Mountains Grandeur

Thursday.  August 23, 2001

This trip was a long time coming. Learning most of the lessons from my Grand Canyon Trip, I trained hard for this one.  I was lucky to get The North Circle route which is listed in Molvar's book on Glacier National.  The itinerary called for a couple of tough days, but nothing out of the extraordinary.  The longest would be the route between Fifty Mountain and Granite Park; 11.9 miles.  Unfortunately we would never complete the original itinerary.

I arrived a couple of days early to pick up supplies; bear spray, fuel, fuel bottles, etc.  On the day that Dave arrived I drove up to Apgar to pick up the itinerary.  The Ptarmigan trail from Many Glacier to the tunnel was still closed due to Griz activity.  Supposedly there were 4 Grizzlies in the area and were continually seen on the trail by ranger patrols.   I had planned a few back up itineraries which included driving to Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada and entering Glacier that way.  However, I decided to take a risk.  I had the itinerary changed to enter from Chief Mountain Customs and still keep all the same campsites.  I was hoping to be able to get a lift from Many Glacier to the border from one of the summer workforce at Many Glacier Hotel.  I had heard that for a price they will usually shuttle you up to the border.

Permit in hand and all supplies obtained, I decided to take the time and look around Lake McDonald.  It was still early and I was able to take in the peace and quiet of the lake before the rest of the tourists started to rustle about.  It was wonderful.  As I stood upon the lake shore there was nothing but the sound of nature; no cell phones ringing, cars motoring about,  ...............people.  It was serene, almost unbelievable.  There was still a slight haze from the fires over in Whitefish, but as I looked northward I could see dark clouds beginning to form.  This could be bad if it doesn't blow through by tomorrow.  I would hate to have to start my first day in a torrential downpour.  

Dave and I took Rt. 2 that skirts the bottom of Glacier as opposed to taking the Going-to-the-Sun road.  Although Rt. 2 is longer, it was quicker.  We arrived over at the hotel and one of our first tasks was to stop over at the ranger station before it closed.  We both decided to go with bear canisters and Dave wanted to sign one out of the ranger station (I had already bought one).  As it turned out, the park had just opened Ptarmigan Trail and once again I changed my itinerary back to the original course.  We went back to the Many Glacier hotel and grabbed dinner in the Ptarmigan Dining Room.  The wind was really blowing by that time and the peaks of the mountains were completely shrouded in the clouds.  There were white caps on Swiftcurrent Lake.  

After dinner we did a gear check.  We were both humping over 60 pounds (one lesson I obviously didn't learn from the Grand Canyon).  I groaned as I put the pack on for a test fit.   What the hell was I thinking?!?!  The hotel is truly unique.  Built in 1923 it maintains a lot of its original charm.  It is true what the say about the grand old hotel though....  the walls are thin.  It was tough sleeping listening to the wind howling outside, the kid screaming next door, and the usual excitement about starting your adventure.....