Frank’s Post

July 13, 2017. Matt asked me to write something for his blog about our backpacking trip through Glacier National Park and I happily agreed to. It’s mainly written from the perspective that I had as it happened.
June 28, 2017, ~9pm EST

Tomorrow, I will meet my very good friend, Matt Casey, for a planned 3 day, 3 night backpacking trip through Glacier National Park. This will be my first backpacking trip. For well over a month, I have put in a lot of time determining the route that we will take, preparing a list of supplies needed to live in the wilderness for a few days and nights, and getting my backpack ready. Planning the route has been difficult because it’s still early season in Glacier so a lot of the routes are blocked by snow and ice. There is one route which I’ve read great things about starting at Bowman Lake and ending in Goat Haunt. Some of the park rangers said it would be very difficult and others said it was doable. Yesterday afternoon, Matt spoke with a park ranger who said the hike was dangerous and likely required an ice axe, crampons, and route finding skills, of which I have experience with none. I was a bit discouraged when he called me and told me we may need to avoid the route. But last night, Matt met a group of guys who had just completed the route and they said it wasn’t bad at all. Based on that, we’ve decided to give it a go. It seems insignificant, but it’s a 3 day trip that we’ve been planning for quite some time and the views can make or break it, so I was really excited to hear we’d be taking our chances.

Soon I will be lying in bed, excited and anxious for the trip and worried that I’m forgetting something (hopefully not my passport). I’ll wonder how Scout is doing with the new sitter. Once I fall asleep, I won’t think about Scout again until the trip is over.

June 30, 2017, ~1:30am MDT

We finally made it to the hostel. All I’ve done today is travel. The 6:20am EST bus to the subway to another bus to LGA airport. A flight to Toronto, a transfer to Calgary. A shuttle to my rental car. I drove the rental car from Calgary to Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta where I met Matt. I hopped in Matt’s car and we drove from Waterton to our hostel in Glacier for the night. We stopped to pick up a 6 pack along the way and drank it in the hostel.

The best part of the day was seeing Matt for the first time in Waterton. The Waterton Lakes NP is beautiful; we saw a couple of bears while we were driving through it. Driving through Glacier was awesome also. We took a famous road, Going to the Sun Road, to get to the hostel, and even though it was getting dark, I was able to appreciate the beauty of the park. There wasn’t a worst part of the day, although 19 consecutive hours or travel is less than ideal. Now it’s time for bed as we’ll be up around 8am to start the excursion. I’m too tired to be excited/nervous.

June 30, 2017, ~9:30pm MDT

Today was our first day on the trail. We left the hostel around 10am, picked up ice axes and started the hike around 1pm. We got to camp around 5pm after hiking ~7 miles. From 5 to 9:30, we hung out at the campsite. I took a lot of shit out of my backpack and then put it back in; and then tied it up so bears wouldn’t eat it; then I took it down to get my food out to make dinner. Then we went to set up the tent so I had to tie up my stuff again. Then I took my stuff down again so I could brush my teeth. A whole lot of nonsense really.

Oh yeah, we talked to a freak for a while. She hiked the Pacific Crest Trail last year which is ~2,700 miles and was just starting the Pacific Northern Trail which is ~1,200 miles (she did about 25 miles per day). Very nice girl though, very impressive. She was doing this all by herself. I wonder if she gets lonely.

The best part of the day was surviving it, and not losing anything…like my passport. Matt’s company has been awesome, we’ve had a lot of laughs and are getting along great. The worst part of the day was the hike itself. There was a ton of brush which made it tricky to walk, a lot of mosquitoes, and the views were just OK. I also don’t love all of the administrative bullshit (i.e. putting up my bag and taking it down 20 times, always feeling like I’m forgetting something, etc.) which comes along with backpacking, but hopefully that will improve as a I get into a routine and have a better handle on what I’m doing. Lessons learned: tie shoes tighter—ankles weren’t very well supported; don’t let feet get wet…blisters! Things to buy: eye mask for sleeping, hand sanitizer.

July 2, 2017, 6:21am

I just woke up from a very vivid dream. I was with a girl in her bedroom and all of a sudden the boat that we were on started taking in water so I hurried out of her room and made it to the top of the boat. The boat was going down until there was only the top of the boat left above water, like in Titanic, except that it was moving forward and I could steer by putting my hand in the water and using it like a rudder. I saw a sign for Home Depot of Jersey City so I steered that way. As the boat sank, I jumped in the water. A crew man who was standing in the water gave me a raft. I climbed in and then I woke up.

July 2, 2017, 7:05am

Matt’s up!

The views hiking yesterday were much better than Day 1; in fact, they were beautiful. They were similar to the views in Cascade Canyon in Grand Teton NP, but didn’t have quite the same impact on me. Possibly because this isn’t my first hike ever.

The best part of the day yesterday was the views. I got a lot of great pictures. Also, can’t forget hanging out at Lake Francis with Matt. That’s probably the best view we’ve gotten so far although there have been plenty. We skipped rocks, Matt went for a very brief swim, we chatted, laughed and filtered water too. The worst part of the day was the 2,000 ft. incline in ~2 miles. Matt beasted it and I was hurt. I need hiking poles.

July 2, 2017, 9:05am

Breakfast is done and camp is largely packed. Onto Goat Haunt now, followed by the 2:25pm ferry back to Waterton Lakes. We’ll finish up a day earlier than planned, since the skeeters are brutal and we’ll get to do a day hike tomorrow. We’ll stay in the hostel tonight. I’m looking forward to a bed, a shower, and no bugs.

July 2, 2017, ~12:00pm

Matt and I just saw a large black bear on the trail, maybe 25 yards away. I wasn’t scared at first, but then it moved, and I got a good look at how big it was and how quick it was. I was shaken up a bit. It was awesome.

On July 3, Matt and I did a 10 mile out and back day hike to/from Iceberg Lake which was beautiful. We said our goodbyes and I was already looking forward to seeing him again in August for the Wind River Range expedition with Kyle. Looking back on my first backpacking trip, there are a lot of important things I learned. I learned to stay organized, to use my compression straps to keep the pack comfortable on my body and allocate weight properly, how to apply moleskin to blisters, how to use the jet-boil and cook up Mountain House, how to set up and take down camp (still a work in progress), and how to deter bears, just to name a few. Matt was an excellent leader and teacher. He was patient and let me make some mistakes on my own which helped me to learn. I can’t say how grateful I am that my first backpacking trip was with him.

I also found that hiking adheres to the delicate principle that what you put in, you get out. A lot of things about backpacking suck. Mosquitos suck, sleeping on the ground sucks, eating oatmeal, peanut butter, tuna and Mountain House everyday sucks. Traversing miles of wilderness, surrounded by breathtaking natural beauty is inspiring. The solitude that comes with it, and time it allows for internal reflection and to be free from external disturbance is invaluable. Spending three days 1 on 1 with a close friend is wonderful.

I was also reminded of the value of close friends. Close friendship is one of the few things that doesn’t adhere to that delicate principle. You spend your childhood having fun with and getting to know someone. Then you leave for college and see each other 5-10 times a year. Then they move to Houston and you see them just a couple of times a year. You wonder how you’ll get along, what you’ll talk about for four days, and if you’ll want to choke them out by the end of the trip, or vice versa. But that doesn’t happen with close friends. You’re able to pick up right where you left off because of the years of memories and closeness you have. It’s one of the few things that offers us joy, without the skeeters.

It was an absolute pleasure, Matt. I hope you get everything out of the trip that you’re looking for. I’ll see you in Wyoming.

Frank