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I woke up just before my alarm and
quickly threw on my sandals, fleece and jumped in the car.
I was going to be the first person in line at the most efficient
office in the park. I felt good about my chances of getting
my desired hike.
As it turned out Iarrived at the
office just as ranger mark Wilson pulled up and before two
others. I grabbed an itinerary sheet from the office porch
and quickly filled it out before the next party stepped
into line. It was a cool morning and I wished I had worn
long pants as I shivered on the porch. I didn't have to
wait too long until Mark Wilson opened the door promptly
at 7 AM. Wilson's typing skills were superior and he had
my permit printed out for me in about a minute. I wasn't
sure I wanted to do this hike alone but knew I'd do it anyway.
I wasn't going to cut this trip short like I did at Cloud
Peak in July.
After I got outside I gave Yumi
a call to let her know that I wouldn't be coming back tomorrow
and had her tell my mother for me. Since I was low on gas
I figured to run out to West Glacier and fill up as well
as finding something to eat. Gas prices didn't drop since
yesterday but I did find a nice selection of Danish at the
c-store. I bought a few, asked the cashier about the location
of the Laundromat and left to clean my grungy clothes.
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| Lake McDonald just before a brief
shower. |
Of course, it was only a bit after
7 AM and the laundry wasn't open so I thought I'd drive
over to Columbia Falls to see what was going on over there,
and to check out the Army-Navy surplus store for a pair
of long undies and maybe some gloves for the next trip.
I accomplished that task and headed back to West Glacier
for laundry---which opened up at 8 AM.
I threw my dirty clothes into the
washer and walked across the parking lot to the Alberta
Visitor Center to kill some time. I spent an enjoyable wash
cycle chatting with Jenny who loaded me up with a 2-inch
thick stack of information on Alberta. Might have to make
the trip up there one of these years. By the time I got
back to the Laundromat I was ready for the dryer. While
drying my clothes I had a nice talk with the Apgar campground
host who was also cleaning her clothes.
Once I stuffed my clean clothes
into my stuff sack I drove over to Apgar Village to do my
T-shirt shopping and grab a few things to eat. This turned
out to be relatively painless and Ifound myself back at
my campsite by 11:00 AM. i thought it would be best if I
moved my camp over to Sprague Creek for the night as it
was closer to the shuttle pick up at Lake McDonald Lodge.
Camp was broken down in record time and I was out of there
by 11:30.
By noon I had found an open site
at Sprague Creek and had my tent up shortly. I had no idea
what I was going to do today but knew I had to get my gear
ready for the Gunsight hike. Ever the planner, I started
preparing myself for a quick departure home after completing
the hike. and my backpack gear simultaneously.
As I had my stuff spread out on
the picnic table my neighbor pulled up in his truck. His
name was Andy and was from Michigan. We got to talking and
before I knew it I had invited him to come along on my hike.
He eagerly agreed and we were both happy campers.
the rest of the afternoon was spent
figuring out what gear to bring along and getting our food
in order. I hooked Andy up with a few items and we were
good to go. Just as we were finishing up a shaggy looking
young man walked up to us and started talking. His name
was Jamie and was from Wisconsin himself. He was in the
park killing time until his job working at a Colorado ski
resort began.
At around 4 PM Andy and I went back
to the Apgar backcountry office to modify our permit. This
done, we drove back to the campground and tried to catch
some fish: Andy in his kayak and me from the shore. Neither
of us had caught a thing when threatening weather forced
us to give up. It eventually rained for about 20 minutes---the
only significant precipitation during my time spent in the
park.
Once the rain stopped we decided
to run over to the Lake McDonald Lodge to purchase a few
of the local beers and a sandwich at the camp store. Back
at the campground we snacked on Jalapeno bread and beer.
We sat at the picnic table and talked for a while before
turning in. It was a great day of doing absolutely nothing.
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