Days 1-5 Finding a New Identity in Glacier National Park

Day 1! (7/17)

Today’s the day! The plan was to hitch from looking glass base camp to St. Mary visitor center, get my permits for camping in the parking, then hitch from there up to the Canadian border. I woke up around 6, quickly packed up, and stuck my thumb out right outside the hostel. Only took about 20 minutes and a van full young people on a church trip picked me up. They let me know they could only take me about half the way there, but half way is a heck of a lot better than none way! They dropped me off right outside Kyiyo Mercantile where I faced off against a chihuahua who was very unhappy to see me. Luckily, I was saved by chuck before things got dangerous.

Chuck was picking up a trailer from St. Mary and took me exactly where I needed to go. He was an older gentleman born and raised in the area that presented as a hardened mountain man. I was surprised to be listening to “chill electronic dance mix” on the way to the visitor center, but anything was better than hearing the man-eating chihuahua.

After getting my permits in order I set out to make it to the Canadian border. In a wild stroke of luck, I was picked up by the first car that saw me! They worked for the park and could only take me part way, but I was happy to get going. I could not believe things were going so well when I realized I had traveled in the direction opposite what I needed to. Back to the visitor center! I got a ride there from Molly who was taking a little extra vacation time after visiting for a wedding.

I started walking along the road, sticking my thumb out at each car that passed and began to lose hope after about an hour of walking and thumbing. At hour 2 I was starting to worry that I may not find a ride, but then! Elliot, my knight in shining armor pulled over to ask me where I was headed. He was headed to the same trailhead as me! He worked in the park and was visiting belly river on his day off from work. He dropped me off and I went to go take my photo in front of the border monument.

After taking my photo I asked the guy working at the border if I would be allowed to just put one foot in Canada before starting. He let me! Which was both awesome and surprising. After a wild time in Canada, I was finally ready to start hiking!

The way the permits work, I needed to register for campgrounds each night prior to arriving at them. The campsite I had wanted to go to (Poia Lake) was full, so I’d be going to Elizabeth lake instead. This ended up being for the best as I got a late start on the day and already had about 6 miles of road walking on my legs.

Right off the bat I’m exposed to some of the most beautiful mountain scenery I’ve ever seen and they only got better as the day went on. Today I was hiking to Elizabeth lake, which I’d heard from a couple of the hikers at the hostel was a great place to spend the night. The weather was great, but hot. I was able to cool off by taking a dip in the belly river and in dawn mist falls, both of which blew me away.

Wildlife sightings were fairly tame today, but I did see a buck with velvety antlers and that was pretty neat.

When I got to the campsite, I was greeted by Brian and the rest of his crew. They were 6 deep from Bozeman and were vacationing in the park. Also at the site was Laura from Oregon who was out on a 10 or so day trip. After meeting them, I went to go set up my tent, take a quick dip in the lake, and stretch out a bit. Even though today was pretty short, I know I’ll be sore tomorrow. My body will have to get reacquainted with carrying a heavy pack all day.

After that, I went over to the cooking area to make dinner and play 20 questions with the group. Once 8 o’clock hit, I went back to the lake for a little to stare at it. I can’t get over how incredibly scenic everything has been so far. After a little lake time, I got in my tent and was asleep before the sun even set.

Day 2

Today I woke up a little after 6 and packed everything up before eating a light breakfast and saying my goodbyes to the crew. As soon as I set off, a light rain started up. It continued for about an hours, but never got too heavy and it kept the bugs at bay, so I wasn’t complaining!

Right out the gate I’d be doing virtually all of my climbing for the day getting up to Ptarmigan Tunnel. As incredible as the sights were yesterday, today blew it out of the water. With all the red rock, it felt like I was on an alien planet. Can any geology buffs explain to me why the rock is red? Iron??

I got up to about 7200 feet and I’m not sure if it was a result of thin air already or just a whole lot of up in one block, but the climb kicked my butt. The tunnel was very cool. It’s only about 200 feet, but it goes straight thru the mountain. I was ecstatic to reach it because that meant my climbing for the day was virtually over.

