Many Glacier weekend

©2012 Lydia Hinshaw 

Many Glacier Hotel

The Prince hikes toward Ptarmigan Tunnel

Termination dust

 MANY GLACIER, MT -- On our most recent days off, Prince Charming and I went camping in the Many Glacier Valley.  I worked here in the summer of 2005, and it is still my favorite part of my favorite park.

 The ancient Many Glacier Hotel, built in 1914-15, is quite a large building, four stories plus a basement level, with 208 guest rooms, a large restaurant, a giant atrium lobby and a fireplace with more square footage than we're living in this summer.  Nevertheless, it looks miniature against it's mountainous backdrop.

 We did a 10.5 mile hike on our second day in the valley.  This reassured me that I can still hike that far, but also reminded me that one of my knees is going to scream "stop this!"every time I go downhill for more than a few hundred yards.

 Our hike was to Ptarmigan Tunnel, a place I'd hiked to twice in 2005 with no knee pain. That's what happens when you get to be seven years older, I suppose.

 The second picture shows the Prince in the latter stages of the uphill, with the large patches of snow that remain here, even in August.  That's Ptarmigan Lake in the background.  (A ptarmigan, for those who don't know, is a grouse-like bird that pees silently.  Get it?)

 The weather had looked iffy when the day began, but we made it through all but 40 minutes of our six-hour hike before it started to rain.  We had time to get showers and something to eat before it really started trying to drown us. We spent the rest of the evening huddled up in the Magic Bus.

 On our last morning, the rain had left us, but when we looked up at the mountains, we saw a lacy white pattern on the higher peaks, the ones that had not yet felt the sun.

 This was fresh snow.  In Alaska, when you see this "termination dust,"   you know you're being warned to start packing, because it will soon be time to head south.

 Hard to believe with the heat wave we've been having, but our summer here will be over in about three weeks.