ENCORE III: HIDDEN LAKE

Dave made another nice breakfast Friday morning. Afterwards we broke camp and parted ways. He was heading to Waterton Lakes National Park, in Alberta, Canada. From there, he planned to continue on to Banff and the heart of the Canadian Rockies. I was heading in the other direction, as I needed to be in Missoula that evening.

I only had about half a day for my last hike of the trip. I needed to be back at the Kalispell airport by mid-afternoon to swap rental cars. I had made a separate one-way reservation to Missoula, because making two separate reservations saved me a couple hundred dollars.

Originally I thought about doing a short but challenging hike up Elk Mountain on the southwest side of Glacier. However, the view from the summit is primarily to the south, into the Bob Marshall Wilderness. At last check, there was a major wildfire burning down there. I was afraid that smoke would ruin the view. Also, I hadn’t driven Going to the Sun Road on my current trip, and I wanted to do that before leaving. Ultimately I decided to drive across the park, with a stop at Logan Pass so I could do the short, easy hike to the Hidden Lake overlook.

The highlight of the drive was a stop along St. Mary Lake at a viewpoint of Wild Goose Island. Dark clouds were hovering around the peaks along the Continental Divide. That made for cool photos, but they didn’t bode well for my hike to Hidden Lake. I was hopeful that conditions would improve by the time I reached Logan Pass.

That didn’t happen. It was cold, windy, and raining when I parked. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to wait around for conditions to improve. I changed clothes in the bathroom and began the hike above the Visitor’s Center. The weather did improve somewhat, as the rain stopped and the clouds began to break up. The swirling clouds added a lot of beauty to the hike, as they continuously broke and reformed around the surrounding peaks.

The trail was incredibly busy despite the marginal weather. I guess it’s always busy, since it is an easy but exceptionally scenic hike.

I hiked on to the Hidden Lake overlook. Fog was obscuring the lake when I arrived, but it followed the pattern of clearing and re-forming that I was now familiar with. At various times I was treated to nice views of the lake and Bearhat Mountain beyond. Unfortunately the resident mountain goats were absent during my visit. I loitered there for a bit, but the wind was howling across the pass, and it was still chilly. I hiked back quickly, and continued on down the Sun Road. By the time I reached Lake McDonald the sun was out. I stopped at the Sprague Creek Picnic Area, where I had a quick lunch. Then I drove down to Apgar village, where I picked up some gifts for my wife. I also checked at the ranger station to see if my duffel bag had turned up, without luck.

From there it was on to the Kalispell Airport. I swapped rental cars, before driving south towards Missoula. I drove down the east side of Flathead Lake, which is huge and impressive. Even more appealing were the views of the Mission Mountains from the town of Polson. Those peaks are impressive, and even feature some glaciers. It might be worthwhile to spend a few days hiking there on a future trip.

MISS YOU SO BADLY

“I guess it all blew up in Missoula

There just was no other way

After months of going crazy, there was nothing left to say

But when the dust had finally settled

And the air had quickly cleared

Well, things were better off than I had feared.

And I miss you so badly, girl I love you madly

Feeling so sad now since I’ve been gone, gone, gone

It gets quite confusing, it seems that I’m losing

Track of the long days since I’ve been home.

We’re staying in a Holiday Inn full of Griz fans,

I guess they meet there 6 times a year

They exchange football stories

And get drunk on Moose Drool beer

Then they’re off to Washington-Griz

With their eyes glued to the field

I don’t think I would ever let ‘em medicate me.

From “Miss You So Badly”, by Jimmy Buffett, written by Jimmy Buffett and Greg Taylor, with a few minor alterations in the last paragraph.

I drove on to Missoula. I picked up some Moose Drool on my way into town, and then checked in at the Holiday Inn. My wife had shipped me a package a couple of weeks earlier containing clean clothes and a pair of tickets to the Appalachian State / Montana football game on Saturday night. Getting that package was a huge relief! I had originally planned this whole trip around the football game. When the football schedule came out a year earlier, I knew there was no way I could miss the game. The University of Montana has one of the best stadiums and game day experiences in FCS (formerly 1-AA) college football. Appalachian State, my Alma Mater, had played there twice before. We lost twice in the semifinals of the playoffs; once in overtime, in a blizzard, and once on the last play of the game, again in a blizzard. I had high hopes that this game would have a different ending, or at least that it wouldn’t be played in a blizzard.

