Day 1 (8/18-19/07)

The first day of our trip really didn't start until day 2. Maggie, Stacey and I picked Nate up from work at about 10:30 PM. We took him to his apartment downtown, where he showered and gathered his belongings. From there, we stopped briefly at Maggie's so she could pick up a dress that was to be delivered to her sister in Philly. By the time we actually left Portland, it was midnight, thus actually putting us on our way on August 19th.

That night (early, early morning), we drove through Spokane, WA, Couer D'Alane, ID, and a bunch of mountain towns in smoke-infested Montana. I say smoke-infested because the whole state, seemingly, was covered by a big cloud of smoke, resulting from the wild fires that had taken over the mountains. Since the smoke blocked whatever views there were to see, we decided to entertain ourselves by digging through the care package that Gretchen made for us. In it, we found the popular teen magazine, Quiz, a few CDs, a list of tasks we were to complete while on the road (scavenger hunt), and some mini liquor bottles (that, after drinking, we were to fill up with some remnant of the trip). We popped in one of her mixes to find it had the mega hit, Rump Shaker, along with other fan favorites, Wind Beneath My Wings and Fergie's, Fergalicious. It was a joyous music-listening experience.


When finally in Glacier, we found ourselves a campsite (later to be the main thoroughfare for droves of kids running to and from the bathroom) big enough to accommodate four tents (nobody wanted to share, for we really hate each other deep down and feared it would come to surface before the trip ended). Not wanting to waste any time, I asked a ranger which trails she would recommend for quick viewing pleasure. Instead of actually helping us, she proceeded to remind us that we're in bear country and that wherever we go we should bring "bear spray (thanks for your help Ranger Dick..I was hoping to get eaten by a bear)." So, being the self-sufficient group we are, we looked at a map and found a place on our own. We headed to Avalanche Lake, where, along the way, we found friendly deer, little streams, and a couple of the annoying kids from the campground. The lake was beautiful, serene, and our first glimpse at how awesome the next couple of weeks could be. We hiked around the lake, admired the sites, stepped over a bunch of bear poop (which was a good sign, because Nate was intent on practicing his phyisical restraint skills on a Grizzly), took a bunch of pictures, and then headed back to camp before it got dark.

For dinner, I made some freeze-dried lasagna stew, Nate ate some noodles, and the others had PB & J sandwiches. We followed our meals with a couple beers, a game of rummy, some shots from mini liquor bottles Gretchen got us, and a couple hits of ganja by the creek we hiked by earlier. We then passed out and caught up on the sleep we missed while driving the night before (this turned out to be a major theme of the trip). In all, it was a nice way to start the trip, as Glacier was as beautiful as advertised.