Glacier National Park

Alright I'm getting this shiz together, I'm taking control. Actually, Heather and me started taking control this morning. We are working on plans for our trip this summer, with its primary focus as Glacier National Park in very northern Montana. Now, I really hope that everyone will get into this idea (so far, me and emma and heather and darin and matt and amy are all into it,) because I know it is inevitably happening for me, and I want it to be a beautiful group experience like Havasu was. I have wanted to explore the vastness and magnificence of Glacier for more years than I can remember, so it's happening for me NO MATTER WHAT. With that said, I will present Heather and my tentative (but hopefully pretty permanent) plan.

Okay, so far we are planning to leave Placerville the morning of Friday, July 31st. Emma and me want to do a leg of this trip on our own, and this trip to us is more than just Glacier, it also is going to include the Pacific Northwest, so we wanted to do that part just me and her. So, her and I are going to head north toward oregon on july 31st, and heather and darin (so far) are going to head over to Provo, where they will meet up with Matt and Amy and their offsprings and take off the next morning (saturday, August 1st) toward South Dakota. Emma and me will spend the next five days exploring the northwest and making our way toward Missoula, Montana, which is where we will be meeting up with everyone else so we can all go up to Glacier (north of Missoula, about two hours I think) together. Heather and Darin and the MattAmy posse (and anyone else who is joining them) will be using those same five days to explore the South Dakota Badlands and the site of the Battle of Little Bighorn and the Black Hills and all that beauty. So, our plan is to meet and camp in Missoula, Montana, on tuesday evening, August 4th. We can camp together maybe, whatever, we'll figure that out, and then the next morning we will all drive to Glacier hopefully pretty early so we can have a nice full day. I think we should enter Glacier at it's west entrance, a place called Apgar. Apgar is a great place to embark on the Going-To-The-Sun-Road, which we definitely plan to do. The road spans the somewhat-southern longitude of the park. We are going to be doing that with our first day, I think the road is about 40 miles long, and we can it last until the early evening. It will be somewhat relaxing and aweinspiring. At the end of the road on the eastern end of Glacier lies St. Mary, which is where we should camp on the night of wednesday the 5th of August, our first night in Glacier. The next day, thursday the 6th, we can explore a bit at St. Mary, check out St. Mary Lake, all that, and then I think we should drive that day about 25 miles west to an area called Many Glacier, where we should spend that nite, thursday, camping. On the drive there we would cross through a town called Babb, very close to Canada in the Blackfeet Reservation. Anyhow, we can spend thursday nite at Many Glacier, which is surrounded by lakes rivers and lakes and glaciers and perfection purity of nature.

Okay, so friday is controversial, maybe, because i REALLY want to do at least a one-nite backcountry backpacking trip. My current plan is to backpack one nite (friday nite) starting in the early morning of friday, either to Cracker Lake or Poia Lake (both with trailheads beginning very close to where we'd be camping at Many Glacier). Cracker Lake's hike is only 6.1 miles, and Poia Lake is 6.4 miles. I think Poia Lake is a good choice, because I don't think it's as well known, and would probably have fewer people. Plus, I'm still not exactly sure if Cracker lake is totally accessible from Many Glacier. I'll look more into it. Anyways, I want to camp in the backcountry on friday nite, the 7th. Everyone let me know how you feel about that, because even if not everyone is into it I still want to do it, its one of my goals of the trip. And if our group is big enough we could even maybe split up that nite. Whatever, we'll see. Also, I just read a bit about an awesome cave located on the eastern side of Poia Lake. We could explore it! We would need headlamps and all that, since it is quite a tight squeeze. Have any of you explored a cave of that capacity? I have once and it is so unbelievably fun and beautiful. I hope someone would be into doing that with me.

Okay, so then Saturday we can do whatever, explore and see and ponder and wonder. hike around, swim, whatever. Sunday morning, maybe Matt and AMy and the kids will take off (heather told me you guys can only do a weekend, plus a week, plus a weekend, so matt you might want to be back to work monday the 9th? let me know if thats right or if this all sounds okay to you.) I think it'd be cool to stay maybe one more nite there, the rest of us (so far me, emma, heather, darin) and camp one more nite, maybe at a different spot of our choosing. we'll see, whatever. Anyways, that would be the end of our Glacier time, Sunday for matt and amy, and either Sunday or Monday for the rest of us. We'll figure it out.

Then, It is the current plan for us California folk to take a trip thru the northwest, into Canada, and take about a week getting home back to California. We can see whistler in Canada and Vancouver, and then Anacortes and Victoria and the San Juan Islands on the way home. In fact, we might want to take more than a week so we wont be rushed and pressed by weird modern civilization systems of time, we should really try our best to be as free and roaming as possible, relinquish timeframes and deadlines and just explore the earth. Anyways, maybe we could be back in California and at "home" by August 18th (tuesday) or something like that?

Okay, just so everyone knows, THIS IS WHAT I'M DOING, no matter what. Not everyone has to be super into it, but I've been mentally planning this trip for a long time and Im super into it and excited. True mountainous exploration! Please, let me know what you all think about it. It would be about 2.5 weeks or so of travel. That might be too much for some, but I know that I want to do a somewhat lengthy trip this summer no matter what, and this is it for me. initially I wanted to do a month or two and explore the vast US, but we've decided to make it more of a trip focuses on certain destinations (ie, for me and em, the pacific northwest, Glacier, Canada.)

Really what I want input on SOON is the backpacking aspect of Glacier, because I'll need to apply as soon as possible for a backcountry permit thru the NPS. So please let me know what you think of the dates and all that, because I want to apply for that soon.

Everyone please tell me whats up with you on how you feel about all this.

ITS GOING TO BE SO INCREDIBLE! GET EXCITED WITH ME !!!!!
heres some pictures

This is Apgar, where we would start the Going To The Sun Road.



This is the road.



This is St. Mary, where we should camp for a nite, on wednesday.



This is Many Glacier, where I think we should stay a few days. This is the Many Glacier hotel. Obviously, we would be camping, but this hotel, nevertheless, is pretty crazy looking. We'd try to steer clear as much as could from having to look at it.



This is a campsite in the Many Glacier campground. I think it looks effing perfect.



This is a photo of Poia Lake, where I think we should spend one nite in the backcountry.



Here is a picture of part of the Poia Lake Cave. How incredible!



This is Babb, Montana, in the Blackfeet reservation. We will be passing thru this town as we drive from St. Mary to Many Glacier. We could stop and get food.




Alright guys, here is ONE MORE IDEA. Maybe, as an alternative to staying in St. Mary on Wednesday, our first nite, we should just drive ALL THE WAY (not that much further) to Many Glacier after finished the Going To The Sun Road. We could get lunch in Babb and then camp primarily in Many Glacier, instead of moving campsites. I think this idea is much more economical and would give us an oppurtunity to explore more of a certain area. Also, my favorite part of this idea, maybe we could up our backpacking trips length from 1 to 2 nites. I really think this would be perfect please let me know. love you all!