5/15/03

In an instant... the trip to Glacier National Park was out. The Boys had a sucking, black hole in their summer plans. The Big Wazoo of a trip... the 50 miles in 6 days... the grizzlys, once feared, were no longer a threat... the hotel overlooking the summit at Many Glaciers... gone. Finito. It all ended with a two lined response from the Backcountry Permit Office at Glacier.

The Knee, who worked so hard to make the trip a reality, was throbbing with anger, seething with resentment, and shuttering in disbelief. He had worked so hard. The Knee felt betrayed by his new found friend, Ranger Rick, at the Glacier Permit Office. The ranger, who was engaging and quite personable when assisting The Knee during several phone calls, seemed to be (according to the Knee) promising the likelihood of a permit. "After all," reported the Knee at one point, "He's from Jersey, too!"

From out of the blue, the hoopla and energy about backpacking in Glacier dissipated into thin air. Chef DeBoot Blister unplugged his food dehydrator and went to bed... for 2 weeks. The Knee resumed psychotherapy... three times a week. RB One Kenobi (Jedi Knight), experiencing severe and multidimensional exhaustion from 75 hours of accumulated jet-lag from flying back and forth between Phoenix and DC, was oblivious for weeks (despite 100 e-mails on the topic) to the fact that Glacier was out. AXE, who secretly admitted to "g" he was relieved to not be hiking "50 freakin' miles", wondered what he would do with all of his new, ultra-light gear specifically chosen for Glacier. No one heard a word from The Hat, and that could not be good! Gotta Hug A Grizzly Larry was so distraught he snuck into High Altitude's home and smashed his new bear-proof food canister in protest. Satellite Don, who had been bragging for months about jogging 3 miles a day on his treadmill (while carrying a 55-lb pack) in preparation for Glacier, dismantled his treadmill and buried it in the backyard.

Now what.

5/5/03
An e-mail from The Hat to the Boys

OK, Glacier Guys, just when you were feeling down... Warren, your backpacking therapist, has been working on making it all better.

I just got off the phone with Dale at Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) and he has booked us for 4 nights and 5 days on the loop that I was researching last fall. He described this hike as the premier loop in the park and it will consist of hiking-in via the North Inlet Trail (7.6 miles) to the first campsite where we will spend 2 nights. This will allow us a potential day hike on day-2, to beautiful Lake Nanita (just a couple of miles) or (alternatively for the elevation challenge) to the 12,324 foot Ptarmagin Mountain. On the third day we travel across a plateau on the Continental Divide for 9 miles (with several miles of travel at approx. 12,000 feet) while enjoying spectacular views of the high peaks on our way to the next campsite. Our fourth night is spent at a campsite fairly close to the third. The short backpacking hike allows for a same-day, day hike up the Haynach Valley. On day-5, we return to Grand Lake via the Tonahutu Creek Trail.

This trip will combine three days of pretty strenuous backpacking with 2 days of either rest or varying degrees of strenuous day hiking. This hike would mirror the Grand Teton trip in terms of having two nights in motels before hiking on day-1, and one night after exiting the hike. We would have to rent a big van and the total travel time from Denver to the trailhead would be approximately 4 hours - though 2 of them would be driving through the park on the highest through road in the country, Trail Ridge Road - an unbelievable experience all in itself.

OK, I saved the bad news for last. The cutoff at RMNP for groups is 7 (we had 8 scheduled for Glacier) because there are no group sites available. To do this trip, someone will have to volunteer be an alternate in case someone backs out.

We have the reservation at no cost until we pick it up. Although there's no big rush to make a decision about RMNP, there is pressure to purchase air tickets because fares are only going up and hotel reservations could become scarce (there is a spectacular lodge at Grand Lake - Grand Lake Lodge). The total trip would depart on Tuesday August 19 and return on Tuesday August 26th with backpacking from the 21st through the 24th.

Your thoughts,

Warren

The Boys were back in hiking shoes...