 |
| Mileage |
6.4 |
| Elevation
+/- |
0
/ 3432 |
| Fatigue |
 |
| Camp
Rating |
n/a |
| Meals |
|
| Breakfast |
Scrambled
Eggs |
| Lunch |
Jammer
Joe's |
| Dinner |
|
| Water sources |
No problem |
NOTES:
|
|
|
It was a little warmer when I woke
up at 6:30 AM, but not by much. I quickly changed out of
my long underwear and was glad to note the clear skies,
indicating another nice day in the making. Andy was up as
well and we went for breakfast.
 |
| The alpha male. |
I was begging for oatmeal again
after choking down my Mountain House scrambled eggs and
kicked myself for not spending the $17.50 to eat down at
the chalet. After we ate we quickly took down camp Andy
went down to the chalet to fill his water bottles while
I had a few things left to pack.
As Andy moved out, the resident
mountain goats moved in. There were four of them and they
had an insatiable appetite for my morning urine. I had tried
to spray "it" all over a large boulder but some
inevitably ran down onto the ground and this is what the
goats were going after. At one point a minor scuffle broke
out and I thought it might get interesting to watch goats
battle it our over my pee.
After the mild skirmish I went back
to the food prep area to say goodbye to the Montana group.
We'd had a great time together the last two days and I hoped
we'd hike again some day. With a little sadness I began
the day's hike heading down to the chalet to pick up Andy
and fill my water bladder. This task complete, made easier
by the presence of a real water faucet at the dining hall,
we set off for the last 6 miles of our hike.
 |
| Looking down the Sprague
Creek watershed. |
We had almost 3500' downhill to
the Lodge which sucked for my knees, and almost all of it
was in the forest which sucked for my eyes. I was hoping
my last few hours on the trail would provide some visual
stimulation.
The dayhikers were out in full force
today, along with a few backpackers. Some gave us funny
looks as we met. Both of us hadn't shaved in at least a
week and I suspect we looked a little scary to some.
We were making very good time and
despite stopping to talke with a few groups covered the
6 miles to the Lodge in 2 hours. I immediately began looking
for my truck which was nowhere to be found. Not by the camp
store, not by the restaurant and definitely not in the main
lot. I was beginning to become concerned when Andy found
a note from the Canadians on his windshield. I had made
a small error by giving them a key I had made at a hardware
store instead of the key with the microchip at the tip.
The result of this is that they could open the truck, but
could not turn off the alarm or get it started.I felt a
little bad about this but was glad I could cross the Sun
Road one more time and grab a shower at Rising Sun on the
way out.
We decided to get a bite to eat
at Jammer Joe's lunch buffet before retreiving my vehicle.
The meal was nothing spectacular but there was plenty of
salad and the pizza fresh. In the middle of our meal we
saw the Montana group slinking about the exterior of the
restaurant looking for a restroom. I got their attention,
showed them the note from the Canadians and waved goodbye.
They were going to eat their post-hike meal at West Glacier.
Our meal paid for, we hopped into
Andy's truck and the hour-long ride up to the Jackson Glacier
overlook. It was very enjoyable to be a passenger as I didn't
have to worry about driving off the road. I took a few photo's
through the open window near Logan Pass and soaked it all
in. I was sure I'd miss this place all winter. Ten minutes
later we arrived at my truck. Our trip was now over.
|
