Day 7: We Went Over a Mountain to See What We Could See
Here are the notes I am taking while Molly and I are on a road trip through Idaho (briefly), Wyoming, and Montana, October 2018.
Part 1 is here | Part 2 is here | Part 3 is here | Part 4 is here | Part 5 is here | Part 6 is here
OCTOBER 12, 2018
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
The weather was a touch gloomy but that didn’t stop your intrepid gals from exploring as much Glacier National Park as could (legally) be explored. We headed back to the West Entrance of Glacier and to the Trail of the Cedars trailhead, which meandered around the lovely forest before starting the hike to Avalanche Lake, about 5.5 miles roundtrip.
The Trail of the Cedars has haikus every few yards!
Similar in ways to the many trails I’ve walked in California, and so different. Cedars, cottonwoods, yews, hemlocks. It was so quiet and gentle, and the water (a blue I’ve never seen) carved soft swirls in the rocks. We encountered a woodpecker, softly tapping on a cedar.
It would’ve been a super simple hike for me at sea level, with a slight uphill rise, but it has become apparent that I will never get used to nor enjoy a higher altitude — as usual, I was gaspy and annoying as my besieged lungs could not get their shit together. I was feeling like the only loser on the trail, until, on the way back, we passed a couple ladies who puffed at me “how much longer till we get there??” I smiled beatifically and lied that it was only a little further, promise!
Of course, all cardio-vascular drama vanished as we arrived at the Lake. Look at those frozen falls! It was a little grey but that’s probably a mercy for ol’ Gaspy over here. I sat on a log and gathered myself as Molly explored. I chatted with a delightful couple from Minnesota, who inquired about our travels so far. I mentioned that we started in Pocatello, and the lady exclaimed “Oh, Pocatello – I got the worst haircut of my life there!”
It was another day like our time in Lamar Valley in Yellowstone. A few people around, just there to enjoy the incredible scenery. Gentle and friendly.
That is, until the school trip kids came and gave us motivation to step it up and OUT of there.
So then it was time to freeform. We had gotten as far in to actual Glacier Park as we could, and we were still in the mood to explore. I was behind the wheel, so Molly conducted some expert, map-only navigating and got us going northward on some cool back roads. The Mom Van did pretty well on the gravel portions. Go, Mom Van!
At this point of our travels, we have seen some wildlife, but Molly had her heart set on seeing a grizzly bear. This was our last day to get this done, so as I put the pedal to the metal, Molly scanned the rivers, fields and hillsides. We had one false sighting, a bear-shaped rock in a river (causing the nice gals in the car behind us to check on our welfare after we came to an abrupt halt and put on the hazards).
We continued to Polebridge, a quirky spot off the grid and the home to an amazing store. I didn’t realize this until I just looked it up, but we were only 22 miles from the Canadian border! We are tearing up the miles on this trip.
After a stop for baked treats, we headed back down the road. Then, literally right at the side of the road:
A fine young grizzly it was. Then two more a few yards away. This particular guy was dark brown and didn’t seem to be related to the others, who were more silvery in color. This theory was proven, as brown guy caught wind of the others and sprinted across the road to get away. That was an exciting moment on top of an already REALLY exciting moment!
Bear: check. We are exhausted. We have been staying in the past couple nights, cooking dinners in our surprisingly spacious kitchen in our caboose. More on the whole caboose thing tomorrow. Can’t believe how quickly this trip is going!