- "We are what we repeatedly do."
Tuesday morning Sue Ann called and asked if I could go cross-country skiing in an hour. I had to rush to get ready then drive to Super 1 in Columbia Falls to meet Joyce and Gary at 10:45 am. Gary was back from his vacation that included a week long Caribbean cruise and extra time driving around Florida. He said he had a great time.
During my drive to meet them I was delayed a little bit as a government official had stopped a dump truck driving north of my place on the road. I think the Spring road weight limits are in effect and I wouldn't be surprised if that is why the truck was stopped. The road is breaking up badly this year.
I was one minute late, and after waiting a few minutes, wondered if I had arrived too late. Five to ten minutes later Gary and Joyce drove up. After picking up Sue Ann, Gary drove us to Glacier Park.
We decided to ski on the Going-to-the-Sun road. This was the site of my first cross-country ski trip last year. The difference between then and now is that the snow is melting away. Because of the need to start repairing the Sun road damage from last November's rains the park has plowed 2/3 width of the road from McDonald Lodge to past the Avalanche creek area. We were able to ski on a foot of snow covering the right 1/3 of the road.
A few miles up the road we took the side road that went around the north end of Lake McDonald. The road was plowed to the bridge that crossed McDonald Creek. Beyond the bridge snow covered the entire road.
This road goes past private cabins along the lake's northern shore. These cabins pre-date the Park's creation. Priceless views of the lake from the north shore. And I mean priceless. Several of the cabins were large old log buildings that were well maintained.
Gary and Joyce were hungry so we stopped and ate our lunch as we sat on a bench on the lake's shore. In the open we got a taste of the brisk south wind that came across the lake. The lake is still mostly frozen on its north half. We buttoned up our coats and put on hats to keep warm as we ate. Before we left I tossed a few small rocks onto some odd ice features and found the ice was slush. I tossed rocks onto what looked to be "regular" frozen ice and found this was also slush.
We continued west along the lake's north shore but after a while the snow turned to ice then to large areas of bare ground. We turned around.
On the way back we took a side trail and found a corral and a large log building. We didn't figure out what the building was for but it appeared to be barn-like.
Before we returned to the bridge Sue Ann and I decided to check out the McDonald Creek trail. The trail was narrow and went up and down. Sue Ann decided the effort wasn't worth it. We caught up to Gary and Joyce at the bridge.
McDonald Creek was rising from the snow melt and was higher than when people visit in the Fall.
Back at the Sun Road we met the jogger who started out around the time we started skiing. He was returning back to the cars. He had jogged a few miles past Avalanche Creek. 9 miles one way.
We continued on Sun Road as we wanted to reach where the road goes along McDonald Creek. The water was roaring nicely.
Joyce had turned around to head back and Sue Ann skied to join her. They were well ahead of me when I began back. No sign of Gary. Strange. I doubt he fell into McDonald Creek, but where was he?
When I finally caught up to Sue Ann I learned Gary had twisted his back earlier and had already returned to his pickup.
Back at the pickup we ate some of Joyce's orange nut bread and some of Gary's homemade fudge balls. Yum!
As we stood around the pickup's tailgate and ate a person driving by stopped to talk. Earlier in the parking lot, before we left for skiing, I had seen a car with Minnesota license plates. What's up?! Every time I visit the park I see a vehicle with Minnesota license plates. Sue Ann confused that car with this car and thought this person was from Minnesota and questioned him why he was here. It turned out he was from Wisconsin and today had driven from Boseman to the Flathead for sightseeing. He picked a poor day as today was a mix of sun, wind, 40s F, and rain/sleet/snow.
Later we took a vote as to whether the Wisconsin person was a man or woman. A close vote had the person be a man.
As we drove back along Lake McDonald we saw wind driven whitecaps on the parts of the lake free of ice. We came across a van heading deeper into the Park. Another vehicle with Minnesota license plates! I can't escape them.
We only skied for three hours and estimated we had covered 6 miles. After my previous ski adventures with the women, this felt like a light-weight adventure. I didn't fall once, though one time when we standing still looking at the mountains and creek I almost toppled over.
This probably will be the last ski trip of the season as it is harder to find decent snow to ski on.
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