead lake was so flat you could see the cloud's grey reflection on the dark water. Rolling hills all day around the lake but I made good time since I knew it wasn't going to be a long day. Hogan & Rafael kept in touch so we coordinated our arrivals at the Lakeside park within 20 minutes. Lunch with beers at the Tamarack Brewery then shopping for tonight's pizza & chocolate chip cheesecake cookie bars. The dirt road up to Rafael's place climbed 1000 ft in about 4 miles & would've been a struggle on the bike so I was glad to have everything in the back of his truck. The place is a beautifully architected & constructed 8000 sq. ft. log home, though there is a lot of finish work to do. It sits on more than 20 acres & abuts a National Forest, with astounding views of Glacier peaks & Flathead Lake. Great property. Being off the bike for the next 6 days will be a welcome treat & I'm stoked to be with Hogan & Rafael, especially with the prospect of being in Glacier on the near horizon.
June 20:
Meditated, egg & fruit breakfast, stretched, off to GNP for overnight permits, postcards, & a hike up to Avalanche Lake where we saw rivers, waterfalls, snowfields, mountain goats, & golden eagle chicks (through the telescope of a dude who'd been watching the nest for 10 years). Aaron & Erin were in Columbia Falls so we stopped in on our way to BBQ dinner to say goodbye (I'll miss those guys, for sure) & give them the bad news that the Over The Sun Road was not open to bikes, which we confirmed several times). Back late to Rafael's & right into bed.
June 21-22:
Meditated, breakfast of eggs, & put together backpacking gear. Stopped at Apgar Ranger Station to select 2 nights at Logging Lake Flat back country CG - 5 miles, no elevation. Mosquitoes swarmed us immediately upon exiting the car & didn't stop til we returned 2 days later. The trail was muddy, marshy going nearly the entire way way, which meant we saw lots of tracks: grizzly, black bear, wolf, racoon, elk, moose, & deer. A deer traipsed around camp at the tent. Cute ground squirrels ran around. A beaver with a fish in his mouth left a wide wake across the serene lake & Hogan's binoculaurs were put to good use. 2 ptarmigans perched in a tree on the 10 mile day hike on the 2nd day - the next CG was just as buggy & not nearly as scenic. Our view down the lake to snow-capped peaks was often reflected in the still water so the evening & morning colors were heavenly. A scout troop brought an entirely new swarm of bugs with them late on the 2nd evening so we retired early, intent on arising early & getting into the Many Glacier back country the next day.
June 23-24:
With less food, the hike out was easy. We ran into Laura & Brett again, this time at the tiny Polebridge bakery - I'd seen them at the Yellowstone Ranger Station, then in the Apgar VC, & now again. Nice, energetic, fun couple with a huge backcountry itinerary for this vacation. Sipping coffee & chatting was a treat. "No bugs, please," was our request to the ranger & he suggested Cracker Lake. 6 miles, 1100 ft elevation gain, winter camping conditions. Perfect. We set out at 4, filled bottles creekside, successfully managed a bare foot crossing of 2 icy streams, then slowed considerably when the intermittent snow banks became larger & more frequent. Eventually finding our way across large snowfields to locate trail infrequently, finally into an enormous cirque filled with snow fields, couliers, peaks, waterfalls, at the bottom of which was a large, deep, strikingly blue alpine lake with ice floes. Oh my! Beyond lovely ... hard to describe how beautiful & dramatic was the panorama. We secured the tent quickly as it was already 8, then cooked up beans, rice, & tortillas before reluctantly climbing into the tent as the sun dipped below the tall horizon & the wind picked up significantly. We left the fly & door open while tucked in the bags to absorb more of the (abbreviated) view & I was as happy as possible: Glacier NP backcountry, alpine cirque & lake, on the adventure of my life, with my best friend. Really?! Don't I have the most wonderful life?! A tick came down Hogan's arm, closing the tent imperative now, & I struggled to sleep because my cold worsened & the ferocious wind ocassionally flattened the tent across my head. Hogan had to get out a few times to keep the tent & gear from disappearing (he's so sweet to take care of that without guilting me). I couldn't get up til 8 since I felt crappy but, once up, started feeling better immediately. Oatmeal with raisins & mocha drink, then a fun, funny bit of exploring down near