CDT Day 105 (8/21/23)
Miles 2532.2 (Red line 2876.6)- 2542.8 (Red line 2887.2) (10.6 miles)
Verbatim
Bighorn sheep
Nachos at Mexican place + D&D talk with Hershey Squirts
Kind hitch out from Two Medicine
Incredible entrance to the park
It was hard to find the motivation or energy to hike in and ask for permits. There was some anxiety about finding permits at the hostel. I figured the best I could do would be to hike the initial ten miles into the park and ask in person. That’s the little I could do.
The hike was stunning. A real introduction to Glacier’s monumental colossi of mountain and stone. I was working hard to get to the ranger’s office before 4:30 when the station closed. Just as I passed Baguette there was a Bighorn Sheep! It was a female and it regarded us with what I think was curiosity. She did not run, though prepared herself for a quick exit along a rocky slope. Eventually she did come within ten feet as she bounded and jumped across a chasm six feet across right at the edge of the cliff. Astounding! That’s not a moment I’ll forget. She walked to the edge and surveyed her queendom. It was an epic sight.
Down the descent there was an incredible “white tree of Gondor”. That was really cool to see. It added to the epic vibe. It was fun to see the National Park day hikers as well. These folks really excited and working hard for their one day hike. haha.
Ranger Tatyana was very kind. She couldn’t give me what I wanted in regards to permits, but she did task me with coming back the next morning to receive something for Saturday night (two evenings away). The park can only issue walk-in permits for tonight/today or tomorrow. I chatted with some rangers and then found a quick hitch out and back to East Glacier with some kind Canadian Americans.
Post Note
Permits really really make things overwhelming. And Glacier was notorious this year for giving thruhikers a really poor experience trying to find the right permits. They’d changed their permitting system so none of the rangers had much experience with the process and more and more thruhikers were coming than before. It was a mess. The morning after I arrived, showered, and slept in the hostel was one of some consternation. Some thruhikers had returned to the hostel after tagging the border. Their journey over, they filled us with advice of where to go and how to get there. We sort of basked in the mixed adoration and fear that is watching someone complete the same journey you’re on. What did they do, how did they do it, and what are they going to do next? Those of us still with trail to complete struggled to muster up some plan of figuring out what to do next. The line of concern went something like this.
I’m so tired and want to rest but need to figure out how to get permits. I want to go home so I want to figure out permits fast but to do that I need to call and wait on hold for a really long time with the ranger’s office or trying and figure out this utterly nonsensical combination of government website or go hitch into the ranger’s station to wait in line and then probably not get what I want. Hitching can take forever because it takes forever sometimes. It’s already noon because I’m tired. All my stuff is strung out outside to dry after yesterday’s rain. Should I even bring my backpack to the rangers station? Probably not because no one has been getting immediate permitted permission to camp in the park. If I don’t bring my bag I don’t have to spend the energy packing it up and making sure I’ve resupplied with such little time. But what if I go and then I do get permission to go into the park and then don’t have my pack? Ok I should bring my pack but I don’t have the energy to get all my yard-sailed stuff into the pack or walk to the grocery store to resupply. I’m hungry. I should eat. No I should leave and just be hungry. Honestly hitching is harder than walking ten miles, so I’ll just walk ten miles instead and will walk fast so if I leave now I’ll get there with thirty minutes to spare. That way even if I don’t get a permit I’ll have at least walked ten miles and then I can hitch there tomorrow. Ok here I go.
Usually it takes a few tries to make it through the linear thought process because you’re tired or someone says something and it distracts you and then you restart. It’s just so overwhelming being in towns with the task of coming up with a coherent plan. You’re dependent on people other than yourself (trail angels and NP staff) to make things happen. It’s impossible to know how things will unfold before they do.
I and Baguette were the only two hikers without permits to go out and walk to the ranger’s station that day. I’m not sure what the others did, but I’m not sure they finished the trail by walking through Glacier. Twister and Billy the Kid had pulled up later than I did the night before. They had permits and took off towards the station to camp at the associated campsite later than I did. Tatyana was kind enough to offer to drive me into the park early the next morning as she went in for her 6am shift start. Though I couldn’t secure my own permit until Saturday night, Tatyana indicated I could likely attach as a third to Twister and Billy’s permit. So, a loose plan was formed. I had already hiked the ten miles into the park. I’d hitch out to the hostel. Then I’d hitch in the next morning and then wait until Twister and Billy showed up. Then I’d ask if I could join them for the last few days.