A month before this trip, my job was eliminated, and I was unemployed for the first time since I was 13. I was a bit lost, a bit confused on what was going to happen and VERY happy with the newfound freedom to do something on a whim. I had already planned a one week trip to Rocky Mountain National Park with my kids for early June, so I decided that after that trip, I was going to take a trip of my own.

Being an empty nester, with no husband and a desire to explore the world, I feel that I can’t sit around and wait for the perfect travel partner to come along. I need to just embrace what I am, and do what I want to do, when I have the opportunity to do it. This was one such opportunity.

After the trip with my kids, I went to the Denver Airport with them, three flew to Minneapolis, one to Milwaukee, and I headed to Spokane Washington. I had never been to Spokane before, but my plan was to rent a car, and drive back to Milwaukee. Landing late, I got my car and headed to the hotel, and didn’t have much “adventure” that first night.

Early the next day, I put “Walmart” in my phone, and bought a tent, a blow-up mattress, a folding chair, and some bedding. I am not a “camper” and I have NEVER solo camped, so I didn’t bother with cooking stuff – I normally just eat granola bars and such when I am on the road, and go out for a dinner at any brewpub that I can find. They have the BEST food!

After a one-night stay at a campground near Coeur d’Aleine Idaho – which I will write a separate blog about, I arrived at West Glacier, and got a campsite at the Apgar campground. It’s a beautiful campground, and large. It was perfect for a solo camper that’s a bit nervous. As I was setting up, the couple in an RV next to me (separated by lots of trees and even some elevation change), called to me that they had a hot fire, if I needed anything, and to not hesitate to contact them. I MUST have looked like a novice! But, it was appreciated.

After setting up, I walked around the Apgar Village, went to the Visitor Center, and basically tried to figure out which hikes to do. The Going-to-the-Sun road was closed for snow and road construction, so doing that was not an option. It was open to Avalanche Lake, so I drove out there, but it was too late to start the Avalanche Lake hike. I went on the boardwalk nature trail instead and got my first look at a Glacier waterfall!! WOW!! The water doesn’t even look natural here – its such a light shade of light blue that it looks fake. On the way back to the campsite, I stopped at the several waterfalls along the road, and they were all just as beautiful!

One other thing I learned about Glacier in late June, there is something called Bear Grass in the woods. I had no idea it existed until I got there, but Bear Grass is a tall, grassy plant, that blooms a big bushy white flower in late June. I was super lucky that the woods were FULL of blooming Bear Grass when I was there. The nice RV neighbors told me that they are locals, and they schedule a week a year to camp in Glacier because of the Bear Grass. Good to know.

The night was uneventful. I slept well in my tent, the campground wasn’t loud, and the weather was great for sleeping. The next morning, I got up and got over to do the Avalanche Lake hike right away – I got to the trailhead at 8am, which was good, because I heard that by 9am it was so busy that there was no parking anywhere close. The hike was much easier than those in Rocky Mountain National Park, but still strenuous, with an amazing lake at the end with cliffs and waterfalls and glaciers, and it was awesome! The rest of the day was spent around McDonald Lake – hanging in my hammock and working on a crocheted afghan quilt. (My kids make fun of me, even when I am relaxing, I’ve got be doing something.)

Then next morning, after a second good night of sleep in West Glacier, I broke down camp and drove to the East Glacier area. I set up my tent again at the Two Medicine campground and went on a few hikes in that area. That area is much less commercialized, with only one small camp store. Being that it was so remote, when I went on hikes, I made sure to hang around and wait until another group was walking. There are a LOT of bears in this park, and I didn’t want to become a snack. One group just straight up invited me to walk with them, which was nice.

The weather was not very nice – it was VERY windy, and every hour or so, there were showers. I did hikes in between the showers. There are several hikes that start right by the camp store, and I took some of those paths – not going too far, because the rain would get pretty hard and not very pleasant. The land is beautiful and wild here.

During the hikes, I started to strategize on how I was going to not freeze in my tent overnight. When I got back to camp, I put my hammock on top of the tent to try to seal up the screening. Later, I had a fire, and heated up a bunch of rocks. I put my folded-up chair on the floor of the tent, and used it as a rack, and put the hot rocks on it to try to warm up the tent. While I had my fire going, a young lady – maybe late 20’s stopped over – she was on her 4th night of a 3-month long hike along the Continental Divide. She is doing it alone “for now” – she said that she has done the Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail, and both times met people along the way to travel with. Super interesting lady to talk to.

Overnight, it got down to the high 30’s, and was raining off and on – rather miserable. I think the rocks worked for a bit, but by morning, it was COLD. I could see across the street that the backpacker I had met was already out and on her way. I woke up at 6:30 and broke down the camp. The car said it was 41 degrees. Everything was wet, so I hung it all out and went over to the lake to look at the views. The mountain had a rainbow on it!! Beautiful spot, but cold and wet today!

In all, my first real solo camping trip was wonderful, Glacier National Park is one of the most beautiful places I have been, and I WILL be back! Hopefully for a longer period of time. I want to travel the Going-to-the-sun road and do a few more hikes.

#Montana