the cliff's bergschrund & at the soft edge of the lake's bankside ice. The wind was still gusting hatd, eventually breaking a tent pole, so we packed up & headed out at noon. The large icefields were somewhat easier to cross because they were softer & my bad hip was pointed favorably downhill. We came across some fur on the trail & a little looking around yielded the jaws & horns of a mountain goat. The soft tissue under the horns remained on the scalp, looking like a fresh, moist tongue & smelling very badly. Slightly lower water levels allowed us to put stones across the 1st crossing but I managed to not onlyu throw one shoe & sock into the water but also to tumble in & lose a hiking pole on the 2nd. A barefoot retrieval of the pole made me happy just not to lose something again (the snow had swallowed a pole's rubber tip the day before) & we soon made it to the car. 2 beers, a brief fireplace rest at the lodge, duct tape from a maintenance guy for a successful tent pole repair (thanks to Kathleen from Illinois on a trip with her son for use of her multi-tool), dinner & phone calls at a worn-down but tasty Babb cafe, an unorganized bit of grocery shopping (oatmeal, apples, cough syrup), then back to camp at Many Glacier CG for an early night. The trees here thankfully dampen the wind & there are no bugs, though my exposed fingers & toes are cold. Into the tent ...
June 25-26:
Awoke early to Hogan making tea & oatmeal in a blustery wind, though we were well protected by CG trees. I wanted coffee so we drove to the lodge, just escaping some sleet. Even though the lodge was fully booked we were nonetheless able to find a quiet, somewhat secluded spot with a view to stretch. Unsure if Rafael was coming, we drove to the same Babb cafe for lunch & quickly determined that he was only 45 minutes out. We all piled into the rental car, stopped at the Ranger Station for hike beta, & started up toward Grinell Lake & Glacier in bright sun. Lovely views, good conversation, & easy hiking without packs made it a pleasant outing but a sighting of a sow grizzly & 2 cubs less than 1/4 mile below the trail put the experience OVER THE TOP! So excited to finally see bears. They were spotted by a lovely Mexican gal, Naxi, & her partner, Jerry. Soon the trail was crowded with a dozen spectators passimg around binoculaurs - watching the bears sleep in a pile on a small snowfield & eventually moving briefly to feed before disappearing into the woods. Wow! I asked Hogan to adjust my camera settings to increase the digital zoom & resolution so that I might later be able to see something other than dots, which I think worked well. Yea! A little more hiking, clowning, & swooning over the scenery (another amazing cirque, lake, glacier view - nearly as stunning as Cracker Lake) before we were shut down by steep snow sloping precipitously. Beers & talk of past sexual exploits at the trailhead picnic table in glorious sunshine with peaks striving to the open sky, then a drive to a tasty, homemade dinner at the cute Park Cafe in St. Mary before we sent Rafael back home. We'd been gifted a bundle of wood (we assumed from next-door-neighbor, Kathleen) so Hogan got to fuss over an elaborate fire-building exercise, which failed immediately because the brochures we'd pilfered as fire starter weren't really flammable. A search of the car yielded a pile of my trip receipts, which I happily liberated from my over-stuffed wallet - wa-la, fire! Hogan slept outside & I took advantage of the alone time - if you know what I mean. Up early again, broke camp as we made & consumed tea & oatmeal with apples. We stopped at the Park Cafe for coffee & 2nd breakfast. I got carsick on the drive to the airport but rallied when we unpacked the car. We all looked at & swapped pictures when Rafael showed up to pick me up, then it was a warm, loving goodbye to Hogan. Rafael's dad, Milan was a very interesting fellow who rides Rafael too hard but had a lot to say about the merits of socialism as a system of equals & designed for workers (with which I agree), the inevitable demise of this generation of the entitled, & that of the European Union. I did a bunch of repair work while trying unsuccessfully fight off the return of nausea: superglued the pot handle back on, sewed & patched the pad bag & my torn rain pants, patched the tent bag & tent, fixed a rear tire & trailer flat ... whew. Rafael made brats & baked veggies for dinner & we sat on the back deck with a lovely view of Flathead Lake & the Rockies during a long sunset.
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