I was able to find Mike's campsite witout much trouble due to Tara's helpful note and Mike's green auto. We shook hands, yakked for a few minutes and I stuck my sleeping gear in the tent Mike had ready for me before deciding to head over to Swiftcurrent for dinner. Much like last year I had no interest in resting upon my arrival. I was at Glacier and I wasn't about to waste my time there snoozing.

Arriving at the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn on a beautiful late summer evening.

After an average antipasto salad and Moose Drool we scoped out the bears foraging for food on the hillside behind the motel. There wasn't a lot of lingering snow from the previous winter, but there was enough to make me happy. We each made phone calls home and then drove back to the camp site.

Shortly after we got back Tara and her daughter Rosie, ambled up to the site. I had known Tara for a few months via the internet and even though she's from Minnesota was a delightful woman with a lust for Glacier maybe even stronger than mine.

We decided that we needed to do a dayhike the next day but were having troubles coming up with something suitable when it hit Mike that we should hike the highline to the Granite Park Chalet and down to the loop. Excellent idea. All we needed to do was park at the Loop, hop a shuttle and start hiking. Perfect, even though it would be a nearly 12 mile hike and I was in no kind of shape whatsoever. I remember thinking "this could be interesting."

The remainder of the night was spent pulling gear from our packs and checking out our big hike in the two guidebooks in our posession. By 10:00 we were both ready to hit the sack. Tomorrow i would start getting in shape for our big hike!