LITTLE WING
“Well
she’s walking, through the clouds,
With a
circus mind that’s running round
Butterflies
and zebras
And
moonbeams and fairy tales
That’s
all she ever thinks about
Riding
with the wind
When
I’m sad, she comes to me
With a
thousand smiles, she gives to me free
It’s
alright she says, it’s alright
Take
anything you want from me,
Anything.
Fly on
little wing,
Yeah,
yeah, yeah, little wing”
From “Little Wing” by Jimi Hendrix, lyrics
written by Christopher Young
I
got an alpine start on Tuesday morning.
I broke camp and ate breakfast in the dark, and hit the trail at first
light. The climb back up to the Sue Lake
junction was even tougher this time, since I was carrying a heavier pack. Fortunately most of my food was long gone, so
the pack was no longer more than a nuisance.
I
was a little jumpy about the possibility of a bear encounter. It was really early in the morning, and I was
hiking in deep shadows. I was also the
only person on the trail – I didn’t see another person until mid-day near Ahern
Pass. That may explain my reaction when
a large bird took off from just above me and buzzed my head. I nearly jumped out of my skin!
The
views around the Sue Lake junction were fantastic. After that I descended into subalpine forest. There were still plenty of nice views along
here, but they weren’t as expansive. I
crossed a tributary of Cattle Queen Creek below a pretty waterfall and
contoured through the Cattle Queen valley.
It was late morning when I reached another major stream,
and the spur trail to Ahern Pass.
Although I still had a long way to go, I didn’t want to pass the side
trip by.
The
climb was steep but short. The spur
trail led up through subalpine forest, with nice views opening up behind
me. I crested the narrow notch of the
pass, and Helen Lake unfolded below me.
It was pretty neat to look down on where I’d camped 10 days
earlier! I continued on the rocky slope
to the right of the pass, which offered a better view of the lake and the
glaciers and waterfalls feeding it. This vantage also gave me a bird’s eye view
of a small tarn at the foot of a glacier.
It was a beautiful milky blue, and it was my favorite aspect of this
viewpoint.
I
took a break before returning to the trail.
From there, I followed the Highline all the way to Granite Park. Early on the trail hugged a narrow cliff that
was a little exciting. The final
approach to Granite Park was breathtaking, as rows of jagged peaks unfolded to
the south. Eventually the Granite Park
chalet came into view. The view of the
Chalet from this direction was really neat.
The entire area features massive open slabs of granite, dotted by small
trees and shrubs. The towering peaks in
the background provided a dramatic backdrop.
I
circled around to the chalet, where I stopped for lunch. It was a hot day and I was out of water, and
unfortunately they don’t have potable water (except for guests). I bought an extremely expensive quart of
water, along with a Gatorade and some chips.
The chips and Gatorade were delightful, and I poured the water into my
hydration bladder. I was pretty sure
that would be enough to finish the hike.
The
Granite Park Chalet was a bit disorienting after 12 days in the
wilderness. It’s a busy place, with
guests and passing hikers in the dining room / store and on the porch. I ate lunch on the porch, enjoying the views
to the south and west. Unfortunately it
had turned into a hazy (or smoky) afternoon, so the vistas weren’t as good as
they could’ve been.
I
had a major decision to make. I wanted
to continue out to Logan Pass. That
would be the more scenic route, and a fitting end to an epic trip. However, descending to The Loop would be 3
miles shorter and all downhill. I was a
little concerned about time. Once I got
to the road, I would have to catch a shuttle bus down to Apgar. At that point I hoped to get a ride out to
the airport. If that didn’t work out,
I’d have to walk from Apgar to West Glacier and get a shuttle there. At the airport I’d pick up a rental car and
drive all the way back to St. Mary. I
had reservations for three nights at the St. Mary campground, starting that
night. So it was going to be a busy
afternoon.
If
it had been a clearer day I would’ve continued out to Logan Pass. With the haze / smoke, it didn’t seem worth
it, particularly since I’d hiked that stretch of trail once before. So I headed down to the Loop. I didn’t expect much from this trail, and it
lived up to those expectations. There
were a few views early on, but for the most part the scenery was pretty
modest. It was a knee-pounding descent,
too. It was unusually hot, and there was
very little shade, as the forest is pretty scrubby.
For
the most part I focused on keeping a fast pace.
There was one highlight though. I
caught up to some dayhikers, who had just spotted a
bear on the hillside above the trail. I
paused, and a black bear poked his head up out of the brush. It was nice to get one more bear sighting on
the way out.
I
made good time down to the road. Just
before it I crossed a large stream on a bridge.
I thought about stopping there to cool off, but I was more eager to
finish the hike. I reached the road a
couple of minutes later, and walked down to the bus stop. I waited about 10 minutes, which gave me time
to eat a snack, change shoes, and re-pack.
The bus ride was smooth, and the air conditioning was wonderful. However, we stopped at the Avalanche
Campground, where we joined a large throng of people waiting for a larger bus
to take us the rest of the way to Apgar. It arrived 20 minutes later, but it wasn’t
large enough to take everyone.
