Camping - Alpine Lakes and Glacier

Now, if you've read more than two sentences of this rather loquacious blog, you have realized that we do everything on a budget.  Our accountant, Allen, has done an amazing job at keeping track of the numbers and ensuring that our output does not exceed our input.  We applied this same principle to camping.  When preparing, our first stop was REI... then we realized we had just graduated from college and nearly everything in that store was far out of our monetary reach.  So then I remembered a sporting goods chain in the state of California, Big 5.  Other than monetary issues, our other hitch was space.  What more could we fit into the trunk of a Toyota Camry? Four sleeping bags and a tent?  Not likely.  So, which to buy, the bags of the tent?  We opted for bags and two tarps, which folded much flatter than any four man tent could have.  

We did end up paying for this mistake, but more on that later.  Before we even got to Glacier we had two camps to stop at and entertain.  The first camp was Hans Zeiger's church camp.  We had been in touch with the pastor there and showed up at his church camp just after lunch time.  They gathered the teenagers and adults into the main room and we sang from all of our sets: sacred, pop, and barbershop. Afterwards, about 17 super-moms came to our rescue and decided that we needed to be fed.  We did not disagree and after a delicious lunch of flank-steak, mashed potatoes, and corn, they asserted that we must take food with us.  An entire cardboard box full of food later, we swam in their lake for a bit and went on our merry way...VERY well fed.  :)  

We weren't in the car long when we arrived at Nathan's old Lutheran camp.  He had been there many years in a row with his dad for pastor's camp. The location was ideal on Flathead Lake (a large lake that will be on any map of Montana you see).  The water was limpid and felt very glacier-fed.  There was, however, a high dive!  After a couple dips, however, we decided just to try our muscles on top of the water and not in it.  Keaton, Nathan, and I grabbed a canoe (with permission) and canoed around the lake for a bit over an hour.  Keaton got stuck with a gimpy paddle and a less-than-ideal seating location, but performed admirably.  It was comforting to know that I still have some of my scout skills (steering a canoe).  Nathan, as usual, was essentially our motor...pulling the canoe through and against the current on the way back. Now, the only stop left was Glacier for two nights!

The GPS eventually got us all the way to the Going to the Sun Highway (which I thought was ridiculous overstatement for a road).  But, believe it or not, Glacier and its main highway lived up to its reputation of beauty. If I were to give it a review I would say that it exceeded expectations, but then again, I don't think God often cares about our reviews.  So long as His created beauty turns us toward him.  I wish I could just tell the story of Glacier with pictures, but it is a massive beauty so hard to catch with a single lens.  The depths and heights of Glacier is half it's grandeur.  We entered the valley floor at about 4,000 feet about sea level, with 10,000 foot mountains towering over us.  No foothills between us and the cliffs.  Straight up! Carved in a deep U-shape by a glacier.  The first night we only did driving, and already had two bear-sightings!  On the way into Glacier we had counted ten bald eagles.  I had never seen so much wildlife so easily and it was only going to get better.  I had a list of things I'd never seen and this week of camping shrunk my list of American species rapidly.

But, a true adventure is a mixture of suffering and joy.  We had our suffering first to get it out of the way.  Around nine o-clock we noticed that most of the park was full, no campgrounds.  We were finally granted the handicapped spot near a beautiful lake over which a storm was blowing in.  We had about 15 minutes to come up with a solution that didn't have all four of us sleeping in the car.  The Eagle Scouts, Allen and myself, would sleep outside.  We set up the picnic table near the lip of a retaining-wall and stretched a tarp across the tarp to shield us from the rain and drain it away from us. Placing our second tarp underneath, we tossed our bags in, crawled in, and hoped for the best.  The best we did not, in fact receive.  Allen, as it turned out, was at one of the lowest elevations of the campsite.  Thus, he ended up with most of the water in his bag anyway.  (We're not stupid, it was just a lot harder to see these things in the dark.  And, ok, maybe we were a little stupid).  At about 3am, he gave up with half his body soaked to the bone and entered the car.  I huddled close to the retaining wall for the rest of the night with the bottom half of my sleeping bag wet.  Attempting to sleep in the fetal position close to a wall is a strange experience.  It was some of the worst sleep of our lives.  The guys in the car didn't really have a much easier time of it, except that they were dry. We poured out sincere supplications that our next few nights of camping would be dry.  

We woke up the next morning and waited for the sun to peak over the massive granite cliffs. Once it had, we used its warmth and light to find a camp-site early and dry out our soaking wet sleeping bags, clothes, shoes, etc.  Then, we continued up the Going to the Sun Highway and found a day-hike right off of Logan Pass.  As typical of this time of year (the height of tourist season), the trail to Hidden Lake was packed with crowds of all ages and languages.  Keaton, who has been keeping track of all the state license-plates all along, scored big and found nearly all fifty in the National Parks we were in.  Once we got past the boardwalk section which provided an "easy way" to the overlook (in spite of massive snow-fields all around), we could continue on a real trail down to the lake with much less traffic.  On the way, we saw many a hoary marmot and figured out very quickly that the mountain goats had grown fully accustomed to human traffic on their trails.  A couple mothers and their babies grazed high up on the mountain.  Down closer to the lake two different males were meandering right by the water.  Oftentimes, they did not even try to get out of our way.  We kept a respectful distance; they did not.  Allen nearly had to climb into a tree to get out of the way of one of the bigger males.  :)

We hiked back out and camped that night, warm and dry.  We were still on the ground, but we are young so are bodies can handle that.  The next morning, glorious and bright, we hiked a tiny nature trail through one of the oldest stands of trees in the park and found a few cool places to take pictures.  We found a hollowed out tree that was still alive on top, but could fit three of us in the bottom.  :)  From there, we had to say goodbye to Glacier and head down that day to Yellowstone.  There were a couple planned stops along the way to see a bit more of Montana and Pullmann family history.  But this post has gone on long enough without pictures.  Here they are! 

Yes, Glacier provides a beauty almost impossible for us amateurs to capture on film. 

Here are our best attempts.

These were just some of the sights we were able to see right from the road.  Land of a thousand waterfalls this place could be called.  

The pass, well, we didn't have to hike to that... so this is a joke picture.  :)  The goat, was much closer than that, but who can get their camera out as a mountain goat walks towards you?  And the passes full of snow, yes, we were hiking on those.

  

These last three are from our first camp.  Allen and I spread the tarp from the picnic bench to the other edge of the screen.  That was our "tent" during the thunderstorm.  Be Prepared, eh?The other two are from the camp the first night--beautiful, when dry.  :)

    

How many college grads can you fit in a tree?