Leftovers

I never wrote much about my recent trip to Glacier. In the absence of anything else of substance...here you go. 

The above photo is perhaps the lamest summit photo I've ever taken. I'm on top of Elk Mountain in the southwest portion of the park. You don't hear much about Elk Mountain. I've never seen any description of it in any trail books. You can see the trail on a topo map but good luck trying to find out any other information about it. The only reason I knew it existed is because I passed by the trail junction on a previous backcountry trip. I remembered it because of the distance on the sign. Elk Mountain - 2.5 miles. That's not very far to go for a summit. But my camping buddies and I were exhausted on that first trip and there was no way we were going to hike it. So I kept it on file in the back of my mind. This time around...I went for it. Now I know why the distance is so short. It's, by far, the steepest trail I've ever been on in the park. It goes straight up. I also hiked it at the beginning of my recent respiratory illness. I'm sure that was a bad idea. On top of all that...the clouds moved in as I got close to the summit. By the time I reached the top...I was in the clouds. I couldn't see a damn thing. But I think it's bad luck to be on a summit and not take a photo. So the above photo is what I came up with. I guess it's got kind of a spooky quality. 

At one point during my trip, I pulled off the road along Highway 89 to talk on the phone. I was looking out my window, admiring the view, when something occurred to me. This photo accurately displays how most tourists see our national parks. 
Very few of them ever get out of their car. They're able to see beautiful things...but they only scratch the surface. Ahh well. More space for me in the backcountry. 

By far the best part of the trip was this:
It's my buddy Dave proudly standing guard over the beginnings of his new cabin. A mutual friend, Danny, is building it for him. I'd heard about the cabin for a while and I have to admit I was skeptical. But in seeing what they have so far, I was impressed. Now hurry up Danny. I need a place to stay when I come next year.