Back in January I was thinking about my vacations for the year. Last year I was 100% focused on the Ironman through September, and with only 10 days of vacation I didn't really get one. (Yes, I spent 3 months in Europe but with work I was a. stressed and b. limited to weekend trips w/ no hiking/biking to be had). This year, I have 25 days of vacation and with only one race on the schedule in November, I had plenty more wiggle room.
When I did
Bike and Build, one of the other trips biked through Glacier National Park. Our trip had crossed below the Rockies, so we never really got the experience of the big mountains (but we did get desert!). After seeing and hearing the stories, Glacier has been the #1 place on my bucket list of places to visit. I particularly wanted to bike up the "Going to the Sun" road, which snakes up the side of the mountain to the continental divide. For awhile, I was considering trying to do another Bike and Build trip, mainly so that I could bike that part of the country.
While I love my friends dearly, most of them would not be interested in a vacation that involves both hiking and biking. In May, I traveled with three of them to Puerto Rico, which was fantastic and full of amazing food and memories. However, I was left alone to go on my hiking/rappelling/zip-lining adventure (which was the highlight of my trip!). I knew if I wanted to do my dream vacation, I would have to look for a group to do it with or go alone (which as a young female, is not really a viable option). As I was researching ways to make my long-desired trip to Glacier happen, I stumbled upon the
Backroads website, which offered a biking/hiking/whitewater rafting trip for solo travelers. It was perfect! The trip description was exactly what I was looking for, and after some talking with my friend Amanda, I decided to splurge and sign up as a reward for all my hard work last year. Considering I was planning on doing another IM next year, I knew this was the year I would have a bit of extra money (before the whole wrecking my car/buying a new one thing).
Boy am I glad I did! I got back on Friday, after the best vacation I have ever taken in my life! There were 16 of us on the trip, and we had three amazing guides/support. Other than a wonderful 21 year old on the trip with her father, I was the youngest person by a good amount which I am actually quite used to and love (triathlon tends to skew a bit older, at least at my speed). I really lucked out - everyone was really fun to hang out with and get to know. I was especially impressed with all the ones that are only recreational bikers who were able to make it up the climbs (aka most of the trip!). The Rockies are no joke! I spent most of my biking/hiking time with Joanie and Marty, a brother/sister duo who both have running backgrounds and who I am hoping I convinced to try triathlons (hint, hint). In the evenings, I had a chance to get to know everyone else. I also had a fantastic roommate (save $$), Julie, that just made the trip even more special thanks to our daily debriefs. My roommate situation could not have been any better!
Every day when I thought the scenery couldn't get any better, it did. And whenever I thought a view couldn't get better, the light would change and it would. The trip was also so well organized & I didn't have to worry about a thing. The leaders even set out a spread in the morning so we could pack our lunches/snacks for the day! I had really high expectations for this trip and they were exceeded at every single level.
As an aside, this trip also made me grateful for all of the time I have spent training. I love not having to worry about whether or not I am physically capable of an 11 mile hike. If I want to do it, I can! If I want to stay at the lodge and drink beer, I can do that as well. My biggest worry was whether I could bike immediately after eating huckleberry pie/ice cream/soft serve or if I needed wait a few minutes. This was such a change from my bike and build experience! I still remember ending up in tears in the parking lot on the first day because I was so uncomfortable on my bike, and the words "potosi, missouri" still send me back to (one of) the day(s) I ended up in tears on the side of the road because I just. could. not. bike. any. further.
When I got back from the trip at 1am on Saturday morning, I signed up for my next Ironman August 2014 (Mont Tremblant). This trip reinvigorated my love of biking and made me really excited for the coming year. I have missed the training process and I am happy to report a lot of my old Wisconsin crew is getting back together for another round - I can't wait!
Fair warning: The rest of this post is going to be long as I took a bunch of pictures I want to share (with captions/context). The crazy thing is this is about 1/8 of the pictures I actually took! Thank you in advance for indulging me as I want to make sure I have the memories and hey, this is my blog.
