Grand, Magnificent, Sublime, Angelic, Stunning

Wow, what an incredible couple of days out in the Many Glacier Valley. It has been long overdue, but I finally made it back to the east side of the park. This time I recruited Stephanie and Jimbo for the adventure (not that it took much persuading). I borrowed a couple of bikes from our good friend Ed on Monday to make the trip in much easier. Tuesday, we loaded up Elvis with three bikes, three packs, snowshoes, and three eager seasonal workers, and headed for windy highway 2 towards the east side of Glacier Park. It was a beautiful day and a pleasant two and a half hour drive. Stephanie spent the trip doing crafts in the back seat while Jimbo and I B.S.'ed to pass the time. We made it to the gate by early afternoon, assembled the bikes, and sped off towards the cabin. It was a nice ride in though the wind was brutal. It made even the flat sections feel like we were going uphill. But, nevertheless we pedalled on thinking only of the home brews that awaited us upon arrival. Everything was going well until about mile four. Somehow my front tire found the one dagger-sharp stone on the road causing my tire to go completely flat. Fortunately, Ed is prepared for such emergencies and had a air pump attached to the bike. The unfortunate part is that the hole was far to big for any temporary repairs, leaving me to walk my bike the remaining three miles while Steph and Jimbo rode off merrily towards the finish line. I can see the humor in it now, but if I would have written this blog immediately upon arriving at the cabin, there would have been words not suited for children inserted into this story. Eventually, I made it to the cabin, cracked open the home brew, and all was well again. To summarize the evening at the cabin, we enjoyed some delicious steaks, had a few cocktails, played some Guesstures and DDR, then reluctantly called it a night.

Wednesday, I awoke to bright blue skies and was eager to start the day. My co-pilots needed a little more persuasion. Well, Jimbo did anyway. I attempted my first wake-up call at 10 am. When this didn't work, I went back, coffee in hand. Still, I was unsuccessful, so I set the clock ahead two hours. This did the trick. Jimbo rallied and finally got out of bed (though he wasn't too happy to find out about the clock trick). Our goal for the day was to climb 7,947 ft Mt. Altyn. We biked towards Swiftcurrent then ditched the bikes when we hit too much snow and headed on foot towards the base of the mountain. Some of us (Stephanie, Jeff, and myself) were more motivated to complete the climb than others (Jimbo). Jimbo sat down not far along the trip and refused to budge, so the rest of us pressed on without him sure he would be sorry when he saw our photos. The hike up the mountain took a bit longer than expected though we were not in any hurry. We successfully spooked about fifty bighorn sheep who took off running upon being invaded by the creatures who walk on two legs. We passed through many patches of snow though we never needed the snowshoes we lugged all the way to the summit. Between the snow and scree fields, we were all a little worn out by the time we reached the saddle. Luckily from the saddle it was an easy walk up to the summit. There was a beautiful mountain goat waiting for us on the summit of the mountain, but he too was spooked before we got to him. Finally on the summit, we were able to relax and take in the view in its entirety. Words can not express the beauty of the landscape. There were snow covered peaks all around us and frozen lakes in the valleys. From the summit we could see Duck Lake, Lake Sherburn, Swiftcurrent Lake, Lake Josephine, Fishercap Lake, Redrock Lake, and Bullhead Lake. I could have sat up there until the sun went down. It was unbelievable. I can say with confidence that it was the most beautiful view I have ever seen in Glacier Park. This was definitely in part because of all of the snow. There is nothing more beautiful than a sea of perfect, snow covered peaks. Eventually, reality kicked in, and we realized that we must head back down. It was already 4 pm. The way down proved to be much easier than we thought. Going back down is almost always much worse than the trip up, at least for those of us whose knees have already gone to hell. Well anyway, the scree was nice and soft and perfect for a fast run down the side of the mountain. We also realized that the snow patches were a quick route down as well. Now, I would not normally recommend sliding down steep patches of snow of the side of the mountain, but we were not near any cliffs and the snow was soft enough to put a foot out and be able to stop. Sliding down on our bums was so much fun and so fast! Well, it was fun the first few times, then my rear was so cold and wet that I couldn't do it anymore. What took most of the afternoon to climb only took an hour and a half to get down. We made it back to the cabin with a couple of hours of daylight to spare. Jimbo made us some queso which we all pigged out on, and we lounged around the rest of the night in food comas.

