10 Two Medicine to East Glacier

 Two Medicine to East Glacier

At 5:30 we listened to the rain beating down on the canvas of our tent.  The only noise that was louder was the whooshing of the wind as it passed through the camp’s pines.  And it would have been so easy to have made the decision to abandon the day, but the miles don’t complete themselves and the reality outside of the tent is always different.  

The rain was light and the wind, unknown in the shelter of the wood.  With three other hikers; Drewby, Beaker (he looked like the muppet) and Gone, Sally and I set off from Two Medicine camp to the small town of East Glacier just 11 miles away.  We were all well rested but nervous about the climb ahead.  But our plan was sound.  If at any point we felt unsafe we would stop and return; either to hike the road or hike another day.

The three soon outpaced us and Sally and I made our way up the mountain together.  Once at 6000 feet there was no tree protection and the wind increased as we climbed the zig zagging switchbacks.  Wind pelted our faces as we zipped one way and our packs protected us as we zagged the other.  Our bodies had acclimatised and as such the going was quiet easy, our only enemy was our own euphoria brought on by the wind and the exhilaration of the moment.  I would regularly stop and check if we were safe.  The condition of the path, our body temperature, our clothing, our breathing, our location the incoming weather and the speed of the clouds passing above in relation to the surrounding mountains.

At the plateau we strode with bent knees and dug our poles down hard into the earth giving ourselves maximum support should a freak gust catch us.  With two pairs of gloves on the cold still penetrated deep, but the descent came quickly, the sun shone and we caught our first glimpse of of the Montana Plains and the Bob Marshall Wilderness, a wild looking mountain range sat beneath black grey clouds where we would spend the next 109 miles.  

It was so sad to look back on Glacier National Park’s perimeter mountains, to say goodbye to our home for five days but the glinting town below and four miles away in the Blackfeet Reservation took our eyes forward and our feet followed 👣 

In East Glacier things calmed down and we celebrated chatting with locals and hikers, doing laundry, and eating pizza.  

It’s a real pleasure to write now in this hostel room where the plywood walls seem to amplify the sounds from our neighbours and re look at the photos and videos of the past 100 miles.  To think about the wildlife, the scenery, the lakes and mountains, the challenges both mental and physical.  

Ahh, the Dutchman next door has just farted.  Time for the earplugs.  You never know when there’ll be a freak gust.💨