I took a shower and drank a Moose Drool (simultaneously) before driving the rental car over to the Missoula airport. The Holiday Inn sent a shuttle over to pick me up. It was nice to be once again liberated from having a car! I got a call from my friend Brian while I was on my way back to the hotel. He had just arrived! I’d talked him into riding out from Seattle to join me for the weekend in Missoula. He had recently purchased a motorcycle, and had survived the 10 hour ride on I-90. I was really psyched that he had made it out. The weekend in Missoula would be a lot more fun with his company!

That night we explored downtown Missoula. The Holiday Inn is strategically located in the heart of town, just across the river from the University of Montana campus. We strolled through town, and ended up at Biga Pizza. This restaurant had been recommended to me by a family I’d met at the Hole in the Wall campsite half way through my backpacking trip. It was a fantastic recommendation! Biga’s served us the best pizza I’d had in a long, long time. We enjoyed a few local brews while we were there, too.

Afterwards we went bar hopping. The first bar we visited was festive, but really loud. After a couple of beers there we decided to roam. We headed over to Red’s, which is more of a sports bar. This decision was fortuitous, because we ran into my friends Bill, Sallie, Iggy, and Jen there. My wife, my buddy Eric, and I sit with them at all of the Appalachian football games. This was cool, because I didn’t know they were coming, and they didn’t know I was going to be there, either. The Missoula weekend was just getting better and better.

We had a couple more beers there before heading back to the hotel. Bill and Sallie were still partying, but Brian and I are just a little too old to keep up that pace for a full weekend.

The next morning started with a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. Then we wandered through the local farmer’s market, which is massive. We strolled around downtown, and did some actual shopping. Brian bought gifts for his wife and daughters, and I picked up a wallet and a few other odds and ends. We also toured another street market, which was more geared towards arts and crafts.

I was really impressed with Missoula. This was my third visit, but my first chance to really spend a lot of time in town. Missoula is either a small city or a really large college town, depending on how you look at it. Either way, it’s vibrant, with an incredible amount of youthful energy. It reminds me a bit of Asheville, NC, with its emphasis on the arts, music, food, and beer. Oh, and there are dogs everywhere. I hadn’t seen my dogs in a month, so I took a few opportunities to pet random dogs that we passed on the street.

We returned to the hotel for some early afternoon recovery. Then we went to work on the case of Moose Drool I’d picked up the previous day. After that warm up, we hoofed it across town for an early dinner and some pre-tailgating at the Iron Horse Brew Pub. I indulged myself in wings and beer, while Brian had something more sensible, like a salad or something. Afterwards we headed over to Washington Grizzly stadium to see what kind of trouble we could get into. It was weird to plan on tailgating without food or beer or music or a car, but I figured it would work out. And it did. The tailgating scene outside the stadium was fantastic. Practically every tailgate we passed offered us food and beer. Griz fans sure know how treat their guests! In fact, one of them had organized a tour of Missoula on a “beer bus” for Appalachian fans the previous afternoon. It had included a tour of the city, Big Sky Brewery, and Washington Grizzly stadium. Oh, and the bus featured a full keg of Moose Drool. I hated that I missed that!

Before long we ran into Bill, Sallie, Iggy, and Jen again. We all hung out with a bunch of Griz fans until shortly before kickoff. On the way into the stadium we passed a couple dozen people looking for tickets. The game was sold out, which is rather unusual for FCS college football. Montana football is a big deal regardless of the opponent, but the Griz fans were definitely excited about this game. Appalachian brought quite a few fans too, despite the fact that most of us traveled all the way across the country. Brian and I couldn’t believe how many we ran into roaming around downtown Missoula.

The game featured an 8pm kickoff, which was a good thing. It was sunny with temperatures in the 80’s at game time. I was wearing jeans because I didn’t know what to expect from the weather when I packed my box of clean clothes a month earlier.

Brian and I had a blast right up until kickoff. Things went downhill after that. Montana always has a good team, and we usually do, too. However, as the game unfolded, it became apparent that we were outmatched. That was ok, though. It was still worth going to the game to visit Missoula and experience the tailgating and the atmosphere in Washington Grizzly stadium. Wa-Griz is one of the loudest stadiums I’ve been in, and that includes Penn State and LSU, among others.

Brian and I attempted to hit a bar after the game, but every place we went was packed with celebrating Griz fans. We eventually conceded defeat and headed back to the hotel.

The next morning we had another leisurely breakfast before Brian hit the road. I then caught a shuttle over to the Missoula airport. An Alaska Airlines flight took me to Portland, where I had an 8 (!) hour layover. I spent most of that time reading the first book of The Game of Thrones, which Brian talked me into buying. That proved to be a great way to kill time. I took a red eye flight on USAir from there to Charlotte, arriving early on Labor Day morning. It was great to see the wife and dogs after a fantastic trip to Montana!

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