Thursday morning, I took a walk up above the hotel to check out the dwindling snow drifts. There is a picture in the lodge that was taken in March a couple of years ago. The snow drifts were above the second floor of the hotel and completely covered the breezeway to the annex. This year the snow drift doesn't even come close to covering the first floor. It's crazy. This has been such an interesting winter. I hope it doesn't mean it will be a hot summer! Back at the cabin, Stephanie, Jimbo, and I packed up our belongings and prepared for the trip out. Luckily, Jeff was able to repair my tire, so I was able to bike out with the others. The trip out was awesome. There was no wind and the sun was shining, beautiful and warm. We made it back to my car in forty minutes, loaded the bikes, and headed back to the west side of the park. We couldn't resist a stop at the Glacier Grill for delicious Cold Smoke and calzones...always a great way to cap off a trip!

Gotta get out of the house!

Happy St. Patty's Day!!! Skiing, baking, painting, hiking and fishing. That sums up the week of a lot of fun with new friends, and a little work as well. Last Wednesday Sumio and his wife Kumi came in for two nights and we had a great time, it was nice to finally meet Kumi. During the day while I worked they went out skiing and enjoying the windy, snowy weather. In the evenings we played Shanghai Rummy, Farkle and Pass The Pigs, all these games were new to them but they seemed to enjoy themselves and wrote down the rules to Shanghai before they left. Kumi brought some homemade raisin bread with her that was excellent, thank you Kumi. With the warm weather the road has been great for biking and Friday morning Sumio and Kumi hopped on their bikes and headed out. As they rode out they passed Megan and Dave who were headed in to stay one night. The wind was really whipping so Sumio and Kumi loved it while Megan and Dave were taking a beating. I came home from work to meet them at the cabin and we had some grub and relaxed a little while (not known to Megan) I waited for Ken to show up and surprise her. While we were waiting for Ken a couple of other groups came in on bikes to check out the area. When Ken arrived Megan happy to see him and so were Dave and I.WE all cruised out on Swiftcurrent Lake to get some ice fishing tips from Dave and he hauled in the first catches I have seen all winter, they were huge as the picture shows. :) We cooked some salmon that Dave had brought out and played cards while we made plans to ski to Cracker Lake the next day. We were up and out by 9am and we had fare weather so the day was looking good. The trail out to Cracker is just a little over 6 miles and we were hoping that we would have decent snow to ski on but the snow that we did have was hard and icy. We had plenty of laughs watching each other struggle over difficult terrain sliding and falling quite often. I am pretty sure that I have never fallen that many times doing anything else in my life, not even surfing. I now have multiple scrapes, bumps and bruises to show for 12 mile round trip journey. Along the way we saw many lion tracks on the first part of the trail and once we reached higher ground we saw an amazing amount of moose tracks and scat(poo). Once we reached the lake we tooled around on it a bit and headed back, but instead of taking the trail we decided to take the snowed over creek bed. We started out having so much fun because the terrain was similar to a massive half pipe and we were cruising. After a little while however we were dodging open water and bush whacking on skis which I do not recommend. WE got back to the cabin had some soup and much to their disappointment they had to ride 7 miles back out to the car. We did all agree that the trip was worth every second and I was very happy to finally see Mt Siyeh(10,014ft) from the bottom of the shear cliff face instead of the summit(I've climbed it twice). The plumbing was a challenge for all my guests but overall I feel that they really enjoyed themselves. The only thing that was a bummer was that we haven't seen any new bear tracks. Now that I am alone again I have FINISHED THE PAINTING!!!!!!!!! What a huge relief, now I can get on to some less monotonous work. I cruised out to get my mail yesterday and for the first time put some headphones on and just enjoyed the walk and scenery. I picked up a bicycle at Earl's house after I got to Babb and cruised to the Post Office. It was a bummer not to have any mail but it was nice to get out of the valley and stop at the Firehorse Cafe for a bite. I had a good meal but did not realize that they stopped taking credit 2 weeks prior so I officially have an IOU out there until I can get to an ATM. The ride in was a little windy but very enjoyable. Now I am just baking some goods and hoping to get away on an overnighter to Poia Lake this weekend.

Hiking Season Has Finally Begun...Or Has It?

Well, as it turns out, unemployment is not so bad after all. Sure, it can get boring at times (I'm still looking for that hobby), but unemployment sure has its perks too. Here's a brief description of a day in the life of Heidi the Magnificent. The sun is finally able to rouse me around 8 am (there is no need for alarm clocks in unemployed life). I drink some coffee, eat breakfast, and read the news until about 9:30 or so. Then, I'm off for a short, four mile run (Maybe I'd run farther if I wasn't sucking in gas fumes from all of those gas-guzzling Montana trucks...maybe). The next part varies a bit. I come home, read some more news, search for employment, and/or read some Harry Potter. Later in the day, I typically walk the bike path out to Whitefish Lake, hang out for a while, then head back to sit by the river and watch the ducks for an hour or two. Eventually I head home where I veg out watching Dexter (good information in case I ever decide to become a serial killer) or find something slightly less productive to do. On the bright side, some days are a bit more interesting than others.

