Day 5: Many Glacier

June 26; Mile 67-84

Tripod drove us up to St Mary in a drizzle, and after a short detour from the shuttle stop we were back on the CDT. The trail was overgrown with thimbleberry bushes, and we met someone coming the opposite way in a complete poncho – all we could see was her face. 

The steep grade plus the wall of wet growth felt like we were swimming upstream. At the road crossing I walked right past the sad little CDT path without seeing it and headed for the nice trailhead with all the tourists 50ft away. Handy called me back, and we set off up more steep brushy trail. 

Things leveled out after a while, and I started seeing more day hikers on the path. I took out my bag of pizza slices and ate them while hiking, determined to stay ahead of the tourists. 

At a nice bridge crossing I paused to swap out my sodden socks, and I lay my shoes and insoles in the bright sunlight to speed their drying. We had a nice break in some shade before continuing the climb up to the incredible Piegan Pass. 

The trail led past Piegan Mountain with the massive Piegan Glacier cradled in its bowl. A thin waterfall cascaded from the middle of the base of the glacier. The pass itself was nestled between the mountain and a jutting rock in the shape of a shark fin. Clouds darkened overhead, and we met hikers coming the other way dressed in rain gear. 

And then in one of the groups passing us, I recognized someone from my running group in Seattle! Abby had started the trail a day after we had, but going southbound through the park. We had actually never met in person before (it’s a big running group), but other people had mentioned to each of us that the other was doing the CDT this year. 

We continued hiking as the rain started to fall. And then the rain briefly turned to hail, but we soldiered onward toward the top. There were two short snow fields to cross, and they had a solid bootpath across. Winds ripped apart the clouds and sunlight flooded the pass as we crested the rise. And then that same wind hounded us through the long descent. 

We huddled slightly off trail against a rocky cliff for a short break, eyeing the crevasses in the two glaciers on this side of the pass. Stepping back into the winds, I had to walk at an angle to avoid being bowled over. It was like being back near Tehachapi. 

The descent led past fields of glacier lilies and stunning waterfalls. A few snow patches lingered on the north side, including one “no-fall” crossing where we all took our time. To fall there would mean a long slide off a cliff. 

Down, down, down we hiked until we reached the junction toward Grinell Lake. We stepped off the official CDT and took our first alternate of the trail. The lake was turquoise from glacial sediment, but we didn’t stay long. Too many mosquitos and tourists. 

It was a long, flat slog to the Many Glacier lodge, made slower by the churned-up trail left behind by horses. The lodge was beautiful, nestled beside the lake where massive peaks topped with snow soared into the clouds. The line for dinner, meanwhile, soared out into the hallway. We grabbed food from the cafe downstairs and found a table inside. I ate my sad sandwich – just two pieces of bread and 3-4 slices of turkey – and topped it all off with a huckleberry cider and an ice cream bar. 

A hiker approached us asking if we had any medical tape. Handy went to help them; apparently a hiker had had their big toenail ripped off by the front door of the lodge. Yikes. 

We lingered at the lodge until it was after 9, and then we tromped up the path to set up our tents in a grassy field past a sign reading “Domestic Water Supply; Keep Out.” It was the temporary backcountry site for Many Glacier due to construction. 

It was still so light out at 10 pm that I covered my eyes with my buff and curled into my quilt. Only two days remained before I would finish Glacier and reach the Canadian border. After all the trouble it had taken to reach the border on the PCT, it felt funny to get there after only a week.