Mark and Mary have saved us yet again. When we weren’t sure if we’d be able to get our resupply box here in Many Glacier (the guy we sent it to might not have returned from his grandmother’s funeral), we asked Mark and Mary if they would be able to help. Because they are awesome, Mark and Mary made their way to the Many Glacier campground with some food for us so we could make it to the border without starving. Knowing they were waiting for us, we had planned to start hiking early so we could get there as soon as possible.
We woke up early, but it was so cold that we decided to stay in the tent a little longer. By the time we got out of the tent and made our way to the food prep area for coffee and breakfast, it was 8am. John was there and it was great chatting with him - he gave us some great intel about Many Glacier. Just after John left, Woodpecker and G-String walked up!!!!! I was so happy. They had gotten to camp late last night and, even though they saw our tent, didn’t want to disturb us. It was amazing to see them again!!!
The four of us left camp around 9am, later than we intended but hey, it was another short day. Plus, we only had one pass to go up and over, Piegan Pass. There was a lot of uphill but that didn’t matter at all.
It. Was. Beautiful.
It was so beautiful, we all took a break at the top to enjoy the view.
The way down was graded well, so it was also enjoyable (for once).
Once we got to the bottom (for once I wasn’t too far behind Nick!) we decided to take a trail that ran parallel to the CDT. It was longer but, as it was more frequently traveled, it wasn’t overgrown like the official CDT. We made fast time to Many Glacier and hiked together the whole way (although I was practically running to keep up with Nick for the last mile because I kept stopping to take pictures).
Before going to the campground in Many Glacier, we stopped at the lodge to see if we could perhaps use their Wi-Fi so we could complete and send in our Canada entry forms via the ArriveCAN app, which can’t be done earlier than 72 hours prior to entry (so we couldn’t do it when we were in East Glacier). The lodge had closed yesterday, but we hoped we could find an employee who could help us out. There was definitely Wi-Fi, we just needed the login info.
The employee we talked to at the lodge told us there wasn’t anything he could do. He seemed a bit annoyed that we even asked, which I totally understood as I’m sure he is pretty sick of tourists not understanding what “the lodge is closed” means. I figured we’d just have to borrow Mark and Mary’s truck to drive out of the park until we found service. Not ideal but it would work.
Happily, we didn’t have to go that route. While talking with John this morning, he had mentioned there was employee housing near the lodge that we should look for. When we walked by the building we were pretty sure was it, we saw a young guy outside, smoking. He looked like the type of person who would be willing to help, so we asked him if he was an employee and if he knew how we could access the Wi-Fi. He was more than willing to help and gave us his employee login so we could take care of the forms. We submitted everything and are now officially able to enter Canada on the 17th. :)
When we made it to the campground, we decided to go past the backcountry campsite first since we weren’t sure where Mark and Mary were. I wasn’t at all surprised when I saw Mary there (I figured she would be anxiously waiting for our arrival), but I WAS surprised to see she was talking to Nature and Mr. Fabulous, two more of my favorites. It was amazing to see them (and Mary, of course, but I knew she was going to be here - I didn’t think I’d get to see Nature and Mr. Fabulous again). I chatted with Nature and Mr. Fabulous for a while, just catching up.
Nature, me, and Mr. Fabulous
When I finally made it to Mark and Mary’s campsite, Mary promptly served me homemade chili and cornbread. She is amazing. She told me that Mishap stopped by to see them yesterday, which added to my happiness. (We told Mishap to find them and say hello when we saw her in Two Medicine).
Just after we polished off all the chili, Woodpecker and G-String stopped by to say hello/goodbye. They had had issues with their permitting (so many people do that I’m still amazed we didn’t) and finally got it all sorted out, so they were in good spirits. We all hung out, talking and having a great time. We hooked them up with some extra snacks just to be sure they had enough food to get them through and we gave G-String use of my Bivy so he could text his parents their exit strategy. I’m so happy we got to hang out with them again!
I gave G-String and Woodpecker some figures because they are awesome
It was another great day in Glacier - it’s been nice to spend time with so many of our favorite people (Mark and Mary top this list).
Along the trail:
Camp:
