Before we had our traditional black-eyed peas and cabbage for New Year’s dinner, we took a hike in Glacier. It was about 5 degrees, so we knew to bundle up like the Michelin Man.
E doing something with Mallory’s backpack.
It was a pretty busy afternoon near Fish Creek and as we headed out onto the trail, a group of gals was headed back to their car. I asked them if we needed our snowshoes. Three out of the 4 said “no” with the 4th one shrugging and saying that she kind of enjoyed the snowshoeing. Three out of the 4 of us left our snowshoes behind while E decided to carry hers.
David thought walking the road near the cabins along Lake McDonald would make our outing a bit more interesting. It did and we ran across this building that’s protected by the U.S. Government.
I wonder how old this thing is?
The sign said “This building is under the protection of the U.S. Government; destruction, injury, or theft is punishable by fine of up to $500 or imprisonment for 6 months, or both.
We kept walking.
The trail was packed as it often is due to frequent use by snowshoers and cross-country skiers. Here’s a picture of E and Mallory lagging behind. As you may recall, Mallory would prefer to do a page of long division than take a hike. That was a couple of years ago, I’ll have to ask her if that applies to Algebra too.
E and Mallory on Fish Creek Road.
We hiked over to the Fish Creek picnic area. This is where I started getting cold. Hiking in snow is akin to walking in sand; it can really work up a sweat. It wasn’t until we stopped that I noticed the temperature.
Sitting at a picnic table at Lake McDonald.
David didn’t want to walk back the way we came because he didn’t want to trudge uphill. He said the Camas Road route was flat, then downhill, and approximately the same distance.
That sounded good.
However, I became incredulous with each time I turned to look back. I looked down the hill, which meant I was walking up. To top it off, I kept post holing through the snow, even though the trail had been well packed before us.
Here I am throwing snow before I got the bad attitude.
It was a bit aggravating. I kept falling down. Mallory asked me why I seemed to have the most problem with it. That did the trick. I couldn’t go home with the reputation of being a whiny that couldn’t stand up. I changed my attitude and picked up the pace. It worked, but I still watched E get way ahead of us.
This is the downhill part.
Yes, when we got to the intersection, it was downhill the rest of the way. The hike was really no big deal but I think I should have taken my snowshoes instead of leaving them behind. We arrived back at the trail head no worse for wear.
Back at the Fish Creek parking lot.
It’s a tradition to get ice cream after a hike in Glacier, so we bought some dipped cones at Dairy Queen. Then, we went home to eat our black-eyed peas and cabbage.
Till next time,
Marlene
