Day 4: Stepping Out to Defrost

June 18th, 2024

Mile Marker: 60.4

Miles Hiked: 18

What a day.

We woke up in the middle of the night to heavy rain and tried to wipe of the condensation on the inside of our tent that was making our sleeping bags wet; the one thing you can absolutely not get wet when hiking in cold weather.

We fell back asleep and woke up this morning to a subtle raining that turned into wet, heavy snow.

We laid in our sleeping bags, not thinking much of it and slowly watched our tent get heavy with snow and then one side eventually collapsed. Crap.

It was go time. I held up one side and Journey got all packed up, then went out and fixed the tent while I packed up. Putting on wet shoes and socks is so miserable but I moved quick.

We packed up then found a spot under a row of thick trees to try and get situated and quickly down a bar. Another day of no coffee and oatmeal and relaxed start, this has been such a rough start to a thru hike.

We headed out and the trail looked completely different all covered in snow. Our feet and hands were frozen. I eventually had to put my trekking poles in my pack so I could swing my arms and bring life back to my fingertips.

Today was going to be rough.

We hiked a few miles and came across st. Marys waterfall that was quite stunning but I didn’t want to dilly dally, I couldn’t afford to stop moving.

The snow kept falling and I could feel my spirits starting to fall with it. I kept telling myself that I am not a cold weather person and started fearing what the pass for the next day would be like with this much snow accumulation.

After a few hours a hiker called Captain came up behind us and let us know he was going to take the side trail into St. Mary’s and get warm for the night. He claimed that his stuff got wet after his tent collapsed and needed to sort that out first.

My ears immediately perked up, that sounds just lovely.

We discussed it and decided we would make a decision when we got to the trail intersection.

Most of the day was hiking in snow and rain and trying to stay warm. Both of us hardly ate because stopping is so difficult, especially when there is no big climbs to help warm us up.

We caught up to Whatever and asked what he was going to do and he claimed he was going to go to camp. We agreed and continued on.

However, once we got to the junction 11 miles in, Journey and I were hesitant about our decision. I was leaning towards going in but also didn’t want to leave Whatever since we told him we would go to camp.

We decided to go to camp and after a quarter mile both of us felt like it was the wrong choice especially after not seeing any foot prints headed that way; they all seem to go towards st. Marys.

We started to backtrack to the junction and ran into Whatever to let him know. He claimed he was going to go back to the site and not with us.

I hated this, it made me wonder if we were making the right decision but I immediately felt relieved when we decided to turn around and I needed to hold on to that. We needed to hike our own hike.

It added another 5 miles or so back to st Mary’s and we decided to try hitching for our first time this thru hike.

A lot of drivers looked at us like we are crazy or did the whole “pretend we aren’t there” business, and a few smiled. After about 15 minutes a driver pulled over but was heading in the wrong direction.

Then a few minutes later another car pulled over with a young female driver. She claimed she lived in St Mary’s and that she had the day off and would take us to East glacier (that’s a 45 minute drive one way offer). We were ecstatic and so grateful. I was frozen to my core and needed warmth so badly.

Our drivers name was Abby and she comes to Glacier to work during the summer and then goes back to Florida where she lives. As we got to know her we found out about all the cool things she has done and how she has been considering hiking the PCT. Of course we were big advocates that she should after telling her some of our stories.

On the drive home Abby suggested we stop at a relatively new bakery and grab snacks since they were delicious. We grabbed their famous huckleberry bear claw and a few other goodies and hot drinks. Abby refused to let us pay and I had that surge of gratitude in my heart again. Thru hiking trails always reminds me that people are good. Sometimes it’s worth it to open ourselves up to strangers. Thank you so much Abby!!

We arrived in East Glacier and the Looking Glass Hostel was jammed packed of people so Journey and I found another hotel just for us. We needed space to dry out our belongings and relax.

We then headed down the street for dinner and Journey ran into an old friend from the PCT. She joined us for dinner and then we also caught sight of Ross who joined us as well. He let us know the boys had gone in the previous night to skip the snow and road walked instead.

He also let us know the ranger told them not to hike the triple divide pass as it could be dangerous with the new snow. He claimed that him and Bob may just skip the next few parts of Glacier and go into the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

That immediately changed my thought process. I was already nervous about the next pass and this just affirmed we shouldn’t hike it. Additionally it has been mentioned by many to not go into the Bob by yourself and best to be in a larger group due to wildlife. This was our opportunity to link up with a group.

Journey and I agreed and we all decided we might day hike the last section of Glacier so that we only skip around 20 miles or so of the trail.

Skipping miles is never ideal but when it comes to safety, I will do whatever. Sometimes you just have to listen to what your gut is saying. We will see how the next few days play out as our plans are always changing depending on weather.

I’m pooped from a long cold day but am looking forward to some nice weather that is coming!

Iz and Oz