The other side of the tunnel had more incredible views in store and some exciting wildlife sightings. I saw my first ever moose! Super cool. Also saw a few more deer. One of them walked right up to me and I stepped aside to let her pass. I’m not even sure she realized I was there.

Pretty soon after that, I arrived at many glacier campsite and took my first steps on the official route of the CDT!

This campsite was jumping! Tons of vacationers staying here or at the lodge that shares a parking lot. I walked to my campsite and got everything set up before heading over to the campground store where I charged up my stuff and checked in with some friends and family.

I left the store after a few hours and saw someone else had set up a tent in the backpacker campground. They were away, but I got started setting up dinner and before long they returned. It was Booster and Rocket from France. They had just started the CDT today! Very happy to learn I’m not the last sobo-er of the season. They hiked the PCT last year and we compared our thru hike experiences over dinner. Pretty soon after we finished eating we both returned to our tents and went to sleep.

Day 3

Today when I woke up booster and rocket were already gone. The permit situation had forced them into a 30 mile day, but hopefully I’d see them at Lunas hostel when I got back to east glacier in a couple of days. Before I started hiking, I got on the lodge wifi for a bit to download a couple of albums that were released today (dr. dog and a collab album by Ambrose Kenny-Smith and Jay Watson). While there I heard about some sort of Microsoft disaster that caused a bunch of mayhem. Good day to be in the woods!

Today I had a shorter day of about 15 miles to Reynolds creek campground. The day started off pretty tame with a little walk around Swiftcurrent lake, but quickly escalated to the most unbelievable views.

I’d be going up Piegan pass which was just a little higher elevation than Ptarmigan tunnel. The climb wasn’t too bad, but I had the same feeling of not quite being able to catch my breath as yesterday. I’m going to go ahead and blame it on the elevation. Even if that’s not the case, having something to blame other than being in poor shape makes me feel better about myself.

Highlights of the day included: chill inducing views, several wildlife sightings (gold eagle, pikas, and a marmot that led me down the trail for a few minutes), and a little boy asking me if I wanted a gummy bear on the way down Piegan pass (I accepted).

The lone lowlight was the sunburn my hands suffered. Definitely did not use any sunscreen on them and I am feeling pretty silly for that. I’d say live and learn, but I made the exact same mistake on the AT.

I made it to Reynolds creek fairly early in the day and sat in the creek for a little while cooling off and soaking my feet and knees. After that, I did some stretching, pondered a little, and waged war on the flies trying to make me into their next meal. Tomorrow would be a pretty long day for me, so I ate a big dinner of a knorr side, 2 tuna packets, some instant potatoes, and a bunch of tortillas and went to sleep early.

Day 4

Wow, today was a long day. The plan was to hike about 25 miles to Atlantic creek campground, so I woke up early and was hiking by 6:45. I was feeling great and the trail was pretty cruise, so I felt like I was making good time. I was about 45 minutes in when I realized I had been traveling down the wrong trail the whole time. Damn. Well, nothing to do but turn around and walk back to where I had started.

By the time I made it back, it was after 8 and I already had 5 miles on my legs. Maybe I should have just slept in. After this mistake, my misuse of sunscreen, and getting a hitch in the wrong direction I’d be lucky if my trail name wasn’t worms for brains or something similar.

The day had grown from 25 to 30 miles, which would be my longest day of backpacking ever. I needed to boogie if I wanted to make it to camp at a reasonable hour. The first few miles after re-leaving camp were pretty easy and featured some neat water features like st Mary falls and Virginia creek. I also met a family from Virginia Beach. Lotta VA for a day in Montana! Soon after I hit Virginia creek, the trail became very overgrown and made it difficult to see where I was stepping. Luckily it was pretty flat and there were very few rocks and roots on trail, so seeing where I was stepping wasn’t of paramount importance.

I hiked right next to St Mary lake for the next 6 or so hours and after turning away from the lake found myself in a graveyard of burnt out trees. As far as the eye could see were barren trees that must have been victims of a fire years ago. The lack of trees meant a lack of shade which meant HOT! By the time I made it to red eagle lake I was burning up, so I jumped in the water for just a moment to cool off. After a short dip, I was feeling rejuvenated and filled my hip belt pocket with some gummies. I was ready to tackle the last 12 or so miles of the day.

