There is a strange sort of time warp that happens when traveling. Every day is so long & exhausting, every moment filled with new experiences. And yet, before you know it, the final day has arrived, & you are wondering where the time has gone.
Today is our final day in Glacier National Park. Tomorrow, we will be headed to Bozeman, Montana to get ready for our flight home the following morning. As it is with all of our trips, I cannot believe how fast the time has flown by. And, as with any of other trip, we had the same hope for our final day of traveling – that this day, this hike, & this view, would be the best of all, the perfect finale for an epic adventure.
We woke up early to drive the three hours around Glacier National Park to Many Glacier. Along the way, we stopped at a roadside stand for some coffees & a very disappointing breakfast burrito. We arrived a little later than we would have hoped, & we both dressed a little too warm for the unexpectedly hot sun. It seemed we were off to a rocky start as we began our ascent up to Grinnell Glacier.
The Grinnell Glacier hike is strenuous, filled with multiple switchbacks as you work your way up the mountainside. As if that wasn’t enough to take your breath away, the views along the way up are marvelous. We found ourselves constantly stopping to look back at the dark green pine trees that surrounded vibrant blue water. I will never get over the views in Glacier – it is truly the most beautiful place I have ever been.
As we neared the top of the hike, the air grew colder. Despite having just hiked hours through hot sun in far too many layers, we found ourselves throwing our jackets back over our shoulders. As we rounded the final corner, we were hit by a harsh wind that threatened to blow us back down the way we had come. We stood at the top, teeth chattering & bodies shivering, gazing in wonder at the view before us. Dark rocks led the way to water so blue it looked like the sky. Floating soundlessly, barely causing a ripple, were large chunks of ice like miniature icebergs. High above, the white snow of Grinnell Glacier melted into a waterfall that cascaded down the gray rock to form the lake we now sat beside.
It felt as if we had accidentally traversed into an arctic landscape. The light off the water & snow was blinding, & yet, I couldn’t help myself from continuing to gaze in wonder. I sat on the edge of the rock, my boots just out of reach of the frigid water lapping at the shore. Joseph, however, had something else in mind.
It was a baptism of sorts as he jumped into the freezing water. It’s been a long year of hard work, but coming home from this trip, he will be starting a new chapter of his life as a Clinical Mental Health Therapist, his dream job. I cannot even begin to express just how proud I am of his dedication & perseverance, & I am so excited to see what this next chapter of his life will hold.
Panting from the cold & shivering uncontrollably beside me, he pulled on his dry shirt & asked, “Are you going to jump in?”
“Absolutely not,” I said. As tempting as it was, I was perfectly content just soaking in the view in my blissfully warm hiking clothes.
It was a race against the clock on our way back down the mountain. We were eager to get back to the other side of Glacier with still a little daylight left. Joseph & I were starving by the time we reached the bottom, but there was no time to stop for food. We ate a quick snack on the drive, & arrived at Lake McDonald just in time for a final Glacier sunset seated on rainbow colored rocks.
It is hard to say goodbye to such a beautiful place. The mountains glowed orange, bathed in the light of the setting sun. We watched as the purple shadow slowly crept up the side of each mountain, submerging the Glacier landscape in darkness. As the tip of the final mountain slowly darkened, we bid farewell to this magnificent place.
On our way back to our campsite, we stopped at Glacier Highland, a motel & restaurant just outside the park with homestyle comfort food. To start, we ordered the Hiking Poles, which were sticks made of pillowy pizza dough topped with fresh mozzarella cheese, an earthy pesto sauce, fresh garlic, & a drizzle with olive oil to finish & served with hot marinara sauce. After a long day of hiking, they were the perfect treat. For dinner, Joseph ordered the Huckleberry Hound, a burger served with the restaurant’s homemade barbecue sauce & topped with crispy bacon, sautéed onion, & gooey havarti cheese. I ordered The Ptarmigan, a Middle-Eastern style salad with farro, chopped cucumbers & chickpeas tossed with a lemon-dill dressing & sprinkled with feta cheese. Overly satisfied, we drove back to our campsite & crawled into our sleeping bag, eager for a long night’s rest.
Our final day in Glacier National Park did not disappoint. The day was long & tiring, but the views were so spectacular, I barely even recalled the difficulty of the hike or the long drive to get there & back. And as I began to think about the idea of returning home, I suppose that is a great way to think about approaching all of the days of our lives. They can be long & exhausting, filled with moments we would rather gloss over or forget entirely. Disappointing breakfast burritos can be the start to rather disappointing days if that’s all we remember. But there are other moments that seem too special to allow to be tarnished by the difficulties that brought us there.
How much better would life be if, instead of trying to make ourselves forget the hard days, we embraced them as part of the hike up to the view we have been waiting for – the experience, the baptism & the start of a new chapter of our lives? It’s hard in the moment to recognize that, even though the trek is difficult, we are still headed to the top, getting closer & closer with every step. And as you skip down the mountain, there is no better feeling than realizing just how far you have come.
Life in general is a bit of a time warp. The days are long & exhausting, but before you know it, time has flown by. So, before you get too much further in your adventure, take a moment to stop & appreciate the view. You only get it for so long, & that in & of itself makes it too precious to go another second without notice.