Everyday this week I will be documenting the events of the previous week in which my brother Patrick and I spent at Glacier National Park with my Dad. We'll take it day-by-day as it happened, just 7 days after the fact.

Wednesday September 16, 2009

After a hard night of sleep (and by hard I mean the ground was so hard I didn't), we awoke to another hot sunny day. Like any good hikers, we started off with some breakfast - a hard boiled egg, Kellogg's breakfast bar, and some fresh huckleberries that Dad had picked earlier that morning.

After breakfast, Patrick and I packed up our tent and bags, and threw everything in to Dad's tent, including our packs. Dad usually hikes with a pack for all his gear, so he toted our lunch and water for us so we could go without the packs today, at least the first part of it. While Patrick and I were getting our tent put away, we got a visit from one of the neighbors. He just casually strolled by our site, and then made his way down the trail.

Young buck visiting us for breakfast at Granite Park Campground. Click for larger image.

The agenda for day three included a hike up to the Swiftcurrent Look Out. From the map, it doesn't appear to be too tough, but notice the elevation change. The look out sits at 8436 feet above sea level. We not only had a lot of up ahead of us, we had even more down. Dad was going to do a goat count for the park from the look out. Then we'd hike back down to the campground, get his tent packed, and we'd all don our backpacks for the 4+ mile hike down to the loop, where Dad's Honda awaited to take us back to his cabin.

Day 3 agenda. Click for larger image.

We started our travels about 9:30 a.m. It was incredibly hot out, and this was another trail with very little shade. Later in the week we would learn that we had record high temperatures for the second day in a row (note: I think they may have broke that record today, as it was supposed to be even hotter).

Our goal: make it to the Swiftcurrent Look Out. Doesn't look that far or high in the picture. Looks can be deceiving. Click for larger image.

Dad wasn't feeling good due to the heat and probably a lack of sugar, so he decided to skip the goat count. He urged us to go on to the look out though, while he rested at our lunch location about half way there - a small bluff with a cool breeze and a beautiful view. After a short rest and a lunch of ham salad on a tortilla and some apple, Patrick and I started our ascent. The pictures I took when we got to the look out are some of the most painful pictures I have ever taken. Every couple of minutes it seemed like I had to stop to catch my breath. I'm not exactly in the best of shape, but it was tough. Throw in the fact that my legs were burning from the climb, I was wiped when I made it. But I did make it - I was pretty proud of myself.

First thing I did when I got to the top? Sit down. And take this picture with my iPhone. Notice the mountains in the background are level or lower.

Swiftcurrent Look Out. 8436 feet above sea level. Click for larger image.

A few days before Patrick and I arrived in Montana, that had started some controlled burns to the south of the park. Unfortunately for us, the wind was also out of the south, blowing the smoke into our views. It was extremely hazy both Tuesday and Wednesday. On a clear day from that location, you could easily see 40 miles away. That's not to say the view wasn't spectacular, because it was. The amount of mountains and peaks were accountable there were so many viewable.

Looking east from the look out. The large mass of ice near the center is Swiftcurrent Glacier. The lakes to the left, in order from bottom to top, are Bullhead, Redrock, Fishercap (very hard to see), Swiftcurrent, and Sherburne Lake. Click for larger image.

After a half hour of resting and picture taking, we started our hike down to Dad. It only took a half hour to get back to him, after what seemed like hours going up. We then headed back to the campground to get the rest of our stuff and start our backpacked trip to the loop. I can tell how uncomfortable I am by the amount of pictures I take. I took zero pictures from shortly after we left camp until we got to the car. It was a hot, hurtful hike. All the descending took it's toll on my feet, as I developed a blister on each of my little toes from being under the adjacent toe.

Our hike finished up at 6:40 p.m. It was another extremely long and hot day, but another rewarding one. Patrick and I survived our first backpacking trip. That night back at Dad's we grilled steak on the grill. No better way to celebrate than that. The futon never felt better that night.

Everyday this week I will be documenting the events of the previous week in which my brother Patrick and I spent at Glacier National Park with my Dad. We'll take it day-by-day as it happened, just 7 days after the fact.

Tuesday September 15, 2009

Tuesday marked the first leg of our backpacking trip. Neither Patrick or I had ever backpacked before. I was anxious to get it started, knowing that it would be a long day of hiking with 40 to 50 pound packs on most of the way. The earlier we get started - the more rest we can get along the way. The weather was sunny and hot with not a cloud in the sky. When we were looking to schedule this trip a couple months ago, I thought September would be nice and cool, with high temperatures in the 60's or 70's. We didn't get what I had expected. The temperature was in the mid to upper 80's. There was essentially no shade available on the itinerary for the day either.

Map of day 2's hike. Click for larger image.

We drove two vehicles in to the park so we could leave one at the Loop, which is where our backpacking trip would end, and drive the other to our starting point at Logan's Pass. Our first hike with the packs was the Highline Trail, specifically the Garden Wall portion of it. This hike starts near the Logan Pass parking lot and traverses 7.6 miles to the Granite Park Chalet. From there we had another .5 to 1 mile to the Granite Park Campground, where we would be staying for the night. It is a relatively easy hike, with no major elevation changes. It is a pretty hike, where you get to see a lot of beautiful vistas and usually some wildlife.

After a light lunch in the parking lot, we were on our way around 12:10 p.m. With the sun beating down on us, it didn't take took long to get hot. Then hotter. It reminded me a lot of my very first hike (which happened to be this exact same trail) in Montana three years prior. That day I got a sunburn in the morning, and then we were hailed on the last part of the day. I was hoping for some cooler weather, but we never did get it, at least not until the sun went down that night.

 Patrick on the Highline Trail. Click for larger image.

We did get to see some wildlife this first day. We saw about 8 bighorn sheep, a pica, and several Columbia ground squirrels. Those little guys are everywhere around Glacier.

A pica along the Highline Trail. Click for larger image.Big horn Sheep along the Highline Trail. Click for larger image.A bighorn sheep looking majestic. Click for larger image.

The park is surprisingly dry this year. As we neared the end of our hike, we were all out of water, hot, and ready to drop the packs. I've got to hand it to Dad - his pack was at least twice as heavy as mine. We got to the campground at 5:48 p.m. It was none to soon for me. My feet were burning, and my butt, thighs, and hips had had enough for one day.

Patrick and I set up our tent, and got things situated there. I don't think we did too bad, but I'm not to sure Dad would agree. Our rain cover was a little wonky. We didn't bother trying to use stakes, as ground was rock hard. We just used some nearby rocks to hold things in place. It did the trick.

Our tent at Granite Park Campground. Taken with iPhone.

After we get things squared away there, it was time for a first class meal of dining delight, i.e. Beef Stew-in-a-bag. It was actually pretty good. I was surprised. It could have been because I was starving and tired, but either way, it hit the spot. We also split an apple and each had a cowboy cookie for desert. We ate with two young couples that were camping there that night, one set from San Antonio and the other from the San Francisco area. After dinner Dad got to talking labor strikes and the health care system with them. Patrick and I pretty much zoned out. I was in the tent and on the sleeping bag by 8:35 ready to sleep. Funny thing is, I didn't. Or couldn't. Not much anyways. The ground was terribly hard, and I found out the next day that I was supposed to open the valve on the little air mattress to let air in. Oh well. Lesson learned. For a pillow I used the one extra shirt I packed and a stocking cap. It was a very long and uncomfortable night. 

 Beef Stew-in-a-bag. Surprisingly good. Taken with iPhone.