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/