Glacier NP Hiking

Well, this isn't going exactly as planned............  I was feeling kind of crappy all of last week before hopping in the car to head south.  I had put in a pretty busy 10 days with 4 big hikes and 3 substantial bike rides in some sweltering heat.  I figured it was just a bit of heat exhaustion.  But - things have deteriorated a bit and (at the risk of TMI) I'm hanging pretty close to the bathroom in a hotel room in East Glacier Park rather than exploring the nearby hiking trails.  The upside of that is, though, that I get to watch at least a few hours of Olympic coverage.  

I drove south on July 26th and managed to get in a short bike ride on Going to the Sun Road before having to carry on in order to be to East Glacier for happy hour at five.



I had committed to leading one of the hikes yesterday, so I popped an Imodium tablet out of my first aid kit and carried on.  Although it had expired in 2015, it was my bet bet.........  It seemed to do the trick, although I was devoid of energy.  Nice hike, though, to Cobalt Lake from Two Medicine Lake.

Two Medicine Lake

Aster Falls

Rockwell Falls


Cobalt Lake



Sadly, I've decided to skip the last two days of hiking and hope that my system bounces back and is ready for a long hot month on the bike in just a few days' time.  My drive from East Glacier Park MT to Bend OR is about 12 hours.  I was going to do that in one push on Tuesday, but instead will break it into two days.  

First day - Monday - uneventful drive to Spokane.  I did run out of downloaded podcasts at some point, though, so I had to resort to my old-school form of entertainment in the US.  Right-wing talk radio.  Good thing I didn't have to listen to it for too long!  OMG - with the election coming up the vitriol was almost unbelievable!  I do value the insight, though, into where the thinking is at for that significant portion of Americans.  And in Idaho and eastern Washington I would guess that they are the majority of the population.  Even the ads are depressing - thieves and violent offenders are everywhere ready to attack you; be prepared for defending your property and family; options for various weapons of self-defence, etc., etc.  I'm staying just outside of Spokane tonight, and while I know it's not a great part of town, it is truly depressing to listen to the locals and experience the "service" and food on offer.  Oh well - on my way tomorrow.  

Second day - Tuesday - uneventful drive to Bend, OR.  All I can say is thank goodness for podcasts....  The drive through the Columbia Gorge was particularly spectacular, and we'll get to ride through parts of it again shortly.  After arrival in Bend, though, the day went sideways.  The plan was that I would stay with Carol & Lise for the night and tomorrow Carol would drive Lise & I to Troutdale (just outside Portland) to start the ride.  I would leave my car in Bend and return for a few days of visiting after the ride when Carol picked us up.  Just as I arrived, Lise was leaving on her bike to get a haircut.  All went well until we got a phone call from Lise from the back of an ambulance after having been hit by a car.  Oh no!  The bottom line was that Lise had a broken clavicle as well as multiple contusions and abrasions.  After getting thoroughly checked out, she was released in the evening.  Lots of things for Carol and Lise to attend to tomorrow, including getting in to see an orthopod to get the broken bone addressed.  The bad news is that Lise will have to cancel out of the ride; the good news is that her injuries could have been so much worse.  The cause - an inattentive driver who didn't see her despite the fact that he was passing her as he made the fateful right-hand turn into a convenience store.  

So - while they were still willing to honour their offer to drive me to Troutdale, if I could find some other way to get to the start line that would be a preferred solution.  Well - it turns out that another rider from Bend has a place in Portland and her husband will be driving her from there to Troutdale.  Carol talked with her and it looks like she (Mary) will be willing to let me leave my car in Portland and have me squeeze in for the ride to Troutdale.  Let's see how that works.........    



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