CDT Day 108 (9/3/23)

Miles 2598.2 (Red line 2941.1)- 2629 (Redline 2970.9) (29.8 miles)

Vebatim

• Two adolescent Grizzlies

• Hiker Chalet

• Left a note for Allie

• Great views

• Incredible Swiftcurrent Pass

• Sucky funny concrete shelter floors

Little sleep was had on account of the late fireside hang. So, today was tired. But the morning climb was spectacular. I left a note for Allie, wishing her well and telling her she was spectacular. No contact information left. The point was to build someone up and give a gift. Not to tear down by asking for attention and minimizing the connection.

The hike was spectacular up the last big climb. Some of the best views on trail. On the opposite side of the pass was a hiker chalet. It was cool enough that I had to stop. I got a LaCroix from the shop! For a summit soda/terminus soda. The shop didn’t sell sodas, but the lady behind the counter, Jibz, had hiked the CDT two years previous. She happily gave me the last of her own personal LaCroix. Not to be replenished until the mules/helicopter next resupplied the chalet. It would be a fun place to work that chalet. Awesome stuff.

The walking up high lasted almost twenty miles. It wasn’t the greatest views, but it was fun being up high. Just floating. It rain showered a bit. Seemed cloudy. Lunch we regrouped and enjoyed company through the afternoon and Bear risk area. We saw, from about 100 yards, two adolescent Grizzly. They’ve been frequenting a campground we passed and were likewise digging for Squirrels. One flanked us for a while as we walked. Those Bears are amazing. They just slide across the ground. Really awesome stuff.

The descent from up high was meh, but it was fun to be back down in thick forest. A rain shower came. I almost pooped right in front of some people. I noted the access trail I needed to talk the next day. We ran into some newly engaged folk who described their four day hike from Many Glacier. They asked how far we’d come that day. We said; “Many Glacier”. HAHA. I love thruhiking. It rained.

The evening hours went slowly, but eventually we made camp and enjoyed a final dinner together. I drank my LaCroix. There was a curious college girl who wants to walk the PNT (Pacific Northwest Trail). I want to walk the PNT too, my friend. Then it was off to sleep in a weird concrete shelter. I slept to firelight which the family had.

Post Note

This last full day was a good day. It’s terrific blazing through a national park like some wild animal. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but when a thruhiker walks through a park they’re able to look at all those people who are using their TWO WEEKS vacation time to go on some big adventure. They’ve sacrificed a lot of time and money and energy to haul their big SUV with the kids out to look at some visitors center. They worry about where they’re going to park their car amidst all the crowds. As a thruhiker you just laugh. They’ll all be back at work on Monday. I’ll be walking. Except in Glacier that wasn’t the case anymore because I would also be done walking and back into my not-walking life on Monday. Damnit!

Still, that didn’t dim the extraordinary pleasure of cruising up the stunning climbs and passing huffing and puffing day hikers. Down the back side of the saddle over the top of the climb was the coolest chalet. It’s a stone chalet from an older time. It reminds me of the sort of ethos you might see in the Swiss Alps. Jibz was so kind to give me her last soda. The others had beers. I don’t drink, and hadn’t remembered to pack out a local $12 (it wasn’t actually $12 but you know what I mean) cream soda the Many Glacier camp store was selling. None of us actually saved them for the terminus the next day. We all had our drinks at dinner.

There wasn’t the time or space or energy for a relaxing drink the next day anyways. While the other’s had their passports and would walk over the border and into Lake Waterton, Canadia, I would have to turn around and walk thirty more miles out of the park (presumably in one day because I didn’t have my own permits). But that was tomorrow, and today I got to drink a delectably light and fluffy LaCroix while eating not enough ramen while listening to a young women talk about how she really wanted to go thruhiking but her dad was overprotective and her being alone in the woods made him anxious. She would be a freshman in college in the fall and creating space for her own life was the task right now. The fact that this girl was so confident in presenting and hanging with three grungy adult males was really inspiring. She, quite frankly, was already one of us. The dad wasn’t making eye contact. The next day Twister shared that he’d gone down and hung with him at the fire while Billy and I were sleeping. The dad had opened up and they talked about trail. Hell yeah Twister; you’re awesome. You made a difference in that kid and that dad’s lives.

The concrete floors I’d slept on were so funny. It was the weirdest hiker shelter I’d ever seen. I’m an East Coast boy (Yeah Maine!). So when I hear “lean-to” I think of an actual lean-to constructed by the natural world for the protection of their children. Wood logs. Creaky floor. Mice droppings. Drafty. Good stuff. But here at the American side of Waterton Lake was a concrete block divided into four sections each open to a cardinal direction with a twelve foot tall roof and basically no protection from any rain falling with any sort of sideways trajectory. If it was raining at least one of the four sections would be wet. Laying down a 1/8” pad on concrete with only a rain jacket for a pillow is an experience. But, I could sleep pretty much anywhere at this point. And there were no mosquitoes. So really there was nothing to complain about.

And those Bears were cool. They were definitely going to become “problem” Bears. Which is stupid. No Bear is a “problem”. Bears are just Bears taking advantage of what their world presents them for their health and sustenance and flourishing. HUMANS DO THAT. It’s completely normal behavior. But, they were scaring people because they were frequenting a campsight (named something like thousand mountain campsite?). When I got home I saw some YouTube video that was titled something like “BIG SCARY BEAR ENCOUNTER AT THOUSAND MOUNTAIN CAMPSITE” (my words and emphasis). I was like, Pfft. This person playing the algorithm game. BS. Those are real Bears you’re talking about. They have real lives that go beyond the comment section of your YouTube video. If a Bear wants to hug you you should consider it the embrace of G-d.