day 11 - Glacier - canoeing

Tuesday June 13 - Day 11 of trip – Glacier National Park

Last night, I spent time at the RV campground so I could “upload” the blog. They had game 5 of the Warriors/Cavs game on a big screen TV. That was the first time I’d seen a TV screen since the trip began. It felt kinda weird to be entertained by the TV again.  I genuinely haven’t missed it.  

I used to think the scariest thing to encounter in the woods was a momma bear with cubs and me in the middle.  I now know that’s not the case. More on this later. 

Today, we plan to reenact the river run Travis and I did with Matt and Erik two years ago. It was the best trout fishing I’ve ever had in my life.  Process was simple.  Float about 4.5 miles of river, stopping periodically to fish deep spots in the river. Unfortunately, the snowmelt + local rain has the river WAAAY higher than it was two years ago (August vs June issue here).  Still, it should be a good river run.  J

In order to roust Amanda from bed this morning the following had to be promised:

·         She could “run the river” – (Middle Fork of the Flathead River), that wasn’t good enough

·         This river was “more sporty” than the Snake River was last week, that wasn’t good enough.

·         That there would be Indians on one shore shooting arrows at us, that wasn’t enough

·         That she could fish, while Travis and I did all paddling, that wasn’t enough

·         That there would be unicorns along the other shoreline, that wasn’t enough

·         That the city of West Glacier was going to set the river on fire. That did it.

And so it was that the three of us found our way to the drop off point. It was just starting to rain. Deanna expressed concern and said the whole thing made her uncomfortable.  “Fear not, woman!” I boldly said, explaining that I’d done this same run just two years prior, and thoroughly knew the run.  Indeed, it was a great time, and something the children would remember for years. Good times were just ahead.  We loaded our gear, and told mom we’d be at the pickup spot no later than 11am. It was only 9:15am when we pushed offshore.  The river was indeed rolling well. By my revised estimation, we’d be there at 10am.  Momma would be pleased and relieved to see us early!  J

I’m watching my GPS closely, so not to miss the creek we have to divert “up”.  Once I see that we’re getting “even” with the pullout spot, I start watching the western shoreline for the creek, and eventually spot it.  We pull over and into the creek, only to discover that it’s DRY!  The whole thing is silted in! and we’re half a mile from the truck.  Argh. So I leave the canoe hoping to find a section of the creek that still has water in it. So we start through the woods to find the clearest way to the truck. Eventually, I hit a creek, which I’d be happy to follow, but it looks like the creek is running the wrong way, so clearly not the water I’m looking for. Dangit!

The woods are quite thick, and I’m having to lead the way through this stuff, in a downpour.  Good news is, I have plenty of time.  Still only about 10:15am.  J  I give up hoping to bring the canoe with us on this trip, and I “settle” for getting the cubs back to momma bear before 11am.

More bushwacking, and I hit private property. Dang.  Not great, but I have to cross it to get to the truck. By now, it’s 11am.  Momma’s transitioned from paranoid to full on worried, with distressed, upset, and pissed shortly to follow in quick succession.  Eventually, we come to the train track, which runs the way to the truck. This also confirms my fears that we pulled out BEFORE the creek we needed.  We have to cross a shallow creek to get to it, but we make it okay. Now 11:15am and still half a mile from the truck. Approaching the truck I see the FAST MOVING AND VERY MUCH THERE creek we needed to find an hour ago.  The train track takes us over the creek, but I’m not sure how badly I want to cross it, because at 11:30am, we reach the truck only to encounter the most feared item in the woods.  Nope, it’s not a momma bear with cubs.  It’s Momma White WITHOUT her cubs. In the rain, in the woods, in grizzly country, on a river’s edge, in a red dodge pickup.  It’s raining outside, but the truck window is cracked, to let the smoke tendrils (emanating from her ears) depart the cab.

After 10 minutes of “I’m sorrys” and “I was worrieds”, Travis and I start bushwacking back to the canoe. By 12:30pm we’re back at the truck. Deanna has transitioned from “I was worried” to “I’ve been here 3 hours”, followed by the worst sign…… silence. Small talk on my part was not returned, and I followed his lead when Travis (in his momma wisdom) just shook his head sideways with that look that says “You’re in deep, stop digging”.

Looks like I’m taking the family out for an expensive dessert tonight. They will have iced cream and huckleberry pie. I’ll still be chewing on this crow……