So, Tuesday I headed back into the Many Glacier valley (apparently, I can't stay away from that place). The weather was great. It was sunny and in the upper 30's, but it was super windy. The two and a half hour drive over to the east side was pleasant with beautiful views for most of the way. I made it to Babb by noon, stopped at the Post Office for Jeff's mail, then headed to the gate to begin the hike in. Eric and Leah had made it in on Monday and were lucky enough to be able to ski in most of the way. I was not so lucky. I walked the entire road, plowing through the wind as I paralleled the reservoir (at least I had the warm sun on my face!). The hike in was uneventful but beautiful nonetheless. The road was polka-dotted from all of the snow-shoers that have been in recently. I made it to the cabin by 2:30 where I met up with Eric and Leah. They headed out shortly after my arrival for Fishercap Lake while I stayed behind to relax. Jeff and I played some cards and later Leah cooked us all an awesome dinner (a trend that is very characteristic of those two). After dinner, the four of us played a couple games of 500, ending the night with a 1-1 tie.
Wednesday, Eric, Leah, and I headed out to replace the deer legs on the three wolverine sites at Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine. It was very windy and tough to cross Swiftcurrent Lake but nothing compared to the crappy weather at Lake Josephine. It was even more windy and was snowing by the time we made our way across Lake Jospehine. Thank goodness I had my googles and the fancy wiper blade on my glove to clear the ice off of them. After setting up the third site, Eric and Leah headed up to Grinnell Lake while I headed back to the cabin (I've been there many times in good weather, so I certainly wasn't motivated enough to ski up there under those conditions). The ski home was awesome with the wind pushing me from behind. What a breeze! When I got back, I kicked Jeff's ass at cards while waiting for Eric and Leah to get back. We had another fantastic dinner courtesy of Leah and continued the 500 tournament. We ended the night at 2-2.
Thursday, the weather had improved a bit, but Mt. Wilbur still didn't want to come out and play. Eric, Leah, and I headed out to the wolverine site near Cracker Flats in the late morning. With a bit of fancy pole-dancing, Eric was able to replace the deer leg. After the work was done, we headed out for a ski back to the flats and eventually made a big loop back around to the trail. It started to snow while we were out on our journey even though the sun never stopped shining! We came back, ate some lunch, then Leah and I laced up our ice skates and headed out on the lake. Swiftcurrent Lake is great for ice skating right now thanks to that wind that's been blowing non-stop for the past week. A little known fact: Leah is an awesome ice skater and has lots of cool tricks and stunts! I thought I was pretty good for the average skater. Let the record state that I was wrong. Later that night we had yet another awesome meal then departed for a night ski up the Iceberg Lake trail. The wind had finally died down and the moon was shining in all its glory. It was a wonderful ski with a few inches of fresh snow on the trail. While relaxing before heading back, there was an incredible shooting star that skidded across the ski. It was a streak of blinding white. We all yelled in unison when we saw it (well everyone except Leah whose view was apparently blocked by Eric's big head). The boys skied down a steep stream bed while Leah and I enjoyed a peaceful ski back on the trail. When we finally arrived back to the cabin, Leah and I protested against another round of cards. The guys eventually gave up on harassing us to play, and we went to bed. So, we're at a standstill in this tournament with 2-2 being the finally score.
I awoke to blue skies on Friday, jumped out of bed, and ran outside. Finally, there was an amazing view of Mt. Wilbur! Who needs coffee in the morning with a view like that? I headed out of Many Glacier by 10 am. Despite the litte bit of snow we got, I still had to walk the entire road out, but at least the wind was at my back. The sun was so warm (we reached 48 degrees!), and it felt like spring time. The mountains were so beautiful on the drive back. They all had a fresh coat of perfect white snow. Now, I'm back in civilization with fresh produce, good wine, and gray skies.
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