Glacier National Park's Highline Trail Bonus Hike

 

Heidi was amped to hike. As I mentioned in my last post, she did not go with us on our Bowman-Kintla loop because of injury. She had trained her knee right into a stress fracture when preparing for her Mount Rainier summit attempt. (She got within a couple miles but then the weather said no. Ugh, she's had a tough year.) But after several weeks of rest, her doctor said she could hike three miles if they weren't too challenging.

Heidi had sent me info on the Highline Trail with a Google screenshot saying it was a PNT alternative route because we needed lots of substitute plans in case our walk up permits fell through. It's a 12 mile point to point, which was great because I was never going to get my last 40 miles in doing up and backs with only four full days to hike. (Being I can only count those miles one way towards my 500 mile goal.) 

See the cable for people with Acrophobia? You're not going far if you need it.

You can't always trust Google, because after doing the Highline I'm pretty certain it has nothing to do with the Pacific Northwest Trail. And that's fine, because we got the loop done. It may not have gotten me ALL the way to 40, but SO close at 35.8 miles. I suppose I could have walked 4.2 miles on the road that is still considered PNT miles to be completely official, but who in their right mind would choose a road and miss out on this...

Though we did almost miss out anyway. There's a new system at Glacier National Park that requires you to have a reservation to drive on the Going to the Sun road...the only way to said hike. But like all reservations in this extremely popular park, they are near impossible to get. SO lots of folks beat the system by going through the gate before 6 am when the reservations start. Us included.

Granite Park Chalet is right on trail! You can only hike to it.

Except because there is this surge of cars going up to Logan's Pass (which is the highest elevation you can drive to, has a massive visitor center and is also where the hike starts) the parking lot is guaranteed full at 7 am. So that means we needed to get there at 6:30, which means we needed to leave before sunrise at 5:30 and NO later.

Our morning selfie at Hole in the Wall camp. BRRRR

Janet uses a nalgene that says "BUT FIRST COFFEE" (above) and it is a motto she lives by. But this was a "drive first" day, so Janet was not a happy camper. Consequently, she was even grumpier when we asked if she could change a flat tire when we discovered that was our situation before even turning out of our KOA campground.

Janet gets er done! Plus I think she might make a great break dancer ;)

BUT SHE STEPPED UP! I wouldn't say Heidi and I are helpless women by any stretch...but this is not our realm. I really thought the day was shot, and I saw utter disappointment in Heidi's eyes. But because we had the extra time set aside for finding a parking spot, Heidi threw out our only hope option by saying "if one of you can change this tire in 30 minutes, we can still make it through the gate." 

Heidi IS a happy camper

Janet grumbled, "I can do it if one of you can figure out the jack," and then it was ON. We were like a NASCAR pit crew! I guarded the bolts like a mother hen until head surgeon Janet threw out her hand and ordered, "BOLT!" I'm pretty sure it was done in 15.

So we had enough time to make the gate, but not enough to find a parking spot. Thankfully we fit into an "unofficial" spot on the road, but I think they are really cracking down on that because we got a warning. Though even a ticket would have been worth seeing the light in Heidi's eyes as she got to hike her first few miles in weeks.

Time for Heidi (and little Sunni) to turn around :(

And a group shot of Rocky, Sammy and Sunni too

Poor Heidi did NOT want to stop hiking - we practically had to threaten to tell her doctor if she didn't turn around. So we took our group pic and she went back to get the car to drive down to the "Loop Trailhead" and wait for us. We were thankful for her, and sad for her, and also totally sure she'd be back to do it herself someday. I hope everyone reading this finds a friend like her. Happy "teamwork makes the dream work" trails!

To see video of this deer licking Janet's pack click here

My 500-ish Mile Trauma Bond with the PNT

I'm a hiking cheater. When I did my 500 miles on the Appalachian Trail I counted a few miles that were not exactly on trail...because I got lost. (Buy my book here!) So I'm saying "close enough" for my 500 miles on the Pacific Northwest Trail too.

This trail has been the most challenging yet (I've also done 500 on the PCT) not only because much of the PNT is a flippin' mess * but also because I did most of it in small chunks. SO much driving, so many miles hiked on other trails just to get to it, and many up and backs where I could only count half my miles. Therefore I know I did WAY more than 500 miles just to say I've completed my goal on official trail.

I really wanted to hike my final 40 mile section to the Eastern Terminus at the Canadian Port of Entry in Glacier National Park. I've seen the end at the Pacific Ocean...seemed like I should also see the beginning. But even with an airplane ride to the Glacier International Airport, there would still be a LOT of driving to get this done.