DAY 1 - Whitefish to Lake McDonald Lodge (32 miles) -The first day of the trip started with a 10:30am meeting time & an hour long shuttle to Apgar village, where we started our first ride. Today's ride was relatively easy - a 12 mile out and back, followed by a stop for huckleberry ice cream while we waited for it to be 4pm so that we could ride the last 9ish miles to the lodge. For most of the trip we stayed at national park lodges, which are full of charm (if lacking modern conveniences like elevators) and require reservations made 2 years in advance. We had a happy hour/meet and greet organized by the leaders before dinner. We discovered at dinner that national park lodge food is not that great so it became even more important to enjoy the treats along the way.
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| This is all of the "ground transportation" section of the airport - seriously. |
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| Deb is enjoying the gorgeous view the first day while the leaders prepare our lunch |
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| Getting ready for the first ride! |
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| A taste of the views to come! |
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| One of our guides Chuck - 16 years with Backroads and full of great stories |
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| Beautiful view from the first hotel |
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| Lake McDonald Lodge |
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| Happy Hour the first night |
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| Getting to know each other |
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| I think this was built in 1913? |
Day 2 (60 miles) - Lake McDonald to Many Glacier: This day started with a 12 mile climb up to Logan's Pass, aka the "Going to the Sun Road" to the continental divide. This climb snaked up the mountain - our only barrier to the cliff drop was a series of small rocks on the edge of the road. Talk about scary! But the reward was great views. Our climb was followed by an 18ish mile descent (also on similar roads) to DELICIOUS PIE (I got razzleberry), and then we had a 20 mile relatively easy ride into the hotel, the last 12 miles of which was pointed towards the mountains. Once I got to the hotel, I ended up talking a 2.5 mile walk around the lake, and broke my sandals about halfway. That was fun! The night ended with dinner & then sitting in comfy chairs, chatting and watching the sun go down.
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| Working hard! This was the only time all climb I took the lead. I preferred to savor the views on the long climbs by going up them slow. |
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| Going to the sunrise |
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| Pause for Beauty! (and rest) |
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| 2 hours later, we made it!!! An 18 mile descent greeted us after this point. |
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| Marty approves of the view from our lunch stop |
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| So did I |
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| Entrance to the park |
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| View from across the lake from our hotel |
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| Marty and Michael hanging out after dinner, watching the sunset |
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| View from my front porch at sunrise! |
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| Many Glacier Lodge |
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| Chuck explains the days route during our "route rap" |
Day 3 (50 miles) - Many Glacier to Prince of Wales hotel (Canada!): I earned the nickname "The Bullet" today when I learned I can actually descend super fast when I think it's safe! I hit 40.6mph! Today started with our only rain of the trip but it lasted less than 10 minutes and was barely noticeable. This might be the first trip I have ever taken where I haven't been told "It's not usually this bad" when it comes to the weather! We rode through the Blackfeet Indian reservation (dodging free range cows chilling on the side of the road) and into Canada! Our leaders greeted us with pie at lunch after we crossed the border, and pure beauty met us at the Prince of Wales hotel. The hotel was sitting above the town of Waterton, Canada - a town of 80 permanent residence within the national park. We went to a (non-lodge!) restaurant for dinner, and several of the ladies and I went to the "Thirsty Bear Saloon" ahead of time for a drink. Sadly, we went to bed too early and missed the White Trash Party (bring your own cousin), complete with a mechanical bull. We did not, however, miss the patron dressed all in leather.
