Iceberg lake made it and well worth the hike
Setting out for an overnighter (kids and all)
Do you know how wonderful and valuable an experience this trip to Glacier NP was for me personally? There wasn’t a speck of miserable ness for me, maybe a little uncomfortable ness from time to time. However, because of the beauty of the park, the hikes, the picture taking, the pure exhilaration of all we saw and did, but mostly, mostly the connection/togetherness with each of you my sons and daughters and your wonderful companions (and children), plus the additional friends Stan, Nick, Martin, & Kyle, it was an experience of a lifetime. I am jealous of your youth, but marvel at your intelligence and exuberance for life. First of all, I’ll go to my grave knowing that the van shouldn’t have made it more than maybe somewhere southwest of Boise, Id. That’s what I expected. But I have an actual picture (you’ve seen it by now) of the van’s owner (Heather, who else) kissing it as we arrived in West Glacier not only proving me dead wrong but also certifying that the van is alive and well and not planning to give up just yet. Not only that but it chugged along up to and through Coeur d'Alene to Portland and down back to Sacramento/Placerville with only a brake job to cripple it’s journey for just a few hours. I give full credit to Heather for her faith in the black aging vehicle that hauled not only 7 grownups, but all their gear plus some from the Sentra crew.
I’m not sure why in retrospect the trip seems so so special. Here and there there were some difficulties that we had to face. It was hard first of all to get all our gear in the 3 vehicles (Matt and Amy were totally stuffed also) and then to repack when changing locations a few times was a major chore. It was hard to stay organized. And then we had to battle the rain off and on for the last 3 days. So you would think we would all be anxious to get back to the comfort and convenience of home. Not so. Most all wish we could have had more time to spend. I know that was how I felt. (Well it was nice to sleep in a soft bed)
I could draw this blog out to cover many pages, but I will just capture the many events, feelings, attitudes we all shared.
I Dan, hiked more than last year and did much better, so I came away somewhat proud of myself and more confident for future hikes. Some of the highlights of the week were:
· All of you excluding me, but including 3 little troopers that didn’t seem to have in inkling of difficulty, trekked out on a round trip hike that ended in a rain soaked trip back home and I didn’t hear a word of complaint, just how wonderful the outing was.
· We saw and learned about new life forms (I was amazed at the cluster of the pine trees all around—they were in greater abundance, growing closer together and thicker than anywhere I can remember) We saw elk on our hike to Iceberg lake, though far away; mule deer, moose (I guess on your overnite hike, lucky), a bear (well Heather and Em did from the van—Heather almost fell out of the van in excitement I was told) mountain goats—We Iceberg lake hikers saw a cluster of 19+ on the mountain side through another park visitor’s telescope—wondered where they call home and go home for the night.-- Ptarmigan(I think that is what they were called—resembles a grouse) along the trail to Iceberg lake. Lots of ground squirrels—bigger and plumper than I usually see—but cute; little chipmunks in the bushes all around scarffing the berries and not caring who was watching them—and remember the little bird in the nest with the mother nearby in our camp at East Glacier
· In all we probably took three thousand pictures of ea.other and of some of the most beautiful country in the USA and now have them on Flickr and elsewhere to view at will.
· The disagreeing during the trip was at a minimum—we laughed a lot and worked together especially at mealtime—thanks mostly to the ladies (but not exclusively) Memorable spaghetti feed on Sunday and a very yummy burrito wrap for our last in camp meal.
· My round trip to Missoula to take Mikie to the airport was not only a pleasure, but it is something to remember that it even took place during the trip—For Mikie it was---from our camping experience in GNP to Missoula airport to LA to Orlando, Fl. for 2 days and back to Missoula to be with the gang and travel back to Pville. … .
Of the much beauty we encountered during the trip, 2 things stand out in my mind—The amazing beauty and awe of Iceberg lake and the Blackfeet Indian production at the visitors center. I could go on and on because there were so many positives to this outing, but I’ll stop here and say that I am glad we chose Glacier for our trip this year and I love you all
And I say to myself ‘What a wonderful world’
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