Sunday, I headed out with Dan to hike up to Scalplock lookout. I had hiked up there once this past summer with Shayla and Maggie much to the dislike of the disgruntled lookout guy. To his defense, he warmed up to us once he had a few sips of his morning coffee. I'm not sure I'd like a bunch of people showing up at my mountain top home before I had my wake up call, that's for sure! Anyway, we got on the trail early in the afternoon with the beautiful, warm sun shining in our faces. The first part of the trail was treacherous ice, a common theme across the park this winter. Dan was taking it cautiously up the switchbacks, so I decided to be a tough guy and pass by him. This was a bad decision. I had made it only a few steps past him when I slipped and flew chin first into the ice. I then tried to stop myself from sliding down the hill by dragging my bare arms across the sharp ice. Yep, I'm an idiot. I eventually picked myself up (though my dignity is still somewhere on that switchback), wiped the mud off of my face and arms, and started hiking again, though at a much slower, cautious pace. We made it up to the top of the ridge without any further ice issues, thankfully. Once up on top of the mountain, the snow was soft from baking in the sun all afternoon. We post-holed it pretty much the rest of the way along the ridge and up to the lookout. The scrapes on my chin and arms were well worth the view. It was beautiful and there wasn't a soul around. We hung out for an hour, snacking and taking in the view, before we reluctantly started down the mountain. We ran of daylight just in time for the icy section of the trail. YAY! Luckily, I managed to stay on my two feet this time and we both made it to the car in one piece. The stars were absolutely incredible! We stopped for a beer at the Izaak Walton Inn, then I spent the whole ride home with my face pressed against the car window gazing at the stars.

Today, I was still amped up from the awesome hike up Scalplock that I decided to try my luck for lookouts again. I headed out to Apgar Lookout this morning. It was not as nice of a day as Sunday, but there were promising patches of blue in the sky. The road to the trailhead is closed, so hikers have to walk from the stables. No biggie! There was an inch or two of fresh snow on the road, but I thought nothing of it. After all, we didn't need snowshoes on Scalplock until the last little bit of the trail. Well, by the time I reached the trailhead to the lookout, there was about four inches of fresh snow on the ground. I'm no quitter (mostly because I made a deal with myself: no lookout, no Glacier Grill), so I kept on plugging. The first mile and a half of the trail was fine, though as more time passed, the mountain top was getting more and more socked in with clouds. The last part of the trail down right sucked...excuse my language. There was a nice solid layer snow under the fresh snow that kept me from sinking too far, but there were many places where people had post-holed before. The new snow covered up these holes and of course my feet kept finding their way into the holes, scraping my shins and jarring my knees. I won't lie to you. There were a few four letter words that escaped my lips (and a few multi-word combos as well). But, as I said before, I couldn't stop at the Grill for my traditional calzone and glass of Coldsmoke without an appearance at the lookout. So, with renewed motivation, I pushed the rest of the way up to the lookout. (This is probably a good time to note that this isn't a difficult hike. I was being a baby because of the snow that I failed to realize would be there.) I got to the lookout after doing a lot of post-holing of my own, ate some cheese and crackers and chocolate, and stood in front of the webcam to wave at my dad. Then, I got the hell out of dodge. I was ready for that beer! And, in case you're wondering, Glacier Grill didn't disappoint. They never do.

P.S. The Iditarod is in full force. Check it out! http://www.iditarod.com/

Theeerrrrre baaaaack!

It has been a great week and I am pretty sure it is going to keep getting better. First of all I would like to give a final clarification on the stuff that I found out by the dead goat. Last week I said it was bear poo but that was wrong. Sumio was here for a few days and he is somewhat of a goat expert, he said that goats have four stomachs and that whenever a predator eats a goat they always leave the stomach contents behind. So that is that. While Sumio was out there he let me know that he saw grizzly tracks so that sparked my interest in that trail once again. He was also lucky enough to get a picture of a linx over by Swiftcurrent Lodge, what a rare treat! On Sunday I took off towards Grinnell lake to see if I could check out the grizzly tracks. When I found them I couldn't believe how big they were! I decided to follow the tracks as far as I could and after about five hours of trails, trees and rock I lost the tracks. Along the way the bear had got a hold of a ptarmigan, dug some huge holes and sniffed out a rabbit killed by a coyote. I was bummed not to see the huge beast but it is nice to know they are awake and wandering around. As I was tracking I saw two Northern Harriers which I've never seen before and that was a neat experience. They are stunning birds with a call that sounds like a kitten crying loudly. The lake is no longer safe to cross and the snow was almost gone until I received five more inches between last night and this morning. Overall I really enjoyed this week of hard work and nice weather, I am glad to see some more snow. Following the bear is one of the highlights of my winter and it took me off trail to some beautiful places I would of never thought of venturing. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.

