Mileage 2.8 Elev. + / - 200 / 0 Fatigue Camp Rating BIF* MEALS   Breakfast n/a Lunch n/a Dinner Beef burritos * Bug Irritation Factor

Following Swiftcurrent Creek and Lake Sherburne towards the Many Glacier Hotel proved to be just as inspiring as the drive into the park from St. Mary. We pulled into the property just to get a feel for where we were going to be staying in almost a week. The building is currently being renovated on the Swiftcurrent Lake side which meant the aesthetics were not what they would normally be. Hey, as long as the shower worked on Saturday was all I really cared about.

After taking a spin through the parking lot we decided to go down the road a mile or so and check out the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn and campground. The campground looked great, but we didn’t get a good look at the Motor Inn. Figuring that we needed to check our packs and get ready for the trip one more time, we decided to head back to the Many Glacier Hotel for a final check.

Kootenai Lake as seen from our campsite.

Everything seemed ready to go and by 1100 we carried our packs down the steps from the parking lot to the hotel where we’d have to kill almost two hours waiting in the huge lobby. I really can’t remember how we spent this time, but I do remember getting ready to pick up my pack to take outside to the shuttle loading area at about 1230---30 minutes before the shuttle was to depart for Waterton and not being able to find our backcountry permit. Instant panic. I ran up the steps to the parking lot to do pick up the lost permit which I was sure was sitting on the drivers seat. No luck. Next Yumi went up and looked. No luck for her either. Finally, almost in tears we both went back up to the truck to do a thorough, tear the damn truck apart job. Now in total panic I saw the permit on the roof of the truck. How it didn’t blow off sometime during the last hour and a half was a small miracle. It was now 1247 and I felt a massive wave of relief spreading over my body. Unfortuneately I was also sweating from sprinting up to the hotel parking lot a half dozen times.

Now that everything needed for the trip was in our possession we had only wait a few minutes under the massive soffit for our shuttle to arrive. To be honest, I spent most of the time thinking about the trip, the amount of time and effort put into the planning and all of the things that could go wrong. I wondered if I had bitten off more than we could chew. I was worried about my knees giving me problems on the climbs.

Our GPI shuttle arrived a few minutes late due to a communications error from the home office. Not a big deal for us as we were going to have to kill almost two hours up at Waterton anyway. Jim, our driver, told us to sit tight for a few minutes while he got himself a Coke. Minutes later, drink in hand, he told us to get in and we were off!

It took only a few minutes to find our old friend the Black Bear frolicking on the hillside near the entrance. Jim hit the brakes and allowed me to get another picture of the pesky bruin. Jim told us that this bear was generating a lot of attention from the rangers as he kept blocking traffic and was becoming used to being around humans---never a good thing for a bear. Rangers were trying to scare the bear back into the woods by firing blanks without much success. The next step, he told us, was to start firing bean bags at him. Hopefully their plan worked, but we later heard that park authorities had to put a bear to sleep. We suspect this was the bear.

Once on highway 49 Jim entertained us with stories of his time at Glacier. Retired from an energy company in Georgia, Jim andhis wife were spending their summer in Glacier. The only problem was that Glacier Park Inc., the company that operated the shuttles, lodges and red Jammers were so short of help that he barely got a day off to explore the park with his wife.

In a few minutes the massive form of Chief Mountain came into view, shortly after that Jim stopped at the Chief Mountain trailhead where we picked up a lady named “Annie”. Annie and her husband had just spent 10 night in the backcountry. I was filled with hope since it appeared that Annie was approaching 60. She gave us some useful information on the Belly River area where we would be later in the week. Annie decided that she wanted some espresso and would travel to Waterton to get it whiile hubby stayed near the trailhead and slept.

Just a few feet further up the road we came to the Chief Mountain customs border station. We were a little concerned that they might not let us carry our bear spray across the border, but when we told the agent it was Counter Assault he waved us through. Minutes later we entered Waterton Lakes National Park and shortly after that the Prince of Wales Hotel came into view, perched atop a hill overlooking Waterton Lake. Another impressive sight. Jim earned himself a $10 tip by taking all of us down to the marina where we would catch the Shoreline Cruise to Goat Haunt. It seems funny now but saving us the 10 minute walk from the hotel to the marina seemed like a big deal at the time.

