I climbed some mountains – part 2 “The Journey”

Recently my wife and I returned from our epic gla-canada adventure. This involved our first time backpacking through Glacier National Park, driving through the Canadian Rockies, exploring Vancouver, BC, and going to the Portland Timbers game. I saw more beautiful things then I could ever describe to you.

It begins

Portland to Glacier was about a 12 hour drive. Because the ranger station closed at 4pm, we decided to drive the night before. We filled our phones with podcasts, packed food for the road, threw our bags in the back and headed out. Before we left, Emily recommended I take another jacket, which, as you’ll see later, is advice I’m glad I followed. My goal was to get the hiking passes on Friday, so that on Saturday we could hit the trail early without needing to stop and wait for the ranger station to open. We had booked a spot at a hostel inside the park Friday night, so after getting the permit and few remaining supplies we drove up to Polebridge where the hostel was.

Polebridge was a super neat town, and I recommend stopping by there if you’re ever in the area. Its a small town with just a handful of buildings including the “Merc'” which is the town store/bakery. The only way anybody got any electricity in town was solar panels, so that was regulated to 1 “power hour” at the hostel in which people could charge their cell phones or use wi-fi. We stayed in the little trailer out behind the main building, and I had probably the most fitful sleep of my life.

The Hike

We left before anything in Polebridge was open the next morning. We had an hour drive south back into the park to drop our car off at the place we’d be coming out 3 days later. I was apprehensive; nervously I checked, and rechecked my bags thinking over what I would want. The weather had taken a turn for the cold, so I thanked Emily for reminding me to bring an extra jacket. 

The actual park was filled with beauty and wonders; more then I could ever explain in words. Our 3 day trek had us going up and down constantly, so I was very glad to have my hiking poles. The first two days had us following several lakes, rivers, and waterfalls which made for an amazing experience when we stopped to filter water into our water bottles. We got to see huge rocks carved out by glaciers over millions of years which is one of my favorite things about hiking, and that’s why visiting the the Badlands, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, and all the other various cool areas of Utah is definitely going to be planned in the next few years.

This is part 2 of a 3 part series about my vacation through the mountains. Find part 1 here, and link to part 3 will be put here when it’s finished.