I should have worried less about the bear poo and more about my own!

Well quite a bit has happened since I last put an entry on the blog. First of all the consensus from the rangers about the poo is that a grizzly was most likely awakened by the warmer weather and was cruising around. Now on to current events. I was almost pulled out of Many Glacier last week because of some ongoing plumbing problems that have been plaguing my poor little cabin. I knew Heidi would keep all of you up on the bathroom situation so I was waiting to figure out what the problem was until I blogged about it so we aren't sounding redundant. Last Thursday my bosses Paul and Troy came out on quads to see if they could figure out and fix the septic backup. Now that sounds all well and good but I want you all to understand how many hoops have to be jumped through to have the park service allow motorized vehicles to travel the road during a time of the year when it is strictly prohibited. This was the first time in many years that G.P.I. had had to ask this of the park service and they were very understanding of the predicament. With this said we couldn't fix the problem so we had to ask the park if they could come back out on Monday with a longer pipe snake, they reluctantly obliged with the understanding that if it wasn't fixed I was to come out on the quads with my boss and my winter here would be done. Well, we couldn't fix my cabin but we were able to get the jammer dorm next door up and running(no water but the toilets flush with a little help) so my restroom is now 200ft away but I am still here and very happy about that. Now I have been able to come up with a system; Step 1- wash dishes,brush teeth, cook, etc. and put the waste water in a 5 gallon bucket. Step 2- Take the bucket to the jammer dorm and dump it in the tanks of the 2 toilets, now I can flush(yeah :)). Now that my drains are clear of water I can wait a couple of days and then take about a 6 minute shower and then wait for the very slow drain to empty again. Sorry to bore you with all this but I took a shower today for the first time in 18 days and it was an exciting moment for me. The weather has been just ridiculous, with an average temperature of about 44 degrees the snow is disappearing quickly and the lake has lost a couple inches of ice. The plus side is that I have been wandering around outside under the full moon and it is one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen. I tried to take a picture for you to see but as you can tell it does no justice to what it really looks like. The wildlife seems to be enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. Mt. Altyn rises up directly next to the cabin and the other day I saw 45 bighorn and 5 goats on its slopes! It has been nice to see the bighorns down on my doorstep again as well. The picture is of a couple large males that were playfully wrestling around right next to my front porch, they would just lock horns and tug back and forth. The grayjays have also been chilling on my stoop and their friendly demeanor has been a welcome addition to the neighborhood. There was a golden eagle cruising overhead yesterday so that scared the grayjays off but they will be back soon. Sumio Harada is out here now camping up at the winter camping area and he is one of the nicest people I have ever met. If any of you have the chance you should check out his website, he is a very talented(not to mention award winning) photographer. photorocky.com. I wish you all well and I am glad I get to stay out here to share this unique experience.
Jeff

A Perfect Reflection

The clouds have lifted once again here on the west side of the park. Victor, Allie, Ed, and I spent five hours sitting inside the dark and drab Remmington yesterday playing Hearts. Although I had an awesome time, I was anxious to get outside and enjoy the blue skies. So, Victor and I took a drive out to Lake McDonald this morning. The mountains looked amazing as we got closer to the park. But, as we drove the Going to the Sun road along side Lake McDonald, there was a thick fog hanging over the lake. We parked Elvis and headed out on foot for McDonald falls, hoping the fog would burn off before we got back to the lake. We took the icy loop trail past the falls, through the tunnel, and back to the road. Despite the trecherous ice, it was a nice little adventure. The sun was shining, and was quite warm for March 1st in Montana. Thankfully, by the time we got back to the lake, the fog had burned off. Victor and I snapped some photos and watched some unsuccessful fisherman for a while before heading back to the car. We drove about four miles from the hotel then stopped at a turnout to check out the perfect refelction of Stanton, Vaught, and Cannon on Lake McDonald. On the way home, we stopped at the Glacier Grill for some nachos, a pitcher of Cold Smoke, and a couple of calzones (it's practically a sin to just drive by that place). Now, I'm getting ready to head out for some sushi with Allie. It's a good thing I've taken up running...