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| After a long climb, Joanie, Marty, and Micahel preparie to head (downhill) into Canada! |
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| This park is taken care of by both US and Canadian resources (hence the name "peace park") |
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| The best way to go through border patrol! |
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| The leaders brought pie from the US for us! |
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| The view after another 6 mile climb out of lunch - worth every inch & not even close to represented in this picture |
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| The view from our hotel - I think that is Cindy capturing the emotions the best |
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| Julie relaxing after a long ride |
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| Yes, this was our hotel. The porters wore kilts. They were not quite authentic judging from my recent experience in Glasgow but they will do :) |
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| I am pretty sure one of our guides did make it to the party... |
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| Probably my favorite picture of the trip - this was our view from dinner |
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| Every time I looked outside our hotel, the view was different and equally if not more beautiful |
Day 4 (11 miles) - Crypt Lake Hike!: I woke up in the morning to giant gale force winds that are apparently normal for the Prince of Wales hotel. Apparently nobody sleeps well the first day in Waterton. This day was our "free day" where we didn't have to bike and could do whatever we want. I had marked this day as a hiking day and it did not disappoint! Marty, Joanie, Michael, and I were feeling up for a challenge and took a ferry to the Crypt Lake hike, one of the top 10 hikes in Canada! It was a 5.5ish mile hike up along the mountain to a glacial lake. There was one part where the trail was about 1 1/2 feet wide, with nothing but a cliff drop on our right (picture below), and that involved an 8ft ladder w/ a wide gap to a tunnel. Needless to say, I was a little panicky during this point but I just put my head down and did it. Marty thought it would be a funny idea to scare me from behind, and while I survived the scare my pride was mortally wounded as the 60+ year old guy ahead of me remarked sarcastically, "Not a big fan of heights, are we" after I screamed like a baby.(Well no, I am not sir. Excuse me as I try to stay alive.) He then proceeded to smoke us on the rest of the hike (but was friendly as he did it!). The lake, set inside a glacier, was absolutely beautiful and well worth the hike. The ferry ride back was also gorgeous, and we got to see a mother bear and her cub from the safety of the boat. After we got back from the hike, I caught up with the rest of the group, went out for dinner, and ended up back at the Thirsty Bear saloon for pool and gigantic Jenga. All in all, it was another fantastic day!
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| The leaders gave us bear spray and a water filter so we were ready to go! |
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| One more view from the hotel before we left |
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| Chief Mountain Overlook |
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| Celebrating our final ride! |
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| Roommates! This might just be my favorite picture ever. It fits our relationship so well. |
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| Julie at least got herself together (I look the exact same) |
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| Relaxing after the ride |
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| Country western! The proved to me that nobody besides Hootie should sing "wagon wheel" (and yes, I realize his is a cover but have never heard the original) |
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| Leader speech at dinner |
Day 6 - Rafting: Today our trip ended with a whitewater rafting trip. The rapids were relatively mild, but the fight between our two boats was not! The leader (Lauren) attempted to board our boat and our raft guide knocked her into the water. He yelled across to the other boat when she showed us her battle wound, "I don't care if it's a five year old girl, if you try to board my boat, you are going in the water!!" The best part of the ride was when Ross leaped from our boat to the other in less than four steps and knocked Michael into the water! It was completely unexpected and awesome. Apparently he'd been feeling sick all trip and we finally got to see his true self. My other favorite part was when Peter told Charlotte (the sweetest girl in the world) to remember their family motto and she burst out with "The more it hurts, the better I like it!" I am adopting that as my own, especially when it comes to Ironman training! After the rafting and lunch, I rented a car from the airport (mini van, what what!), went to my hotel for a two hour nap after taking medicine when my thigh swelled up super bad from a bee sting the day before (apparently I'm moderately allergic), and met up with the people still in town for some dinner, jazz music, and dancing.
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| Lauren (our guide) and her bear hat |
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| Lauren and Michelle are ready! |
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| Preparing |
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| Charlotte passes her dad's last test for becoming a man (it was cold!) |
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| Peter tested every lake for temperature |
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Our guide needed help getting into the boat - Joanie (smartly) refused
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| Our fearless boat |
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| The other trip was scared after our viscous attacks |
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| Night out in Whitefish after the trip was over - I could get used to that view, and the $3 draft beers! |
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| In the small town of Whitefish, we could choose between Jazz/Country/Latin for the evenings entertainment |
Last Day (11.5 miles): On Friday, my flight didn't leave until 2:30, so I decided to do my weekend long run in Kalispell. The good - I ran into a small town parade (complete with tractors and tons of charm)! The bad - I lost my credit card/ID/room key when it fell out of my pocket at some point on the run & I retraced my steps with no luck in finding them. The good - someone in the small town found them & turned it into the police who called my hotel before I left! The bad - my dad (if he makes it this far) will never again fail to remind me to make sure these items are secure the rest of our lives.
All in all, a wonderful trip.
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