Day 18

It doesn’t get dark until ten-ish. Knowing we had to get up at an absurd hour we attempted to go to bed early. But none of us could fall asleep when it was still light out so we read instead.

This morning we got up at 3. Kati and I have broken camp so frequently that we were easily able to do it in the dark. In order to access most of Glacier National Park you needed to make a reservation. They are trying to cut back on the number of visitors. However, getting reservations has been impossible. Despite logging in and calling at the time they are released, we were never the lucky ones able to get through. But they don’t start checking for reservations until 6 in the morning and the road never closes. So we will be in the park long before they start checking for tickets which should enable us to get a spot in the campground of our choice.

OMG! Trying to get a site in this campground (which is all first come first serve) is insane. According to the website, it sometimes fills up before 7. However, the barricade across the road says that you can’t line up or access the campground until 8. It is not yet 6 and the crowd is building. People have parked their cars elsewhere and are lining up on foot. There is no respect for who got here first. I feel like I am back in NYC trying to jockey for position to board a train during rush hour. Kati has already loudly proclaimed that I have a black belt just in case any of the bigger men thought that that might be able to push me around. But she is keeping G3 warm and safe in the car.

What an adrenaline rush. Envelopes — for site payments — were handed out to people on foot — no cars allowed — the barricade was removed and we were off in a race to find a campsite. G3, Kati, and I all ran to different sites in different areas, each claiming one. Once we knew we would have a place to sleep we could evaluate which was best. G3 said the chaos reminded him of the Cornucopia scene in Hunger Games. After all that we aren’t moving for at least three days.

Once we secured our spot we had a quick lunch of ramen noodles — I am not sure if that is a step up or a step down from sandwiches — we took a drive on the scenic Going-to-the-Sun Road. Along the way we stopped at the Logan Pass to hike the Hidden Lake Trail. It was a relatively easy walk uphill some of which was on a boardwalk. The scenery was majestic. I haven’t see Mountain View’s this awe inspiring since I was in Peru.

Some of you may know that we call G3 our little mountain goat. (BTW they are related to antelope not goats). Every time we go hiking he is always racing ahead and his favorite hikes always involve a rock scramble. As a result, he has come to think of the mountain goat as his spirit animal. When we were at Custer State Park he wanted to see a mountain goat more than anything. He left disappointed. However, today his wish came true. While on our hike we saw not one but five mountain goats one of which was a baby. G3 was more excited than I have ever seen him. He even proclaimed, “This is the best day ever.” Thank you dad for sending us the mountain goats.

The sky is still smokey from the fires and so many of my pictures look hazy.

After hiking we drove a little further to see the Jackson Glacier. I wanted to make sure G3 got to see at least one glacier while he was here. Comparing it to a picture from the early 1900’s you can see how rapidly it is melting.

I will leave you with the baby mountain goat.