“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
Henry David Thoreau
Introduction
This series of essays is an ‘after action report’ of sorts. It details the good, bad, and ugly of the gear I used. Furthermore, I’ll talk about the mistakes I made and the lessons I learned on my recent trip to the Bridger Wilderness and Glacier National Park. I’m choosing to follow Collin Fletcher and Chip Rawlins’ outline of The Complete Walker IV. But before I take you deep into those weeds, I should describe the trip itself. That information informed my decisions and mistakes.
“The Winds”
The Bridger Wilderness is part of the Bridger-Teton National Forest. It lies on the east side of the Continental Divide, demarcated by the Wind River Range. I met Ken, Arlyn, and Greg in Pinedale, WY. Jason met us in our first camp the next morning.
I went to academy with Ken and Jason. Arlyn — a detective in upstate New York — is Ken’s cousin. Greg, who also works for the Park Service, is a friend and former co-worker of Ken. We’ll hear more from them later.
Our longest day was just over 8 miles. The shortest less than two. (This was to move our camp to lower elevation in case the pending storm brought snow.) The trailhead is at about 9,000′ above MSL. Day one had us camping above 10,000′ and for the rest of the trip we were above that until the final day’s hike out. Knapsack Col, which we crossed on day three, is 12,380′ MSL.
Temperatures ranged from highs in the low to mid 70’s to lows in the mid 40’s. Thunderstorms, bringing lightning, rain, even hail in the late afternoon and evening, is always a possibility. It was ‘mostly sunny/partly cloudy’ except for day one and six when it rained. First lesson learned is wear sun protection as a rule and have it available to reapply. (More about that later.)
Last note about the area that should effect decisions is this is bear country. Both black bear and grizzlies roam here. That said, all we saw was a bull moose, a badger, pika, osprey, and a long tailed weasel.
Glacier National Park
My trip to Glacier National Park was much more mellow. There I met my friend Alison in Saint Marys. We had dinner with her retired Park Service friends Dick and Ursula. After dinner we drove to East Glacier Park and spent the night in the seasonal dormitory.
We spent the next day in Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada, after being detained at the border. (Funny story for another time.) Another night in the dorms, and then we visited several front country favorites of Alison’s. Late that day we drove back north — nearly again to the boarder — to the Belly River trailhead.
From there we hiked an easy 6.3 miles to the Belly River Ranger Station cabin(s). Alison patrolled and I hiked and fished for the next two days. I hiked out solo on the fourth day. Then, via the ‘Going to the Sun Road,’ drove west. I eventually meet my wife and friends on Whidby and Bainbridge Islands in the Puget Sound, Washington.
Since I was staying in a ranger cabin, pack weight was very low but there is still some information to gleaned. There I used a different pack. See full details in ‘chapter 2.’
I ended up driving a total of 3,574 miles over eleven days.
The Trip Numbers
8/20: drive to Elko, NV
8/21: drive to Pinedale, WY
8/22: 6.14 miles from the Elkhart/Trails End trailhead to Barbara Lake (about a half mile shy of our target, Hobbs Lake)
8/23: 8.59 miles to Titcomb Lakes (we camped between #3 & 4) beneath Fremont Peak
8/24: 5.18 miles up and over Knapsack Col
8/25: 1.66 miles dropping roughly 1,000′ elevation, just above Peak Lake (late afternoon hail, and then rain, and then rock fall off Cube Rock)
8/26: 5.56 miles over Shannon Pass back to and then south on the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail to Lower Jean Lake
8/27: 7-8 miles estimated (more details later, but my watch was dead until I could charge it at lunch)
8/28: 6.83 miles back to Elkhart/Trails End trailhead
8/29: drive to Bozeman, MT
8/30: drive to East Glacier, MT
8/31: short hike to the top of Bear Hump in Waterton Lakes National Park, Canada
9/1: less than 3 miles in Glacier National Park front country, and then 6.3 miles into the Belly River Ranger Cabin
9/2: hike and fish
9/3: hike and fish
9/4: hike 6.3 miles out to the Belly River trailhead; drive to Spokane, WA (where I shared an elevator with Bonnie Rait!)
9/5: Drive to Whidby Island and met Kathleen and friends
9/6-8: Enjoyed ‘island life’ and a little bit of the city — Canon, in Seattle, WA (huge thanks and love to Nettie, and Carrie and Kurt for hosting us)
9/9-10: Drove home.
The Rest of the Story
- Introduction — Debriefing the Odyssey
- Foundations – what was on my feet?
- Walls – which pack did I use?
- Kitchen – what did I eat and how?
- Bedroom – my tent and sleep system
- Closet – clothing
- Furniture & Appliances – all the other stuff