After thanking Jim for the enjoyable and informative ride, Yumi and I entered the marina and purchased our tickets. Dropping our packs on the dock, we decided to go get some lunch. Waterton townsite had a distinctive European feel with the cobblestone streets. A pretty neat place with many eateries. Unfortunately, we probably picked the worst one. Yumi had some Chinese noodle stuff while I opted for a hamburger which was not made of beef but of something I’d never tasted before and a warm glass of milk. Not the best “last real meal” for a while.

We paid the bill with what little American currency we had along, and ambled back to the marina where we walked around some more and tested every park bench surrounding the dock. After what seemed like forever we got into line to board the cruise.

The boat was only half full for the 1600 trip, and there was only one other couple who were going into the backcountry. I was a little concerned that Yumi may have been carrying too much weight when I saw what little the young woman was carrying for 3 nights. She seemed in awe of us old people for going out for 5 nights.

Gear safely sowed below deck, we were finally departing Waterton for Goat Haunt. The trip down the lake was uneventful but windy. And cold and warm and very strange. Our young guide kept us entertained the entire trip with amusing anecdotes and facts about the area. He said he was born and raised in the Townsite and had lived there his entire life. If he were smart he’d never leave.

Just before 1700 we arrived at Goat Haunt. We were about to start this adventure for real. The first thing we noticed was that people weren’t kidding about the mosquitoes. They were so thick that we wasted little time slathering 100% DEET over our exposed skin. The backcountry/customs ranger welcomed us back to the US by asking to see our citizenship papers and our backcountry permit recently rescued from the truck roof. Since everything was in order she wished us well and told us to have a nice trip. A quick fill up of our water bottles and we were on our way. Packs shouldered we were off for Kootenai Lakes campground a mere 2.8 miles south.

It became immediately clear that this was not going to be a trail like we had walked on our previous dayhikes. The trail was thick with underbrush and narrow. Though it was difficult to see our feet at times, the trail was fairly easy to hike as we covered the 2.8 miles in less than 1.5 hours. By 1850 we had found the campground at Kootenai and spied 3 moose feeding off the mucky lake bottom. We also discovered a 30-something New Zealander named Mike who was solo hiking from Bowman Lake to Many Glacier.

We chose a camp site close to the food prep area and outhouse with a nice view of the lake. One thing we knew we could do was put the tent up in a hurry and under adverse conditions from our ill-fated trip to Newport last October. Those tent pitching skills were needed today as the blood-sucking skeeters were out in full force.

Once the tent was up and our gear stowed, we grabbed our bulging food bag and began dinner. Tonight it was going to be beef an rice burritos. By far our heaviest meal, we managed to finish off the equivalent of a pound of ground beef, a package of Mexican rice and about 8 tortillas. Yummy but salty and even yumi ate more than she normally would have. Mike looked a bit envious when he joined us in mid-meal while working on a package of Ramen noodles and Mountain House lasagna. To further rub it in I made some instant pudding and proceeded to squeeze nearly the entire ziplock bagful down my gullet---after Yumi had taken her 3 or 4 spoonfuls, of course.

While we ate we chatted about life in New Zealand. All I needed to hear was that Mike got 8 weeks “holiday a year and that he was spending 3 of those weeks backpacking in the western United States. Lucky bastard. He then almost made Yumi sick by going to the lake and scooping a big cup of water then drinking it without any sort of treatment. A brave lad---especially when I thought the lake water so disgustingly mucky that I walked a few hundred yards down the Waterton river to get to Camp Creek to pump our water.

After the dishes were cleaned and I made Yumi sick by drinking the gray water from the dishwashing, the three of us headed back to our respective tents. Now 7 moose were feeding in the lake and a very large mule deer feeding near our tent. Like the deer on the way to Avalanche Lake, this one showed no interest in us whatsoever. Fine, do what you want just don’t eat my pack.

Yumi and I got to bed around 1000 dreading the 2975 foot climb of Stoney Indian Pass in the morning. Sleep came pretty quick and soundly for me at first. I woke up a few times to the noise of something splashing in the lake and the inevitable cracking of twigs in the forest behind us.

But at 0400 Yumi also let out a snoring/snort-like noise which scared the hell out of me as I thought, in my groggy state, that it could be a bear right outside the tent. After that, sleep would not come for another hour.