Remarkable Beauty

And I don’t just mean my travel partner…

This weekend I postponed a trip to see my folks in Helena (leaving tomorrow) to grab an opportunity to visit Glacier National Park. It was the perfect end to a long and wonderful week. The Center for Ethics had just concluded hosted Debating Science, a major project bringing around 30 graduate students, mostly in the sciences, together with experts in the fields of Biotech, Nanotech, and Climate Change for five intense days of lectures, seminars, and discussion (oh, and some hiking and beer of course – this is Missoula).

One of those students was Sierra, an extremely bright and charming young woman studying the effects of Climate Change on mussels around the world. She and I got to chat a bit at a gathering on the first day of the workshop and on the last day I offered to show her around Missoula’s fantastic farmer’s market the next morning. At one point along the way we bumped into a very friendly Obama volunteer who was so excited for Sierra’s planned trip to Glacier that he ended up telling us more about places to go and see than the upcoming election. It was then that I decided I need to see Glacier myself (having only been once before) and offered my services as chauffeur.

Sierra took me up on it and by midday we were in Glacier National Park. Yet that wasn’t before our Obama-man’s advice to drive up the Swan Valley paid off. On Swan Lake we happened across the annual Huckleberry Festival, a gathering of local artisans, musicians, and of course – huckleberry products of all kinds. We picked up some huckleberry fudge, skipped some rocks in the lake, and headed on down the road.

Once in the park, I could barely keep my eyes on the road, as one stunning vista after another greeted us at each turn.

It’s impossible to put into words the majesty and grandeur of this place, so I’ll just say you have to see it yourself one day. In fact, I’ve thought of little else than getting back as soon as possible ever since leaving.

Sierra and I had less than 48 hours to try to find the very best of the park, a daunting and unfortunate task indeed. Our first day was spent mostly in the car, driving the breadth of the Going to the Sun highway, from West Glacier to St. Mary and back. The drive was gorgeous; we could barely stay in the car for all of the amazing views that drew us out to be seen in person.

Around late afternoon dark clouds swirled in with amazing speed, consuming entire mountains in just minutes. Just east of Logan Pass they caught up with us, delivering a downpour nearly too thick to drive through. Surviving the torrents and reaching St. Mary, we turned back only to be greeted again by those same clouds, this time spitting down hailstones the size of quarters.

On day two the plan was for a long hike, a jaunt into the back country to escape the people and cars and take in the wilderness experience. Our goal was to climb all the way up and on to Sperry Glacier, a 10.1 mile one-way journey. Yet the amazing views and, even more so, our conversations on life and trees (Sierra knows far more about the trees around here than me, including the Latin names of most of them) slowed us down a good bit and we only made it about 6 miles in before deciding to make our way to the town of Hot Springs, MT, for a soak. We did get to pick huckleberries, share the trail with a young mule buck, and see some other great sites, so it certainly was time well spent.

Overall I can definitely say that 2 days is far too little to really take in Glacier National Park. My guess is that John Muir had it absolutely right when he said:

“Give a month at least to this precious reserve. The time will not be taken from the sum of your life. Instead of shortening, it will indefinitely lengthen it and make you truly immortal. Nevermore will time seem short or long, and cares will never again fall heavily on you, but gently and kindly as gifts from heaven.”
– John Muir, Our National Parks, 1901

Yet it was an adventure I won’t soon forget with company second to none. My plan? To get back, asap…