NOTE: The connection to the internet I'm using is slow. This is preventing me from uploading pictures. I'll do an all photo post once I have a faster connection.
I woke up to the last bit of rain this morning. It pitter-pattered on the drenched rain fly of our tent. By the time I finished my breakfast of maple syrup and apple oatmeal the last drops had fell. Although the majority of the day would remain overcast the lack of rain was welcoming for once. A short while later we were off to the coffee shop again to update our journals and get some caffeine. On the way we picked up some trail maps and the plan was to use the coffee break to plan today’s activities. Due to flooding our options were limited. We selected a four mile hike around Avalanche Lake and a short three mile hike off of Sperry trail head next to our campsite to wrap up the day. The hike up to Avalanche Lake was splendid there was never too great of an incline and the scenery changed frequently enough so you always had something to look at. The most impressive sights were the rain swollen streams careening down the trail and the picturesque high mountain waterfall. Again caused by the massive amount of rain the fell over the last few days. Although the rain was terrible while it was falling I’m actually kind of thankful for it. If the rain didn't fall we wouldn't have the unique and rare sights that we had during the hike. The trail ended at a high mountain lake. I believe it formed when a large amount of driftwood clogged up the stream. The lake couldn't have been deeper than four feet and was crystal clear. It was also surrounded by mountains. As I walked along the coast of the valley lake tiny chipmunks chased me in an effort to steal any food I was carrying. I was humorous to see them duck in and out of fallen branches and coastal debris. Although it was an easy hike there was plenty to learn from it. Our next stop lead us to a trailhead near our campsite. The trail started in a sharp incline and it didn’t relent. The scenery was also very homogeneous. I stopped and told Connor that if he wanted to he could go ahead. I just wanted to sit by myself in the woods and enjoy the solitude. He went along and I finally got some peace and quite. Not a lot happened, but I did have some time to reflect. I came to the realization that I really like being by myself. Ever since I was young I prefered to stay in my room alone then move around the house. On family vacations I would always wander off on my own for hours on end. What I like most about being on my own is that I can finally clear my head and let my brain wander on it’s own. It would have been the best moment of the day had it not been for what occurred after dinner. After dinner I decided to head down to the small stone beach behind our campsite that overlooked Lake McDonald. As I sat down the sun finally emerged from the clouds. I was completely bathed in sunlight for the first time in a week. As I reclined on the radiant shore a small finch landed beside me and hopped around for a few minutes as it scavenged the coast for food. When it flew away I closed my eyes. The sun danced behind my eyelids as it reflected of the still glassy water. A moment of pure peace was produced. It felt good to be warm again. Day 16 got off to a good start. We narrowly beat the rain in breaking down camp and hoped to be able to enjoy a short spell of rain from the comfort of our car on the two and a half hour drive to Glacier National Park. After looking at our weather apps it became clear that the rain, which had already impacted us the last couple days was a giant weather pattern that would continue to dump a LOT of rain on us for some time. The drive to east Glacier was relatively uneventful. The view was a bit muted with the mist and low hanging clouds but we wound our way to the entrance making a good pace. We passed some intensely flooded areas but made it without any standing water on the roadway. The dangers gradually did become more apparent as the rain continued to dump. We were both desperately in need of some refueling so we stopped at a nice restaurant in a lodge just outside of east Glacier. The rain continued and many people nearby seemed unhappy at their Glacier experience due to the unending light rain. In the mountains further in Glacier up to two feet of snow had accumulated. We hustled onward knowing that roads would soon be closed but almost immediately we discovered we were too late. Logan Pass was closed and we would have to drive around the edge of the park to get to west Glacier. This was disappointing as the scenic roadway through the middle of Glacier was sure to be a highlight. Still, we made the best of it and put on the Lord of the Rings soundtrack and joked of the parallels to the fellowship being turned away at Red Horn Gate by Saruman's magic. We were prepared to make another attempt at sleeping in the car if the rain didn't pass. We would've named the evening's camp Camp Disappointment in honor of the Corps of Discovery's discovery of the falls in their own journey's midpoint. By the time we made it back to Browning, 25 miles outside of Glacier we did cruise through standing water on the roadway and the creeks around the area had swelled noticeably in just the short 2 hours since we first passed through. Thankfully, the drive through Lewis and Clark National Park and Flathead National Park was beautiful and reminded us of the Misty Mountains. The soundtrack certainly helped propel us through the disappointment and gave us something to laugh about through the rain. We arrive in west Glacier and found a beautiful spot on Lake McDonald. The rains slowed to where we set up and ate dinner in relatively dry conditions. The 'dryness' lasted no more than an hour and we proceeded to hole up in the tent. It must've rained around 23 of the last 24 hours. A few notes: First, driving through Browning I saw a rather powerful billboard that spoke to the history of the American relationship with Natives as well as current issues with some tribes (see also: Ms. Clay's "Diary of a Part Time Indian" reading in 8th grade): alcoholism on the reservation. Americans knew what they were doing much like the British knew what they were doing when they poisoned the Chinese in the 19th century with opium addiction. Consider what lessons could be learned.
