Rolling with the Punches
To celebrate the new month, we put our sleeping equipment away and got out the green cooking stove. We boiled some water for oatmeal and milk for hot chocolate, then headed out of the National Forest to get trip planning advice at the Apgar Visitor’s Center. After waiting in a short line, we were well-advised by a Ranger, and felt we were better able to make decisions about our visit in Glacier. Because Fish Creek campground was full, the Ranger referred us to the backcountry office to look into potential backcountry trek options. We got back into the van to go from the Apgar Visitor’s Center to Apgar Village where the backcountry office was located. Another Ranger explained to us the limited availability due to the rangers only arriving two weeks ago as opposed to two months ago in the normal course. With a full staff, the Park would have had more of the trails and campsites cleared of fallen trees, rocks, and other obstacles by this time in the season, allowing for more opening. In addition to limited availability on the west side of Glacier National Park, the entire east side of the Park is currently closed. The only backcountry sites available in West Glacier had strange loopholes attached or required 12 or more miles of hiking. Because my Dad has had some pain in his hip, 12 miles would be a bit overly taxing.
Upon waking up we spotted a rainbow from our pull off in the Flathead National Forest.
Having gained more disappointing, yet important, news we thanked the Ranger for her help and began to brainstorm again. At the advice of Patrick Garner and his family who came to Glacier several years ago, we sought to spend the afternoon at Kintla Lake, the northernmost part of the park on the west side of the Park. While driving around Apgar Village, we saw a boat rental shop, so we got out and inquired about renting a boat to take up to Kintla. After acquiring dimensions to see if we could fit a kayak or two in the van, the manager said that they did not allow people to rent boats to use in Park lakes other than the closest one, Lake McDonald. We then inquired about boating on Lake McDonald, but the employee said that they were not renting boats for Lake McDonald due to high winds. After abandoning our boating pursuit and getting in the van to begin the trek up to Kintla Lake to hike and simply enjoy the scenery, we asked a roaming Ranger about more details on Kintla Lake. He then informed us that within the last hour the road up to Kintla Lake was closed for construction. With the day more than half spent and little progress made, my Dad and I looked at each other and laughed. No camping, no boats, no backcountry, poor fishing, half of the park closed, and now no hiking. In that moment I felt a sense of solidarity with Sisyphus.
Our frustration clearly visible, we asked the Ranger, “What is available for us to do?” He kindly and calmly proposed two options: we could (1) wait in line at the entry point to the Polebridge District which would give us access to Bowman and Kintla (if it reopened) Lakes, or (2) go on a four mile hike in the southwest corner of the Park. We decided to take a chance and wait at the Polebridge entry area.
The Backcountry Permit Center in Apgar Village within Glacier National Park.
We drove 45 minutes to Polebridge and stopped at the Polebridge Mercantile, a small bakery and pizza outpost. When most else failed, we found hope in the fidelity of our standard lunch: PB & Js and ham sandwiches, with an added special treat of huckleberry bear claw pastries from the Mercantile. Stomachs full, we launched up to the Polebridge Ranger Station where we were fourth in line for entrance to the Polebridge District. While waiting, we asked a Ranger about the drive up to Kintla. Her words were dismal. She casually noted that they suggest drivers have four wheel drive and at least one, preferably two, spare tires, and that the understaffed Rangers would not be able to help bail anyone out in the case of a problem. Once it was our turn, we decided to go to Bowman Lake (a six mile journey) rather than up to Kintla (a 16 mile journey) to mitigate our risk.
Once we reached Bowman Lake we took a short nap before heading on a trail taking us to Quartz Lake. There were several good views of Bowman at the beginning of the hike. The trail continued to lure us into thinking there would be great views of Bowman, but there were no clearings as we travelled deeper into the woods. Rain was periodic throughout the hike, and it was pretty muddy. As we hiked, I asked Dad some questions that led into a lesson on part of our family genealogy. When my Dad has talked about it in the past, I had never really taken the time or mental effort to try to remember it. This time I was able to concentrate and ask questions about our family tree. The three miles we hiked to our rather arbitrary turnaround point went quickly. Our hike in was just over two hours and our hike out was one and a quarter hours. We traveled the trail as an out and back.
After taking off our soaked boots back at the van, we journeyed back down to Polebridge (where we made another stop at the Mercantile). We decided we would try spending the night at the Hungry Horse Reservoir rather than the Big Creek National Forest site. On the drive down Camas Road my Dad spotted a Black Bear within 10 yards of the highway (and us). To try to get another view, we turned around at the next available turnout and drove back. We saw it one more time – it was an awesome sight!
Bowman Lake Adventure
We drove over some medium-sized Montana potholes to find a quiet parking area for the night. We slept in the van benches again because we could not see any good grassy areas for tents. While we ran into many barriers today, we made the best of the situation and enjoyed Glacier as much as we could. Thanks for reading.
