So, this household has been thinking/talking about our journey to Glacier this summer, and we came up with finalized plans. It's about time, right? Okay, so here's the current itinerary, which is going to leave lots of room for spontaneity:
Friday, August 14th: Me, Em, Heather, and Darin, (and whoever else, I'm just being vague for the sake of plans, obviously others will be with us, theres tons of room), are going to leave in the van from Placerville at 2am. Drive thru Nevada and Idaho to Missoula Montana, get there approximately 6, 7, 8pm, somewhere around there. We'll find a campsite, at the very least just stay in a KOA for the nite, and then hang out in Missoula for the evening, get food, go to a bar, what-have-you.
Now Matt and Amy, we figured this following plan would work for you, just let me know: Matt and Amy with babes can leave Provo on friday when Matt gets off work, and drive to Missoula, which is about an eight hour drive. You guys could be there, maybe around midnite? and meet us at our campsite. We could all sleep there.
Saturday, August 15th: We get up early, 7 or 8am, and drive north to the western region of Glacier. This drive may take a pretty long time, considering its thru totally beautiful northern mountain country, and thru the Flathead reservation, so might take a good few hours doing it. Let's say we get to Apgar, the western 'portal' to the Going To The Sun Road, at around noon. This day we can get a campsite in Apgar or West Glacier, and just hang out for the rest of the day, check out Lake McDonald and just explore, get a rest and a feeling for the magnificence.
Sunday, August 16th: We'll wake up early and try and beat some tourists to Going To The Sun Road, which costs 25 dollars to drive per vehicle, big deal, totally incredibly beautiful 52 miles worth of splendor and wilderness. I think we'll spend a number of hours on this road, and I think the bulk of the first half of Sunday should be spent stopping and checking out awesomeness. The road ends at St. Mary, which I've come to understand is a pretty heavily trafficked area for tourists and people doing shuttle tours and such, so we can just check out the area for a little while and then be on our way.
I'm guessing it'll be around 4 or 5 by this point, so I say we take highway 89 north into the Blackfeet reservation. It's only about ten minutes to a town called Babb which I think looks ancient and rad and desolate, so maybe we could get some groceries, dinner, anything we may want or need, there and explore a little, before following the road to Many Glacier, which takes about twenty minutes to get to the campsite. That's where we will stay for the next few days. We set up camp, hang out, wait for more adventures.
Monday, August 17th: I think we should take this day to leave blank, just kind of hang out and explore and relax. Check out the lakes and trees and valleys. Leave some room for spontaneity, accommodate the babes a bit maybe, see what they wanna do.
Tuesday, August 18th: This is the day we will go up backpacking. I think it's about an eight mile hike to the lake. We should leave nice and early so we can spend tons of time in the backcountry. Once we get up there, there is an interesting cave on the west side of the lake that whoever is up for it should explore. We'll sleep there and love it.
Wednesday, August 19th: Okay, here is a point where some of us might want to split up for the day. I want to stay in the backcountry another nite, so me and whoever else is into it would end up sleeping in the backcountry for two nites, tuesday and wednesday, and returning thursday. If some of us don't want to do this and would rather get back down to our initial campsite, they can take off this day, wednesday, and we'll meet up tomorrow. Whoever goes back can just figure out what to do with their day, swim and hike and sleep, whatever.
Thursday, August 20th: The rest of us remaining backpacking will come back, maybe be back around early afternoon, and we can all just have lunch/dinner, and relax, maybe go swimming and exploring.
Friday, August 21st: There is the Many Glacier hotel, right near where we'll be camping, which despite it's massive intrusive bulk of humanness in the peace and perfection of this wilderness, it might be kind of cool to check out, considering its there. I think it has some cool history as well, I'm going to look into it a little more. Maybe we could get a big expensive dinner here or something to congratulate and reward us on our wilderness tramping.
Other than that on this day, we can make it spontaneous, do whatever once again.
Saturday, August 22nd: This I'm thinking will be our last day. We will either sleep one more nite at Many Glacier or if we backtrack, at Apgar or West Glacier, OR we can all just take off in the afternoon toward home/our individual proceeding destinations. You guys let me know if we should leave the park this day, like Saturday evening, or the next morning.
From here, we can all do whatever we want. Whoever needs to go home can go home, and whoever wants to extend their trip and connect to different regions of the area can do that. All I'm planning is the Glacier part.
