Day 137- It Won’t Be Long Now

Wednesday August 29, 2018

Ranger Station(2884.7) to East Glacier(2914.9) 

30.2 miles 

Total Miles: 2601.1 

Elevation: 4,826 ft

Sleeping on the front porch of the ranger cabin last night felt a lot like sleeping in an Appalachian Trail shelter. I even hung my food from a nail above where I slept. I heard every snore, sneeze, and fart. Despite all of the body noises I slept well. I didn’t wake up until 5:45. It was pretty chilly again and nobody else was moving so I went back to sleep for a little bit. I contemplated making hot coffee, but in the end I was too lazy. I’m constantly amazed by how lazy I can be everyday while still walking fourteen hours. Everyone was moving slow. We didn’t get out of camp until after seven o’clock. We hiked together at first, but I lost Straws and Piñata at some point. Z was having problems with his Achilles’ tendon and was taking it slow. I ended up hiking by myself for almost fifteen miles. It has been a while since I have hiked by myself for so long. I really enjoyed it. Today warmed up nicely, it was perfect hiking weather. There was just enough of a chill in the air that you had to keep up a brisk pace to stay warm. 

Ranger cabin 

Stream crossing to start the day, but kept my feet dry 

Halfway through the day I hiked past a campground. I decided that would be a good spot to take a break, eat lunch, and wait for the others to catch up. I thought that they were right behind me, but after waiting for an hour I decided to hike on. I was worried that they had gotten ahead of me somehow. Before I left I took full advantage of the privy and water pump. As soon as I finished everyone showed up. They had gotten slowed down by all of the thimbleberry and huckleberry bushes we hiked past. I also had lost some time picking berries. In hopes of leaving the campground faster I volunteered to get water for everyone. When I got back Enigma had shown up. Looks like we will have a good group at the finish. My lunch break had turned into a two hour break and I was anxious to get going. We had another fifteen miles to go before hitting town. I didn’t want to get into really late. 

Overgrown wet bushwhack for most of the day

Eagle or hawk in the tree 

Finally a good view

We knocked out those fifteen miles pretty quickly. Just before reaching town I got cell service. I made a reservation for us at a local motel in East Glacier. It was the last room in the entire town. I forgot that Labor Day was upon us. Hopefully that won’t affect or camping inside the park. Once we made it to town we dropped our packs at the motel and went for dinner. As usual we all ate a ton of food. I had a chili cheese burger, a polish hotdog with sauerkraut, and fries. I even managed to save room for ice cream. I’m going to miss being able to eat whatever I want. When I was a little kid my uncle told me a joke. It is a miracle that I can remember it after all of these years. I usually can’t remember a joke after a few minutes. What did the monkey say when he got his tail stuck in a lawn mower? It won’t be long now! The end is in sight and I’m looking forward to finishing off this journey. 

Bushwhack kind of day 

"Those who want to reap the benefits of this great nation must bear the fatigue of supporting it."

- Thomas Paine