Logan Pass, Polebridge Mercantile, and Numa Ridge Lookout Trail

Looks like we'll be getting lots of time to explore the park and various other areas. The park here is staffed with more people than before, so there are lots of college kids looking for hours. We, on the other hand, are looking for the most time off they will let us have and still let us stay here. For now, we are going to be working three days and playing four. :-)

The Going to the Sun Road opened up, and we decided to take a day to drive across it, see the sights, and relax. The photo above is Glen at Logan Pass. As you can see, there is still a great deal of snow around.

We caught this beauty of a photo near Lake MacDonald on the west side of the park. The water was so still that the mountain reflections were amazing.

On another day, we decided to go to the far western part of the park where we were never able to visit when we only had our motorhome for transportation. This part of the park is remote, has dirt roads, and is less well-known. There is a little town there called Polebridge, and in my research I had heard tell of amazing bakery items for sale there. We stopped in, and bought a loaf of huckleberry beer bread (that turned out later to be raisin bread....the girl was confused), and two gigantic cinnamon buns...fresh from the oven.

We took these goodies along with us to Bowman Lake. We had a picnic lunch and then started out on a hike to the top of Numa Ridge. This hike was 11.4 miles round-trip, and for our hiking friends, the elevation gain was 2900 feet in 5.7 miles. For our non-hiking friends, that means: it was STEEP. The hike took us along the lake and then up a forested ridge to a place where we had amazing views in many directions. This view is from one side of the firetower at the top.

This view is from the other side and shows the lake we started at. We actually started at the end of the lake to the right in the photo. Can you see how much we climbed?

What the photo doesn't show you is that we were in prime mosquito territory. We are still scratching! We both almost tripped on our hiking poles as we were swatting mosquitos. (Well, at least I will say we both did....I know I did!)

We didn't see any wildlife other than those darn mosquitos, but it was a beautiful day for a hike. From the firetower we could see three glaciers, and that crystal clear lake. We only met a few other people on the trail, and enjoyed the solitude.

This was another great reflection photo from the location where we started that hike. We both decided it would be a fun lake to have a kayak and just paddle around. The lake only allows motors up to 5 horsepower, so it is a serene place. When we finished up the hike, we enjoyed one of the cinnamon buns. It was AMAZING.....and the car still has icing on the front seat! It was sticky, gooey, cinnamon heaven.

This bighorn was prancing around on the Going to the Sun Road, so we had to take his photo. I wish the sign and the road wasn't there, but thought you might enjoy it just the same.

We are planning our next big adventure, but are not sure how it will pan out. We want to head up to the Canadian side of the park to hike "Canada's #1 rated dayhike". It is a hike to a place called Crypt Lake, and involves a boat ride to the trail, a hike that has a tunnel, a ladder, and narrow trail along a cliff, and a return boat ride. We may head up this weekend and see if we can snag a campsite. All the ones that take reservations are full, so we will have to try the "first-come-first-served" variety. In the worst case, we will just explore the town a bit, and come back. We will have some back up plans made and try that a bit later if need be.

Tonight we are headed to a potluck birthday party for someone we don't even know. All the workampers here were invited, so we decided to tag along for some local fun. Gotta go make a pasta salad to take with us. Hope things back home are going well for everyone. We'll write again soon,

Terry and Glen

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

Packing up....

Well folks, it has been over a year since we traveled anywhere out of state. The excitement is building for a summer of adventure. This time, just two of us. It will be the first time since we had kids that we have been away alone for more than one week. :)

On tap for the summer: Glacier National Park, working at the KOA, lots of hiking, and some new parks to explore! We can't wait to go to Banff and drive the icefields parkway. We are hoping to visit cousin Cassie and her fiance Jay in Yellowstone or convince them to visit us in Glacier.

Last time it was pretty sporadic trying to get Internet to update you folks, but I am hoping for an easier time with a Verizon cell phone that has unlimited Internet access. Cross your fingers.

In the meantime, here is a photo of our summer home.

Gotta keep packing.....only 5 more days!

Terry