Soon after leaving the lake, I noticed some ominous clouds in the distance. At first, I was grateful for them as they offered respite from the sun, but once I started hearing thunder I began to worry. The rain was heavy, but didn’t last for too long. I was happily hiking along and beginning to ascend triple divide pass when the clouds returned.

This was worrisome, but I didn’t really have an option other than continuing on the trail. I had about a mile left when I started to hear thunder. That really got the adrenaline pumping and thank goodness for that! I practically ran up the last mile and made it over the pass before the thunder, rain, and lightning returned. Once on the other side, I found a nice rock to crouch under that offered some protection from the elements.

I sat under the rock for probably 40 minutes waiting for the storm to pass and shoveling trail mix into my mouth. Eventually it did and I was back on my way to the campsite. I wish I got to enjoy the view from triple divide a bit more. It was gorgeous up there, but I’m lucky things worked out the way they did.

I was absolutely throttled by the time I made it to Atlantic creek campground. I very quickly said hello to the other campers there and went to go set up my stuff and change into some drier clothes.

After getting set up, I returned to the food prep area to make dinner and chat with the other hikers. They were a group of 5 being led by a local guide, EB. I didn’t catch the names of all the other hikers, but one of the crew, Jim read a couple chapters from a Patrick McManus book which I enjoyed while making my food. After reading time, we shared previous hiking and life experiences. I really enjoyed talking to those fellas. Best dinner on trail yet!

In talking, I shared with them my multiple directional faux pas and after razzing me a bit, let me know my trail name should be wrong way. Might need a bit of workshopping as I already know 2 wrong ways, but we are getting somewhere.

Day 5

Town day! I had about 25 miles and 2 passes to get back into east glacier, so I wanted to get started fairly early. I got out of my tent around 6, said goodbye to the friends I made last night, and was on trail before 7. Even headed in the correct direction today!

The day started off pretty light with a walk through the valley. It was beautiful with the morning light just peaking over the mountains and casting an amazing golden shadow over everything I could see. Before too long I reached morning star campground, visited the privy, and spoke to Kristen and Catherine who had hiked the pct in 2022. From there, I headed up Pitakaman pass. It was early and I still had a ton of energy. Was surprised how great I felt after yesterday’s long day! The views on the way up the pass were, of course, incredible.

After making it down the pass, I had a good stretch of flat before making it to two medicine campground where I ran into a family of longhorn sheep! So so cool. They were the animal I most wanted to see in glacier and I can’t believe the place we met was a campground, but I was jazzed to run into them.

Around this time is when I really started to feel the effects of the sun. I was drained! I jumped into two medicine lake for a quick cool off to try and regain some energy and for a couple miles it had me feeling great! Not all good things can last, though. By the time I made it half way up the next pass, I was beat all over again. I continued my way up the pass (very slowly) and if anyone asked, I was just taking in the incredible scenery. Not fighting for my life.

As tired as I was, this may have been my favorite pass yet. It was highly exposed which leant itself to impossible views. My jaw was on the floor for the last mile of the climb at least. Once I made it to the top, I felt like the shell of a man once called skeeter, but on the way down I was reborn as wrong way (please do not take me seriously). I knew I only had about 7 miles til I reached east glacier and at this point I could smell the burgers that I’d heard such great things about when I was last in town.

With greasy burgers and home fries on my mind, I tailed it towards town and before I knew it I arrived! I kind of blacked out for those last few miles, but I made it! I walked the short way to the hostel from the trail where I saw booster and rocket. So happy to have reconnected with them. After a short chat with them and another hiker, Spokes, I took the most fantastic shower, went to do some laundry, and began the search for the mystical burger. Also, spoke to rocket about my trail name and she suggested “Detour” which I more like the sound of. Detour it is!

It didn’t take long to find the “world famous” whistle shop where I wolfed down a burger and fries. It was the best middle tier burger I’ve eaten in my life.

After dinner, I got on a video call with my family. Was great to catch up and hear what’s been going on back in Richmond. After we got off the phone, I took a second shower, ate a massive pastry from the hostel hiker box, and went off to grab about 800 winks.