Eventually it was reduced to standing room only, and I was lucky to get
one of those spots. The rest of the ride
was tedious, and it was a relief to finally reach the Apgar Campground.
My
first order of business was to retrieve my duffel bag from the bear
locker. I walked straight there, opened
the locker, and found it empty. Sigh. Apparently somebody had taken the bag. I looked again, and found a pair of my
shorts, which must’ve fallen out of the bag.
I grabbed them and walked over to the site of the campground host. I was hoping that they had removed it. I met the host, who was very friendly. Unfortunately they hadn’t taken the bag. She did tell me that in the future they’d be
glad to hold onto a bag for me while I was backpacking. I’ll definitely remember that for future
reference.
A
ranger happened to be passing by, so I reported the stolen bag. She also called the Visitor’s Center, to see
if it was in the lost and found. It
wasn’t, but it certainly was nice of her to check for me.
I
was a little annoyed. The bag had
contained some old clothes, an old pair of running shoes, an old, beat up
cooler, and a few other odds and ends.
Those things were mostly pretty worthless. I was actually planning on throwing away a
lot of it at the end of the trip. Even
the duffel bag itself was nearly worn out.
But the clean clothes certainly would’ve been nice to change into, and I
was tired of wearing hiking boots and flip flops.
I
called Jane and Brittany, who I’d met two nights earlier at Stoney Indian
Lake. Brittany answered, and was willing
to pick me up and take me to the airport.
I met her and her dad at the Apgar Transit Center a few minutes
later. They gave me a ride straight to
the airport. This was extremely generous
of them, as it saved me from having to walk from Apgar to West Glacier. It also saved me some money, since I didn’t
have to pay for a taxi. On the whole, it
more than offset the stolen duffel bag. There’s
nothing like the kindness of strangers to improve my mood!
I
picked up the rental car and drove into town.
I was craving a burger, fries, a salad, and a beer. I spotted a Five Guys, which took care of two
of those cravings. I ended up having to
wait another night for the salad and beer.
There was a Verizon store next door, and I picked up a charging cord for
my I Phone there. The cord I’d left in
the duffel bag was one of the few things of value that I’d lost, but the
replacement was pretty cheap.
Then
I drove over to Wal-Mart. This was the
first time I’d gone shopping for clothes in a Wal
Mart since…well, ever. I’d already
changed into the shorts I’d found. I
picked up a two pack of boxer shorts for $5.
Then I scoured the racks of t-shirts.
Initially this was pretty grim.
My goal was to find something cheap that wouldn’t be embarrassing to
wear. At first it looked like my options
were limited to shirts with Nascar
themes, Duck Dynasty characters, or airbrushed wildlife. I thought I might have to suck it up and pay
$10 for a shirt with an airbrushed wolf when I spotted the clearance rack. I flipped through it, and found a shirt
advertising some brewery I’d never heard of for a dollar. Sold!
I also wanted a towel, and real towels were too expensive. I eventually found a dish towel for $2. That would do. I then picked up some lunch and snack stuff
for the next few days. I ended up
getting out of Wal-Mart for less than $20, which was pretty awesome. Suck it, duffel bag thief!
The
drive to St. Mary was long and tiring.
Going to the Sun Road was closed at night for construction. I wasn’t able to beat the closure, so I had
to drive the long way around the south side of the park. I was pretty exhausted when I finally reached
the St. Mary campground around 11:30.
This was well past my bed time, after 2 weeks of going to bed shortly
after dark. I reached my reserved
campsite, only to find a car there. What
the hell? Then I noticed the Ohio
plates, and I remembered messaging my buddy Dave through Facebook before my
trip. I had posted about being on my way
to Glacier, and he had responded, as he was on his way there, too. At the time I told him my plans, and
suggested that he join me at the campground if it suited his schedule.
I
didn’t see him, so I figured that he was sleeping in his car. I pitched my tent and went to sleep,
exhausted after a long day. Before I
drifted off, I reminisced about one of the best backpacking trips of my
life. It had been everything I’d hoped
for. In review, my favorite days were:
1)
Stoney
Indian Lake to Fifty Mountain, with the afternoon hike to the Sue Lake overlook.
2)
Glenns Lake Foot to Mokowanis
Lake, with the dayhike to Margaret Lake
3)
Hole
in the Wall to Boulder Pass, with the afternoon hike to Boulder Peak
4)
Boulder
Pass back down to Lake Francis
5)
Mokonwanis Lake to Stoney
Indian Pass to Kootenai Lakes.
My
favorite campsites:
1)
Mokowanis Lake
2)
Fifty
Mountain
3)
Boulder
Pass
4)
Lake
Francis
5)
Hole
in the Wall
Next
up: a couple of dayhikes
with Dave.
Back to Montana
Back to Hiking and Backpacking Trip Reports
Please remember to Leave No Trace!