Second, a couple images that perhaps captured the dark mood of our soggy journey. As we were around the east Glacier area fire damage was apparent and with the mood of the journey I couldn't help but personify the skeletal remains of older dead trees. They looked to the sky, arms outstretched, wondering why they were chosen to burn of all the trees in the forest. In the rain, all the cattle and horses were looking in the same direction, heads sagging, undoubtedly wondering when the rain that was pounding them would end. They seemed pretty miserable. Third, the bird sounds out here are astounding. I've always had a fascination with birds, cultivated by my mom and her side of the family. I've enjoyed that part of the journey a great deal and whatever I was hearing last night from the dry confines of my tent was amazing. There were also some super cool little dudes buzzing the surface of the lake. The weather is now clearing for hopefully an afternoon of hiking on day 17 before we return to our campsite on Lake McDonald here in west Glacier. Tomorrow - overnight horseback rides await! Rain has dominated this portion of the journey. It's been nearly non stop for the last four days. The only break we've had was yesterday afternoon in Great Falls. It looks like the skies will clear for our upcoming overnight horseback riding trip on Friday. Last time I wrote I spoke about the similarities between Lewis and Clark's expedition and ours. I think this last test was our portage. L and C ran into an unexpected waterfalls in Great Falls and had to spend a lot of extra time moving their supplies and cargo over land. It was grueling and added two weeks to their time in Great Falls. This rain has done the same for us. The plan was to arrive at the east entrance of Glacier National Park and drive on the Going to the Sun highway on our way to West Glacier for our horseback trip. Unfortunately, the sky decided to drop 6-8 inches of rain in the low lands and 6-12 inches of snow in the mountains. This caused many of the roads we needed to travel on to be flooded and Logan's Pass, the only way through the mountains, to be closed. We only had one choice at this point. To go around the park and add another two hours to our travels. Basically, the mountain gave us a big Gandolf, "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" At this point I know I'm mixing metaphors between the Lewis and Clark Portage and Lord of the Rings, but Lord of the Rings was on Connor and I's mind for the next two hours. We decided to play all of the movie soundtracks on the radio and joke how the mountain had beaten us and we needed to go through the Mines of Moria. The who landscape looked foreboding and evil, much like at that point in the Fellowships journey, the rivers were swelling, sleet was pouring down, the cloud cloaked mountains looked as if they were breathing steam. If we were quite enough we could almost hear Saruman whispering his evil incantations. After a harrowing journey through the mountains we finally reached West Glacier. Where we spent the rest of the night huddled up in our tent cold and wet from the tiresome journey.
After holing up for our posts yesterday we have had another rather memorable stretch. First, the weather cleared up for a good chunk of time and we enjoyed rejoining the Lewis and Clark journey in Great Falls. Upon arriving at this point in their journey, the Corps of Discovery was crushed to see a series of waterfalls that would force them on a roughly 35 mile portage around the falls. They were stuck in the area for longer than anywhere else aside from their winter camps. In only a few days, they have a yearly celebration of the journey. Unfortunately, adventure waited for us elsewhere. That said, the interpretive center in Great Falls was top notch. It was located right on the Missouri with huge windows overlooking the 'Grandfather Spirit'. It also had a natural and logical movement to the exhibit and emphasis on the Native cultures they encountered on the journey. After our visit, we headed down to the river to walk a third of mile to a natural spring that pours out, I believe, 800,000 gallons of crystal clear water into the Missouri every hour. The 'great' falls that we were able to see were all modified into dams and hydroelectric plants. While a bit sad that I couldn't see the same falls the Corps saw, it does make sense to harness the power. When we arrived back to Camp Posh, the KOA campground of Great Falls, some older motorcyclists had set up in the site next to us. I will now attempt an ethnography of these cyclists in the spirit of an 18th or 19th century historian:
As we approached our campsite I beheld two large caucasian men in their mid-60s wearing what would appear to be the traditional garb of their culture I would soon discover to be that of a motorcyclist. More denim and leather was donned than I have seen in my travels up to this point. They said they were from an area just west of Louisiana called east Texas. They are a curious people, interested in seeing new land and traveled far and wide to gather in strange places with fellow motorcyclists. Clearly they have a broad network across the west. I could see we shared a spirit of adventure and inquisitiveness in our willingness to travel. They seemed to have a unique quality that set them apart from other motorcyclists, as they implied they were disinterested in the traditional hierarchies that seemed the norm in their culture. Over the course of the evening, in conversation, it became clear they were fixated on two things. These two things came up with enough regularity for it to be distinctly imprinted into my memory. First, they had an obsession with alcohol, sourmash whiskey to be specific. One shared stories of his methods and equipment with Knak. Strangely, they scoffed at our clear heritage of whiskey, being from Kentucky. Thankfully, both Knak and I kept our cool and were able to avoid offending them. In the meantime, I tended a fire for these motorcyclists, which we had traded in exchange for some of their ribs and whiskey. It seemed a reasonable transaction and allowed us to study them more closely. It was strange to observe their lack of skill in the basics of fire building, but perhaps it atrophied due to their over-reliance on the electric heaters they employed in their small campers that they towed behind their motorcycles. Over time, a second clear passion became evident: "oal". They claimed everything would always be alright in east Texas because of this "oal". They recounted recessions of the past 40 years that impacted east Texas less than other areas of the country because of their abundance of this "oal". To conclude, these two motorcyclists proved to be of generous spirit, skilled storytellers and while they are clearly proud of their homeland, they had an admirable interest in traveling outside of their domain. More brief reflections to come later on our day traveling from Great Falls to Glacier National Park. Suffice it to say, Knak and I kept going back to the scene in Tolkien's "Fellowship of the Ring" where the fellowship is trying to pass Red Horn Gate and due to the winter magics of Saruman they must turn back and try to get through the mountains via the mines of Moria. It was also timely that our stumbling due to impenetrable weather and landscape comes just after our visit to Great Falls, where the Corps was stymied. |