My daughter, Rachel arrived with her children for a week in a real adventure land. Living near Orlando, Florida the family spends a lot of vacation time and long weekends at Disney World. When I got the job in Glacier, Rachel was excited to have her children, ages 5 and 7 see the West and better yet, Glacier National Park.
They arrived June 2 and my sister, Megan arrived shortly thereafter. As much as I would like to have taken every moment to share the park with them, I did have a work schedule to follow and I was happy my sister could join, making it a mini family reunion. They stayed in Apgar Village at the Village Inn. I feel it was a perfect location for the family as Lake McDonald is literally just feet away from any door. The kids loved the location and found other adventurous kids walking the rocks, floating "boats" and skipping stones. I took my grandson out on a kayak and Rachel took her daughter. We had a great time getting ourselves within view of an eagle's nest and then crossed the slim lake to the other side before coming back just over an hour. Believe me, we were tired enough!
While I worked the next few days the family would take the Red Bus tour, raft the Middle Fork of the Flathead River and tour the East side of Glacier. The Going to the Sun Run is not yet open, so they toured the East by driving the Southern boundary. Before they left the area we ate a lovely dinner at Russel's, the Lake McDonald Restaurant and took a couple of hikes.
We did strive to find snow for 5 year old Gabby who has never seen it. Unfortunately, she would only see it afar. It was great fun to have them near but the week flew by and soon they would be back in Florida. I drove them to Missoula and we stayed the night in a hotel before the early morning flight. Megan stayed a couple of more days and we drove to a friend's summer place near Anaconda. We stopped in Big Fork and Philipsburg, MT along the way. Both are charming with completely different history and I do hope to return. I stayed one night with the friends near Anaconda, roasting my dinner over a campfire and in a drizzle. I didn't mind as it was a welcome change! The next morning I was quite surprised to being awakened at 6:30 AM with, "Patty, you better get up...it's snowing!" Not knowing if it would be worse along the way back to GNP, I heeded her advise!
So now I have had a couple of days off to myself. It is a struggle to find folks to do things with and I don't waste time trying. Everyone has a schedule to adhere to and different outdoor abilities. So, armed with what I know I need I go it solo. I started out yesterday thinking I would try again to explore East Glacier. I must not have set a significant intention as I found myself headed to the North Fork! I had picked up a bagged lunch from the Employee Dining Room and headed out. As I passed the entrance to Huckleberry Lookout Trail I thought, "Hey, I think I could do that one today!" I turned back to read about the trail. My book said it was a 12 mile, strenuous trail up and back. I gave myself permission to return at any point it was too much. This trail is not noted to be one of the most frequented and I was sure I had what I needed at hand. I deployed my bear spray just to get a feel for it and doused myself with bug spray (the mosquitos are the worst this year I am told). The start was level and loaded with foliage knee high overhanging the well maintained trail. I crossed a stream and soon enough the gentle grade began.....and never stopped!
Yes, indeed - it is strenuous in that it is a continual, steady increase. It is unrelenting yet offers stunning views! I got to within a mile of the lookout and felt the weakness in my legs. Lucky for me, I had reached snow so I proclaimed, "This is it!" Leaving the meat sandwich in the car, I would soon be out of my packaged nutrition and had consumed half of my water. I looked forward to that sandwich and full bottle of water in the car! As I returned I encountered a crouched man peering out at the beauty less than 1/2 way up. He asked how much further and was surprised when I said 4 miles. He admitted it had been some time since hiking, but hey - he is from the hills of Pennsylvania! It had been six hours since I had taken off and I was happy with my hike, even though I had left that last mile.
I motored northbound toward Polebridge, MT. Folks rave about the baked goods that come out of "The Merc" on a daily basis. I was ready for a cold beer and stumbled into Home Ranch Bottoms asking, "Where am I?" Evidently, it is a common question and folks, of course laughed.
The company was good and the aroma of BBQ in the back overwhelmed me. I caved for the German sausage sandwich topped with sauerkraut. Soon enough I would be on my way for the last six miles to Polebridge, MT. It is tiny and quirky. Check it out on Wikipedia.
I had hoped to see amazing stars since the New Moon had just occurred. I had visions of me car camping and seeing the Milky Way as I had never seen it before. Mother Nature had other plans. Gray clouds rolled in and it began to sprinkle so I sought out a local hostel and got a bed inside the log cabin for the night.
The North Fork Hostel is owned and operated by Oliver. He is very accommodating and runs a very clean and comfortable establishment. I stayed awake, hoping for a break in the clouds, but it wasn't happening. I was told I was a day late...of course! After a 9 hour sleep I awoke and took my breakfast of yogurt and pastry from The Merc and headed out. It was still raining. I decided that Ralph and I would do a forest road to Hornet Lookout.
We took the intimidating road up to where the road ended. Again, I would leave the last little bit to perhaps be discovered later. It was windy, rainy and cold! Poor Ralph can hardly be recognized for the mud all over the sides and back!
To round off the end of my weekend, I slowly climbed the Apgar Lookout Trail. This was the only one of three where I reached the summit. I was able to stand in front of the webcam camera and be seen by my son, Sean in Maryland! He took a photo of me with Lake McDonald in background. Very fun way to wish him a Happy Father's Day!
True to form, rain would fall again on my days off. I set off for Kalispell and enjoyed an afternoon at Conrad Mansion Museum
Meet resident cat, Sweetie Pie.
Saturday, June 23, 2018 marked the opening of the Going to the Sun Road! Lucky for me, I would have the cold and windy day off to navigate the trepidatious road. As I left the Lake McDonald area, I could tell it would not be the most scenic drive as there were low lying clouds in sight. Nevertheless, the drive was beautiful and oddly serene. When I arrived at the Logan Pass Visitor Center, the fog was so dense I could not see the building!
Views as I drove Eastbound on Going To The Sun Road.
Logan Pass Visitor Center
I did a quick walk about and then made my way onward to Many Glacier and Swiftcurrent where I would have a rather disappointing lunch. Could be I just made a bad choice.
Iconic Many Glacier Hotel
Trust me, two bears are in the frame.
Until next time, friends....the Red Bus fleet at Lake McDonald,
beautiful Lake McDonald,
Lake McDonald Lodge and I bid farewell!
Hey I have honey from Kalispell sitting on my counter. they sell it here in Kodiak. Your solo adventure (except for Michigan friend, is it a guy?) sounds absolutely fabulous and you know how I love car trips. You are definitely making the most out of your time at Glacier. Are you running the front desk by now? Are you in charge of the whole park by now?
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