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Three-thirty in the morning came very quickly. The sun had
not yet risen over the land, but John and I were wrested from our deep sleep
by the loud, incessant beeping of the alarm clock. Though we were very tired
and moved quite slowly that morning, we were still ready to go by 5:00 a.m.
After dropping the key to the cabin at the office, we drove out of Apgar
Village and began our long journey to the Belly River Trailhead.
We figured that it would take us about two and a half hours to get to the
Belly River Trailhead via the Going to the Sun Road -- but it would take four
hours or longer to get there by taking the outer highways as we had done the
day before. Fortunately, since it was so early in the morning, there wasn't a
lot of traffic along the Going to the Sun Road, so we made very good time. We
also saw wildlife along the side of the road. There were hoary marmots at
Logan Pass, hopping through the snow as they looked for their breakfast. They
come out at that hour of the morning, because there aren't many crowds around
to bother them while they eat. Then, while passing through St. Mary's, we saw
a herd of elk in a meadow; there must have been thirty elk, all grazing in the
early morning sun, trying to get something to eat before the throngs of people
force them to take cover until evening.
We made two stops along the way to the trailhead. The first one was to get me
a cup of coffee, and the second was at the St. Mary's Visitor Center because
John wanted to get a wildlife checklist: a card containing a list of wildlife
that lives in Glacier National Park. He wanted to use that to keep track of
the animals we had seen in the park. In just two hours that morning, we had
already seen marmots and elk, and we weren't even in the backcountry yet!
We arrived at the Belly River Trailhead around 8:00 in the morning, and we
stepped onto the trail at roughly 8:30, leaving behind the comfort and luxury
of our cabin and carrying all of our supplies for the next three days in our
backpacks. My backpack seemed a bit heavier than usual when I put it on, and
for that reason, it was riding wrong on my hips, slowing me down. Then, after
I got used to the extra weight, I was able to increase my speed to match
John's.
Aside from the problems with my backpack, I found the
Belly River Trail to be
a rather easy one. The trail begins in a thick, cool forest and is flat for
about a quarter of a mile. Then, it begins an 800-foot descent to the Belly
River, over 1.5 miles. Upon reaching the bottom of the switchbacks, John made
the comment that it was going to be a "bitch" to climb out of there! I agreed
with him on that!
At the end of the switchbacks, the trail began to level out as we passed
through meadows of tall grass and wildflowers of every color. Every now and
then we encountered steep climbs up to ridge lines that paralleled the Belly
River. We also discovered that the trail had a slight uphill grade to it for
the most part. Of course, I didn't realize that the Belly River runs south to
north! Since we were hiking south the first day, we were hiking upstream,
which meant that we would be hiking uphill, too. (Fortunately, we didn't have
to hike in the water!) The grade, however, wasn't strenuous at all, and we
managed to hike at a rather quick pace -- so quick that we made it to camp
just before 11:00 a.m.!
After hiking 6.1 miles, we arrived at the Gable Creek Campground, which is
located within a quarter mile of the Belly River Ranger Station. A spur trail
off to the right led us into the campground, where we found the bear bagging
area and the communal food prep area. Another spur trail led to Gable Creek,
where we could filter water. A bit further down the main trail, we found four
campsites, one of which was already taken. We chose the third campsite, only
because it seemed to be the most secluded. At the end of the trail was the pit
toilet, a large wooden outhouse that was swarming with flies and smelled...
well, it smelled like a pit toilet!
Having chosen our campsite, we dropped our gear and began to set up camp. John
set up the tent, and I unloaded our day packs and refilled the camelback
bladders with water so that we would have enough for our day hike. Then, I
pulled our sleeping bags out of our backpacks and put them in the tent. John
pulled his bag out of his stuff sack and laid it down in the tent. I handed
him mine so that he could do the same for me, but he insisted that I do it
myself. And as I did so, out popped my wedding gift from him: a Thermarest!
One week before the wedding, he had sneaked it into the house under his
T-shirt, leaving me to ask, "Honey, what do you have?"
"Nothing. I don't remember."
We had agreed not to buy each other wedding gifts until after the wedding, so
I was quite surprise to find the Thermarest in my pack - but in the same
breath, I was quite happy, too, and I couldn't wait to try it out!
Once our camp was established and we had eaten lunch, John and I went for a
day hike to Elizabeth Lake, which was about three and a half miles south of
the campground along the same trail. Along the way, we saw some pretty amazing
things, like Dawn Mist Falls, a beautiful, hundred foot tall waterfall that
sprayed mist on us as we sat admiring it. We took a long break there and
listened to the water roar, watched it rush over the cliff as the late
afternoon sunlight shined on it, and we snapped picture after picture of it,
for it was our favorite waterfall.
At the end of our day hike was Elizabeth Lake, a huge lake at which there was
another campground, with campsites next to the lake. John and I cut through
the campground so that we could sit on the beach and relax. We took off our
hiking boots to let our feet rest. We even went wading in the lake, just to
see how cold the water was. Needless to say, we didn't stay in the water for
very long because it was probably about fifty degrees - too cold for me!
We sat by the lake for about fifteen minutes, skipping stones and watching for
wildlife. Then, once we were ready, we returned to camp, completing a thirteen
mile day, a tie for the longest distance covered in one day. (We had done
thirteen miles in the Hell's Gate Wilderness Area as well as in
Romero Pass,
but we had not yet hiked more than thirteen miles in one day.) Needless to
say, we were very tired, so we crawled into the tent and took a nap before
dinnertime.
Dinner was at 6:00 p.m., at which time we staggered over to the food prep area
and dropped our food bag from the bear-bagging poles. Our meal would consist
of canned meat and rice, applesauce, and pudding -- it doesn't sound like
much, but anything tastes delicious after a full day of hiking! While we were
preparing our meal, another couple joined us and began to do the same. Being
polite, we struck up a conversation with them and found that they, too, were
on their honeymoon! They told us that some people thought they were crazy for
doing a backcountry trip on their honeymoon. We said that we had gotten the
same reaction from people when we told them what our plans were. I guess some
people just don't understand the need for those like us to be in the outdoors.
After dinner, we spent some time trying to figure out what to do the next day.
Considering that it was only a 2.6 mile jaunt over to the Cosley Lake
Campground - a hike that would only take us an hour - we would still have the
whole day to explore the area. He had heard the park ranger say that Mokowanis
Lake was quite pretty, so we decided to make that our destination of the day -
and if we hiked the entire distance, that would make for a fourteen-mile day!
With several hours of daylight left (the sun sets at ten o'clock p.m. during
the summer in Montana), John suggested that we take a short walk to kill some
time - and to see if we could spot some wildlife! As we walked towards the
Belly River Ranger Station, it began to rain lightly on us - not enough to be
an annoyance, but just enough to chill us a little. It only rained for a few
minutes, but it was just enough to cool down the air.
Near the ranger station, there was a large enclosure for horses, next to which
there was a huge meadow. We walked along the fence line, looking out towards
the meadow to see if there were any deer or elk grazing, but the only animal
life we saw that evening were the horses and mules in the corral. They came
right up to the fence as though looking for attention, so we pet them. Then,
as we continued walking along the fence line, the horses followed us. When we
turned back to return to camp, the horses followed once more, and as we drew
away from the enclosure, they returned to the ranger station.
That evening, we were asleep before the sun set, ignoring our "first star"
rule. It was odd to be in bed before dark, even though it was almost ten
o'clock! Having spent an exhausting first day in the backcountry, I slept
quite peacefully that night, warm and snuggly in my sleeping bag, on the
comfort of my new Thermarest. What a way to spend a honeymoon!
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