Glacier NP with Kit and Venti
So, after visiting the Two Medicines area with Lawny and his family, they headed south towards Bozeman, and I headed north on the east side of Glacier to look for a campsite.
After a bit of cruising the eastern area, a couple of locals pointed me towards the Leaning Pine Campground a few miles outside of the Many Glacier entrance.
Camp set up was easy, and I was thinking about trying to get a site inside the park the next day. I was soon greeted by a beautiful Australian Shepard and a crazy long tailed, black and tiger striped cat. They were both friendly so we hung out for a bit while I studied the Glacier trail options. I selected the Grinnell Glacier hike for the next day and was pondering my next move, when a gal walking to the bathroom stopped by. She asked if I was camping alone, and when I said yes, she offered to have me come down to her site for some company with her and her friend after dinner.
I was feeling a bit lonely after leaving Rebecca in Jackson, and with Lawny and his family gone, so I took her up on the offer. After a bit of talking, we found out we were all travelers at heart and they were also planning on doing the same hike as me the next day. They offered me a ride, and since I
knew parking would be hard to find, I took them up on their offer.
I had warned them that my hiking spirit animal was a tortoise, and that it would be slow up and slow down for me. Luckily, Venti is a slow up hiker and Kit was a slow down hiker! So, I enjoyed the uphill with Venti and getting to know her, and the downhill with Kit getting to know her! What a great day to be able to share so much with new people. Beautiful 12 mile hike, and we stopped by the lodge for a few drinks too ease our aching feet and knees.
They were heading to Canada and had a lot of fresh food, so they invited me to dinner for that evening, and the next three! Venti is an excellent cook and it was fun to watch her work her magic in her little camping kitchen. I was well fed for the stay!
They talked me into spending more time with them in the park and at the campground. So, one night lead to two, then to three and finally a fourth night with them before we parted ways Friday morning. Kit and I did some hikes at the top of the pass on Wednesday, and then I drove all three of us over to Avalanche Lake on Thursday. I wanted to go back to the lake we had been to as kids and get some pictures so see the difference in the amount of snow pack left on the mountains.
We saw two grizzly bears near the pass (a mother and what appeared to be a yearling) which really made us all excited. It was Kit's first time ever seeing a bear. We got down to the Avalanche Lake area around 9 am, and we were lucky to have found parking. Such a busy park! The hike was good, and we went all the way down to the far end of the lake and took a break on the beach. After relaxing and snacking for a bit, we packed up our stuff to head back down. Suddenly Kit saw a bear! It had come down one of the stream beds and was wandering onto the far side of the beach. Boy, did the place clear out quickly! He didn't seem to mind all the tourists, and wandered back up a different stream bed and back into the woods. Good enough for us! Time to go!
Wonderful couple of ladies who were hard to say goodbye to. They begged me to head to Canada with them, but I am not in the mood to deal with the paperwork of taking my handgun across the border. But, I now have a good connection in North Carolina and an offer of a place to rent in Jackson for the winter. Time will tell if I can take either of them up on their offers!
Did I say that I really love my new camera? The big zoom for amazing for all the animal close ups!
See if you can get this movie to play, hopefully it will. The tall flowers are call bear grass, and the locals say this is the best bloom they have seen in the last 10 years.
After a bit of cruising the eastern area, a couple of locals pointed me towards the Leaning Pine Campground a few miles outside of the Many Glacier entrance.
Camp set up was easy, and I was thinking about trying to get a site inside the park the next day. I was soon greeted by a beautiful Australian Shepard and a crazy long tailed, black and tiger striped cat. They were both friendly so we hung out for a bit while I studied the Glacier trail options. I selected the Grinnell Glacier hike for the next day and was pondering my next move, when a gal walking to the bathroom stopped by. She asked if I was camping alone, and when I said yes, she offered to have me come down to her site for some company with her and her friend after dinner.
I was feeling a bit lonely after leaving Rebecca in Jackson, and with Lawny and his family gone, so I took her up on the offer. After a bit of talking, we found out we were all travelers at heart and they were also planning on doing the same hike as me the next day. They offered me a ride, and since I
I had warned them that my hiking spirit animal was a tortoise, and that it would be slow up and slow down for me. Luckily, Venti is a slow up hiker and Kit was a slow down hiker! So, I enjoyed the uphill with Venti and getting to know her, and the downhill with Kit getting to know her! What a great day to be able to share so much with new people. Beautiful 12 mile hike, and we stopped by the lodge for a few drinks too ease our aching feet and knees.
They were heading to Canada and had a lot of fresh food, so they invited me to dinner for that evening, and the next three! Venti is an excellent cook and it was fun to watch her work her magic in her little camping kitchen. I was well fed for the stay!
They talked me into spending more time with them in the park and at the campground. So, one night lead to two, then to three and finally a fourth night with them before we parted ways Friday morning. Kit and I did some hikes at the top of the pass on Wednesday, and then I drove all three of us over to Avalanche Lake on Thursday. I wanted to go back to the lake we had been to as kids and get some pictures so see the difference in the amount of snow pack left on the mountains.
We saw two grizzly bears near the pass (a mother and what appeared to be a yearling) which really made us all excited. It was Kit's first time ever seeing a bear. We got down to the Avalanche Lake area around 9 am, and we were lucky to have found parking. Such a busy park! The hike was good, and we went all the way down to the far end of the lake and took a break on the beach. After relaxing and snacking for a bit, we packed up our stuff to head back down. Suddenly Kit saw a bear! It had come down one of the stream beds and was wandering onto the far side of the beach. Boy, did the place clear out quickly! He didn't seem to mind all the tourists, and wandered back up a different stream bed and back into the woods. Good enough for us! Time to go!
Wonderful couple of ladies who were hard to say goodbye to. They begged me to head to Canada with them, but I am not in the mood to deal with the paperwork of taking my handgun across the border. But, I now have a good connection in North Carolina and an offer of a place to rent in Jackson for the winter. Time will tell if I can take either of them up on their offers!
Did I say that I really love my new camera? The big zoom for amazing for all the animal close ups!
See if you can get this movie to play, hopefully it will. The tall flowers are call bear grass, and the locals say this is the best bloom they have seen in the last 10 years.
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