Day 1-2: Slackers in Glacier

June 22-23; Mile 0-26

One year later I was back on trail – this time taking on the Continental Divide Trail with a group of people I had met on the PCT: Sprinkles, Handy, Strix, and Dad. I had 16 weeks away from work to get in as much hiking as possible, and I hoped to reach the Colorado / New Mexico border by the time I needed to head back. 

Of course, that was months from now. The main thing on my mind as Dov and I drove through the rolling hills of eastern Washington into the pine forests of northern Idaho was the snow. The forecast at Glacier called for 18 inches of fresh snow up at the tall passes, temperatures in the 20s, and freezing rain at the lower elevations. What a miserable start. 

And then one of the folks in our group missed their flight to Montana. All previous plans went out the window, and since Sprinkles’ partner was camping nearby for the week, we decided to slackpack sections of the park.

Dov dropped off Handy and me at the roadside beneath a slate-gray sky. The mountains were swathed in clouds, though the flanks that peaked through were noticeably whiter from the day before. After waving goodbye to the retreating car, we climbed over the first obstacle of the trail: a stopped train. Then we found the thin dirt ribbon heading up into the undergrowth. A CDT sign marked the spot. 

This was it. My stomach was full of butterflies: grizzlies, lightning storms, high passes and snow. There were plenty of things I was nervous about with this trail. But at least this time I wasn’t alone. 

Handy and I pushed our way through miles of brush and flower-studded meadows, calling out for any nearby bears. The sky alternated between gentle rain and lazy sleet. It was a good stretch of trail to do in the rain: mostly covered and full of close views of the clumps of beargrass and lupine. 

I slipped my way along the muddy trail, my feet absolutely drenched within minutes. The muck tried to steal my shoes a few times, but I escaped. We paused every few miles to snack and stretch, easing our way back into thru-hiking. After hours of fighting through the undergrowth, the final few miles of walking along forest roads was a welcome relief. At last we reached the lodge in East Glacier, just as the sun began to break apart the clouds’ grip upon the sky. 

Sprinkles and her partner Tripod (who was camping nearby to offer support through Glacier) picked us up and whisked us east to the campground for the most luxurious camping experience of my life: a hot shower, steaks and wine for dinner, and an empty field with views toward the mountains, toward our future. 

Day 2

We picked up Strix from the train station in East Glacier before driving up to Two Medicine. From there we would slackpack south about ten miles back to East Glacier. After only seeing one other person the day before, Two Medicine felt jammed with people. 

The four of us finally set out together, starting the day with a short road walk, and then started the climb up toward our high point for the day: Scenic Point. The trail led through forest thick with bear grass before switchbacking up the crumbly rocks. A herd of big horn sheep sauntered past, and marmots scampered across the trail. Views opened up around us as we climbed higher, the wind stealing the warmth from the sun above. 

We crossed the saddle and snaked along the cliff side, thankfully free of snow apart from a thin fringe along the trail’s edge. Thru hikers heading north called greetings, and we chatted with a woman from Australia who called us legends for doing the CDT. 

Next came the descent over tumbled rock with a burbling stream paralleling the trail. We paused for an afternoon snooze beside the water, while the young aspens nearby swirled and flickered in the gusts. 

The descent passed in a comfortable blur of grasses and wildflowers. Sprinkles and I played a game (to make noise to alert bears) where both people say a word simultaneously. And then each round they try to say the same word by choosing something the previous words have in common. We’d be playing a lot of games like this in the coming weeks to avoid surprising any of the big fauna.