First Hiking Adventure 2010

This is Iceberg Lake. As you can see, it has some thawing to do before there will be icebergs floating in it, so we need to hike this at least one more time. That is not as easy as it sounds. If you were a follower of our blog the last time we were in Glacier, you may remember that we hiked part way to the lake and met a ranger who turned us back with severe thunderstorm warnings. We listened, and just made the parking lot when the skies opened. Then when we had time to hike it again the trail was closed due to bear activity. This time, we thought we would knock this out while we could. The weather looked great, the trail was open, and we had time to do it. This is where the fates started to chuckle at us.

First, we pack all up and try to drive out of the campground. The car is stopped at the exit and as Glen tries to shift we hear horrible grinding noises and the gears won't engage. Funny....we thought it had been sounding a bit like it did earlier in the spring when we had to have a new clutch spring. Guess it really must have been.(Or transmission)So...we leave the car off to the side and call the number for the extended service contract we were smart enough to get. It is closed on Sunday. We unpack and go back to spend the afternoon hanging around the campground. The owners find out and insist we take their car to go hike. So, two hours after our original start time we repack and take off to go hike.

The hike was fun, but the last mile was all in snow, we had to cross numerous little streams and waterfalls(thank goodness for waterproof hiking boots), and the lake was still frozen over...so no icebergs. The good news was that our fitness levels were so much better than two years ago that the 9.8 miles was easy.

We turn around after a late lunch at the lake. The clouds start to blow in. Earlier, when we were packing we made the decision that we didn't need raingear. We just brought long sleeved lightweight fleece tops. About 1 mile on the return trip, the rain starts to fall lightly. We laugh. We think we will be okay....it is not really cold and we are not too far from the trailhead. So, Mother Nature decides to get even with some lightning and some pouring rain. We are MOVING down the trail knowing that we have to cross some open ridgeline areas. (We hiked up to the lake in 2 hours 11 minutes. We made it all the way back in 1 hour 40 minutes) Then, the rain magically stops. We think...we might even be dried out enough to catch a meal in the restaurant at the bottom of the hill. And just as we reach the tar with about 300 yards to go to the car, the skies opened up again. We were drenched. Decision....let's go make spaghetti at the campsite.

As we are driving out of the park, we were lucky enough to see this fellow. First day in the park, one bear!! Must be because Kyle wasn't with us. Last time it took almost all summer to see one.

As we returned to the campground and changed into warm dry clothes, we decided that we learned two lessons. Never leave for a hike without the rain gear no matter how good the weather is, and never leave the campground with the top vent on the camper left open. :)

So, while it may sound like a depressing day, those of you that know us well know that we were laughing our way down the trail and had a great day anyway.

Today, the car was towed to the "local" Ford dealer today for inspection and repairs. I would not recommend breaking down in rural Montana. $363 later, it is now sitting in Cut Bank Ford waiting for the mechanic to look at it tomorrow. While the towing isn't covered, we hope the repairs will be from that extended contract. At least we weren't only here on a limited vacation schedule. That kind of thing could ruin a vacation!

We had our first day of retraining behind the front desk today. It went mostly smoothly...and we are sure to be pros by about 8 weeks from now when it is time to return home. In the meantime we will muddle our way through.

Until next time!!

Terry