Gut Check - The Warrior Dash

I can't think of a better way to prove that we are prepared for Glacier than by competing in the Warrior Dash!  The Warrior Dash is an extreme 5-6K running race with obstacles, including jumping over fire and crawling through mud with barbed wire hung overhead.   It consists of at least 12 obstacles followed by a festival complete with live music, turkey legs and beer steins!  This years dash will be held at beautiful Afton Alps ski area - Bring on the Hills!!
www.warriordash.com/register2012_minnesota.php#

The Route has Been Finalized

The group got together last weekend and agreed on the final route we are going to take through Glacier.  There was compromise such that we will have a down day half-way through through the trip so that part of the group can try their luck at trout fishing on Gunsight or St. Mary lakes and the rest of the group can attempt a summit of Mt. Jackson.

Chad pulled together some awesome maps of each day of the hike.  There are some pretty impressive distances and elevation gains. I'm confident that with the appropriate amount of preparation and training that the group will be just fine.

Day 1 - Two Medicine to Morning Star Lake Camp (11.5 miles)



Day 2 - Morning Star Camp to Red Eagle Lake Head Camp (13 miles)

Day 3 - Red Eagle Lake Head Camp to Reynolds Creek Camp (13/18 miles)

Depending on the split of the group for summiting Mt. Jackson and fishing, we may make this an 18 mile day to get us all the way to Gunsight Lake Camp.

Day 4 - Reynolds Creek Camp to Summit Mt. Jackson (8/18 miles roundtrip)

If the group makes it to Gunsight Lake Camp on day 3 then this will only be an 8 mile roundtrip.

Here is what the approach to the Mt. Jackson summit will look like.

Day 5 - Reynolds Creek Camp to Granite Park Camp (14/19 miles)

When we break of the Going to the Sun Road we will be at Logan Pass, hopefully this winter is a bit kinder than last.  Here are some pictures of mid-July last year at the Logan Pass Visitor Center as publised by the NPS. When we leave Logan Pass we will be on the Highline Trail.  Hopefully no one is afraid of heights!

Day 6 - Granite Park Camp to Many Glacier (8 miles)

Trip Planning Meeting

We had our first formal group meeting today to discuss the proposed trip to Glacier National Park.  Tim, Ben, Chad, Justin, John, Cody, and I all met at Tim's house to discuss the trip.

Bushwhacking over Mt. Jackson (10,052ft)

Part of the Shuttle Run Trail will involve bushwhacking along the Continental Divide from Triple Divide Pass to Hidden Lake. 

One of the obstacles that stands in the way is Mt. Jackson (10,052ft), the 4th highest peak in the park.

Mt. Jackson

These video and picture links help put Mt. Jackson into perspective.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRKKrYc_Ivc
http://enjoyyourparks.com/GlacierParkMountJackson.html

In addition to Mt. Jackson we will have to ridge run Triple Divide Peak (8,020ft), Mount Logan (9,239ft), Gunsight Mountain (9,258ft), and Reynolds Mtn (9,125ft).  I understand that the western views from atop the ridge are unbelievable.

Mt. Jackson and Mt. Logan

Shuttle Run Trail - The East Side Shuttle

According to their website, the East Side Shuttle, operated by Glacier Park Inc., should be up and running by June 8th, thus allowing us to plan a one-way trek through the park.

By backpacking from East Glacier to Many Glacier we will be able to utilize the East Side Shuttle and hike the Continental Divide Trail. While researching the trail I noticed some discrepancies between the published maps (National Geographic Two Medicine Glacier National Park Map, National Park Service Map) and software with respect to the actual location of the Continental Divide Trail. I learned that there are actually 2 trails, the "Designated" route and the "CDTS" route.  According to the Continental Divide Trail Society, the Designated route is the location of the trail that has been selected by the Forest Service, the Park Service, and the Bureau of Land Management which follows the geographic Continental Divide as closely as feasible.  The CDTS is a separate route which, "often goes its own way in order to take a  route with greater scenic, wildlife, or historic  interest; avoid roads, especially high-standard ones; provide better access to water; eliminate sections that are unnecessarily circuitous; and use reasonable grades and avoid pointless ups-and-downs."

By following the highlighted route we will be able to leverage the shuttle service and hike both the Designated and CDTS trails, although the logistics of camping on the Designated trail still need to be worked out.

There is some amazing terrain that we are going to be right in the heart of.  I think that in addition to my lofty weight loss goal (<200 lbs by the time we leave) I shall take on a regimented strength training and flexability program.

The Wolf Pack

I mentioned the idea of this adventure to some of my hiking buddies (Ben, Tim, Chad, and John) whom I hiked the Superior Hiking Trail with last year and they seem very interested.  This changes things a bit, if there is a group going then it would no longer be finacially adventagous to take the Amtrak.  If a vehicle(s) will be taken then the trail plan needs to be modified to work around getting to and from a vehicle.  There seems to be three options that work in this situation:

1.  Hike out and back.  This works just like it sounds, park the car at a trail head and hike out and back.  I'm not a big fan of seeing the same trail twice, in my experience once you've tackled the hardships of certain sections of a trail you don't want to see them again (e.g. The first few miles of trail just north of the Castle Danger trail head on the SHT in mid-May).

2.  Hike a loop.  This is similar to hiking out and back, except you plan a route that takes you in a big circle.  This is an option worth looking into.

3.  Drop the vehicle.  This is my preferred method of hiking because you hike through from one point to the other.  There are a couple of drawbacks though:  A.  You have to be able to get from where you drop your vehicle back to where you are starting your journey.  If there is a shuttle then you are in good shape, otherwise you could use a taxi service or outfitter if they are available, or even stash a bike at the end and use that to take you back to your car (We did this in the BWCA and it sucked, the last thing you want to do after spending a grueling week in the backcountry is hop on a 10 spped and ride dirt roads in the rain for 30 miles to get back to your car).  B.  You have to finish.  There are no short cuts, once you're on the trail you have to make it all the way out, phoning a friend for an "emergency" evacuation in Glacier isn't an option and it is probably not a good idea to break your own leg so that the rangers will come get you out.

Glacier has a free shuttle that runs along the Going Into the Sun Road, so we could plan a route that skips along the road and use the shuttle to get back to the vehicle.  A quick look at the map leaves me a bit discouraged about that plan, not only is there only one real option for a trail to take which runs along the road, but it seems to be the most heavily visted area of the park and one thing you don't want ot see when you're backpacking (Besides bears and John rubbing his nipples) is overwieght annoying tourists running around in sandles and Hawaiian shirts.

There is also a pay shuttle that runs up and down the east side of the park, this looks like the best option for us.  We can drop our gear ar the start and then run the car up to the exit point and take the shuttle back.  Ben and I did that last fall on the SHT and it worked out great, except we waited for the shuttle for quite a while and Ben's car battery was dead when we got to it on Sunday night.