Soooooo.....there it is. I'm pretty much calling this the set plan. If anyone hates it or wants to change it up, just remember this is what I am going to do, but I want it to work for everybody, so if something about this plan truly doesnt fly in someones plans, just let me know, SOON please, because I'm going to ask for the time off work, so is Emily and I beleive Heather and Darin, and also I'm looking into the backpacking permit. I emailed the place to see if its necessary to apply for one early thru the mail, or it we'll be safe to just pick one up once we reach the park. Anyways, its planned, im stoked, Glacier will be stoked to have us.
Also, all the places that I've planned we'll be camping are first come/first served basis campgrounds, so we dont need to worry about reservations. Also, this isnt Yosemite, so its not shoulder to shoulder crowded with tourists, considering its remoteness and less ease in accessibility to certain attractions, so I dont think we have much to worry about when it comes to getting a site.
This is going to be rad. Who's planning summer 2010?!?!
10 comments:
Joey this sounds awesome. I'm sorry though, neither Candice nor myself would be able to go unless the trip takes place between August 1st and the 15th, because that's the times she's already approved to miss work and I don't really want to go if she can't. Please can we work out the dates so everybody can go? That's the most important part of this trip is to not be exclusive. I don't think that week or two will make too much of a difference in our finances and then it will be accomodating. Unless anybody has any totally specific reasons why the 1st-15th don't work, can we please take the trip then?
Joey!! I commend thee. Thank you so much for taking the time to do research and all the planning! It sounds AMAZING. I love it all. I thought I would be reading the list forever, I mean, it's a full week right. But it seems to fly by. I know Matt and I would love to do two nights out there too, but like you said. We will see how the kids do that first night. YOu planned perfectly!!! Love you TONS xoxoox
mikie, thats just fine man! the only reason i did it the 14th thru whatever is because you said you couldnt do the last week of august, so i changed it to the third week of august. guess i just misunderstood. if its going to be between the 1st and 15th, it has to either be the 1st thru the following saturday, the 8th, or the 8th thru the 15th. would you guys be able to return home the 16th?
august 8th thru 15th would probably be best. if that sounds like it could work, thatd be awesome. it not, let me know. of course we'll work it out. theres no way you guys arent coming, thats crazy talk. youre imperative.
dude. Joey. Sorry if I got so weird in my posts. You have the ultimate say on any of this stuff since you're the best at planning it. I just wanted to put in a few words from my end, but I'm positive that the dates you just said will be fine. I was just worried that Candice couldn't go because she said if it's after the 15th she for-sure couldn't. If we go between the 8th and the 15t it would might be perfect for us, and hopefully for everybody. I hope the rest of the family will put in some input though, so that I'm not seeming selfish here. I don't want anybody to be excluded, and we're all pretty spread out. I'm super excited about this trip, for SURE. I need to do some research about the park though, since I'm a little in the dark about what Glacier has to offer.
I'll chime in--those dates (the 8th thru 15th) are great for us. I liked the last week of August a bit more (just cause of my new job and maybe one or two fewer tourists), but if going two weeks earlier allows everyone to come, then we will definitely do it then! I am/we are very very excited and ready to leave right now.
Joey, good job in the itinerary. Everything sounds perfect. I'm glad that we aren't planning the South Dakota attempt at the beginning anymore--this gives us much more time to enjoy the park. I really really want to go there (Mikie, this is what I talked about in my last comment too), but I think we should save that for another trip (which *will* undoubtedly occur). It's pretty far out of the way anyway.
I think every year's trip should be at least a week in length. Could you guys imagine what it would've been like if we were at Havasupai for a week? (by the way, they aren't opening till June 1st now).
Just to clarify, I honestly don't even really care *when* we go, just as long as we do go! And I want all of us to come. Candice, you're one of us.
I know what it's like to have a job where they're sticklers about specific days off, so let's go whenever we can go.
Okay everybody, I can't get off work until maybe a week in October, but next year.....I'm in on it and the planning and I've wanted to go to Yellowstone all my life! Anybody care? I want in on some of these magnificent trips you guys all do. Please and love, Momma/Nana
OF COURSE MOM!!!!
get on it.
also lets do something in october then.
Oh yeah Mom, Yellowstone it is for next year. We're definitely all over that.
i think we need to fit a lot of hiking into our daily plans, so many waterfalls and glaciers to view (we *have* to see at least one glacier). many hikes off Going-to-the-Sun Road sound amazing.
by the way the $25 per car cost is (i'm pretty sure on this) just the entrance fee to the park, which is good for 7 days i believe--it's not a fee *just* to drive the road. i think it's worded that way so people who are visiting for the road (apparently there're a lot of them) don't get confused.
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