Though i only was able to get about 5 hours of sleep on the way out I awoke at 0700. After gobbling down a bowl of cereal and donut it was time to futz with my gear once again. the plan was to do the dayhike and then drive directly to our big hike starting point at Bowman Lake. I wanted to make certain that I didn't forget anything important this morning lest I go without for the next week. As it turned out I only forgot a few new fishing lures I stashed in the glove box of my truck.

Some of the record 21 passengers squeezed on the 10:10 Am shuttle from the Loop to Logan Pass.

By 0800 we were in Mike's Accord speeding towards St. Mary to pick up some fruit, postcards and, for me, to thank the young lady who had fit Yumi for a new pack last summer. She happened to be working which was lucky for me. She even remembered Yumi.

After the shopping was done we picked up our backcountry permit from the St. Mary backcountry office. Our second hike was still off due to bear activity but thought things could change in a week and kept our fingers crossed. Permit in hand, we drove up the Sun Road to the Loop.

The shuttle van was due at 1010 AM which made our 1000 arrival look a little late when we noted the line forming for a ride. Not to worry. Our driver managed to squeeze everyone into the van---all 22 of us---and got us up to Logan Pass unscathed. I will point out that not eveyone paid for the shuttle but the driver didn't seem to mind as his maximum passenger load was supposed to be 8 people.

Our hike measured out at 11.8 miles with minimal elevation gain and loss. Yumi and I had hiked out a short way last year after getting hailed on coming down from the Hidden Lake overlook. Even though it looks much more dangerous than it really is, we referred to the Highline as "Death Trail" due to the somwehat narrow track and impending doom should you happen to fall off said trail. In reality it was very safe unless you did something really stupid.

I found out that Mike liked to hike rather quickly and became a little concerned that our big hike might be more of a forced march for me. As we went on I discovered I had no problems keeping up and began to feel better. I felt no hotspots on my feet and didn't start sweating until we were 45 minutes into the h ike. This was good news, because, as you already know, I was in pathetic physical condition.

We ate lunch at the base of Haystack Butte and enjoyed a beautiful Montana afternoon with temps in the low 70's. The views were spectacular which included a surprise peek at Lake McDonald in the distance to the southwest. In no time at all we had covered the 7.6 miles to the Granite Park Chalet and spent a few minutes there looking around. We'd be camping very near the chalet in 6 days so it was kind of nice to get a feel for the place before we came back. I noted the candy bars and sodas they had for sale. This could prove to be important as my food bag for the 5-night hike was minimal and I just might need to pick something up for the trip out.

The Granite Park Chalet.

Our descent down to the Loop really took it's toll on my knees and I had to stop a couple of times to straighten them out for a few minutes. I began to have concerns about hiking over 50 miles carrying 35 lbs. with my creaky knees. But Imade it down and by 3:30 we were back to the car and ready to drive over to Bowman Lake. Though my knees ached, I was happy to have completed the hike without any serious problems. My fitness level wasn't any better than it was for my disasterous Cloud Peak Wilderness trip but my weight was down about 6 pounds. I was cautiously optimistic that our 5-nighter would be OK.

I was a little concerned, however,about having ample water on our route as we were doing this later in the season, and asked Mike to stop in at the Apgar backcountry office so that we could ask one of the rangers about water sources on the trail as well as the bear closures around the Two Medicine area.

As it turned out we had nothing to worry about with the water though we did get a scare when one of the ranger's told us our plan to hike out at Swiftcurrent would not work out due to the bear incident the day before. This would have been a major problem as my truck was at Swiftcurrent. To re-stage my truck and get back over to Bowman Lake would take us until at least until 9 PM. The kicker was that we'd probably miss dinner at the Northern Lights in Polebridge---a cardinal sin. Fortunately, ranger Mark Wilson told us Swiftcurrent WAS open and we didn't need to worry about moving my truck around. That makes two years in a row that ranger Wilson has given us correct information after another ranger had given us innaccurate info. He is now my favorite ranger of all time.

Once that potential nightmare was averted we focused our energy on getting up to Polebridge and the Bowman Lake campground. I had told Mike that you have to experience Polebridge to believe it and that no visit to Glacier was complete until you make the trip over to the North Fork. The Home Ranch Bottom Store was on the way so we decided to stop in and see what they had. I knew from the internet that they had showers for $7. I wasn't that desperate for a shower but decided I should take one anyway. We chatted with Dan, who was running the store that afternoon, Mike bought some beers and we got clean.

Polebridge amazed Mike to the Point that he said it reminded him of the TV show "Northern Exposure". Indeed, it seemed as though everyone from a 50-mile radius was in town for "pizza night". We stopped in at the Merc, bought some bread, pastry, some souvineers and quickly started off for the Bowman Lake campground. The road in was not the greatest and it took us a little over 20 minutes to cover the 6 miles. We quickly set up camp and returned to Polebridge for dinner a short time later.

Volleyball is a varsity sport at Polebridge.

I was a little disappointed I couldn't have something off the menu but the pizza turned out to be just about perfect. I ordered the "red", which was covered with meat while Mike got the "green" which was vegetarian. Niether one of us chose "crybaby" which was cheeses only.

While we waited for our pies we watched a spirited volleyball game and observed the variety of people who had congregated for the evening. Like last year it was a diverse group and we'll leave it at that. We also called home just to let everyone know we were OK. I slo happened to see my little buddy Max who I spent the afternoon playing with last summer while waiting for the Northern Lights to open. Same old Max, still hamming it up. I took a few photos of the studly young lad amd promised his mother I'd send the photos to her in care of the Merc.

The pizzas were excellent, and for only $10.00 made the perfect pre-hike meal. By 9 PM were heading back to our campsite at Bowman Lake. We didn't need to get going early so we decided that we didn't need to get up early. whenever we got started was when we got started.