It made much more sense to do the Bowman-Kintla Loop. This utilizes the "red" line up to Brown Pass (main trail) then the "blue line" (alternative route) back down Boulder Pass. If you don't mind walking 12 road miles between trailheads this makes a loop, but we were lucky enough to have Heidi as our drop off/pick up driver. (Not lucky for her - she wasn't hiking with us because of an injury.)

Speaking of luck, you'll need a ton of it to get these permits; it's what the ranger explained to me as "very competitive" when I called to ask about it. And the most sought after spot - The Hole in the Wall - well, you can pretty much forget about it. 

But the thing is, even though the PNT has tried to kill me a couple times, it also loves me. We are trauma bonded. 

And so, I ended up getting my dream trip - INCLUDING my dream spot - and all I had to do was accept I'd be 4.2 miles shy of 500 miles. And for a cheater like me, that wasn't too hard to do.

Now just two more trails to hike 500-ish miles on for my "500 on 5 National Trails" goal. The itinerary for this trip is below as always. Happy "you can always round up" trails! ;)

*The Pacific Northwest Trail has only been a National Scenic Trail since 2009, so it does not have the notoriety or the funds and support that the other long distance hikes have. I did donate $500 to the trail in celebration of my goal (maybe I should have made it $496 haha) and if you would like to give something as well - or just find out more about it - you can do so here.

 TRAIL LOG:

Day One: Zero miles. We did have a permit for Kintla Lake and had planned on hiking 6 miles this day, but that didn't happen. I had five different itineraries written up because we needed options knowing we didn't have all the permits we needed and therefore had to fill in with walk ups. The ranger lady...let's just say she was not thrilled with us.  "You don't know what we have going on here, do you?" That was the second time I had a ranger say that exact thing to me. (Story here) But anyway, no...we did not know that the following night 3-6 inches of snow were expected in the higher elevations. After pleading my "I just need 40 more miles" case, she softened and figured a way for us to hike the loop without the use of any of our hard fought for online permits.  But she really grilled us - "You'll have to camp at Hawksbill, which will give you close to 14 miles to get to the only available spot the next day. And you will have to go over two passes. Are you in that kind of shape?" Heidi chimed in "Oh yes, they do stuff like that all the time!" while Janet and I gave each other the side eye. Ugh...yes we could do it, but it would be hell. "Do you have micro spikes?" the ranger quizzed some more. More side eye. The ranger relented and issued us our permits when we promised to buy some.

We did have our bear spray!

Then we had to watch the video about bear safety where we were informed that, "when the bear starts to eat you, fight back." (I'm not kidding. We all laughed, which I'm sure just made the ranger lady even madder.) Now it was time to drive an hour away to buy our micro spikes, then the hour back - but at least we didn't have to hike that day. We just had to deal with a little rain the next day is all, right?

Who doesn't want to wake up to a slug on their shoe?

 

Day Two: 7 miles from the Bowman Campground to Head Bowman Lake Camp. This only has about 200 feet elevation, so we got er done FAST. Good thing, because it was POURING. We threw our tents up and got in them ASAP to get dry stuff on and try to warm up. And that's where we stayed...for 17 hours straight. (video) No, we didn't hang our food. Anyone who wants to yell at us can kiss my ass. Hypothermia was a greater concern, as we could not afford to get our only dry clothes wet. We agreed that if it was raining in the morning, we would turn around. But I believed that even with this rough start, the PNT was still on my side. 

Sun is coming out! Hurry and dry out the stuff!

Day Three: 8 miles to Hole in the Wall with close to 3K elevation. How did we get the elusive permit you ask? Well, because of the foot of snow up there! We passed a group retreating because of the horrible night they had, and when they informed us they were supposed to stay at Hole in the Wall that night we asked, "Ummmm...you think we can have that?" Score!! Not only did we get the optimal spot, but we avoided the extra 4 miles and near thousand feet of gain that would have been added to the next day. I told you the trail loves me! 

Give me!! Haha, it was soaking wet!

 

Day Four: 9 miles to Upper Kintla Lake. The snow was pretty much melted from Hole in the Wall Camp, but we were nervous about the high traverse above the basin where we could see some snow still hanging on. (video) Even with our spikes, we thought we might have to turn around. But thankfully we were looking at it wrong, and the big snow fields were not part of the trail, so we were golden.

We stopped at Boulder Camp for lunch before heading down the final brushy miles. (The PNT will always have a blow down waiting for you!)

Boulder Camp's famous toilet - learn about Sammy here

Day Five: 11.8 miles to Kintla Lake Campground. I knew Heidi would be waiting for us, but I didn't know she had a surprise planned. (video) Not only do I have a trail that loves me, I have friends that love me too. I think I may be the luckiest girl alive.

I sure love these gals!!