Glacier day hikes

Day 1

I hiked from East Glacier Park to Two Medicine on the CDT. It was a 10 mile hike that went over a mountain called Scenic Point. It was very scenic. I had to walk on a little snow and of course I fell down. I'm a Santa Barbara native. I know nothing much about walking in snow. I had to cross a small swift creek and almost fell but didn't. I saw lots of big horn sheep. I saw AWOL, a nice young lady who arrived on the same train as me, resting at the halfway point. She had hitched to Two Medicine to hike back to Luna's. I wanted the camping experience of staying at Two Medicine. Also it makes me feel like I am making progress. 

It was windy at Two Medicine but my big Gossamer Gear tarp is quiet so I slept well. There was a wedding down at the lake. The bride was wearing a traditional gown with a long train and hiking boots. Her bridesmaids wore sea green dresses to match her boots. 

Day 2

In the morning I went to the ranger station to ask if one of the trails was open to do a day hike. She said I could get a tent site and make it a two day trip. So I bought the permit. Now I will be able to at least tag the Canadian border and hike a small bit of the CDT. 

But I could not start this until the next day, so for this day I decided to try to go to St. Mary and do a day hike there. I walked 5 miles on the road halfheartedly and sporadically hitchhiking before I got tired of the lack of a shoulder. I made a sign, "St. Mary", and the first car stopped and took me to St. Mary. 

I did a small day hike called the Beaver Pond loop or something like that. The views were gorgeous. I walked through a meadow filled with wildflowers. Then I walked to the hiker/biker site at St. Mary. I wished I could do more but it's a lot of miles on roads just to get to trailheads and the inability to just go in one direction makes me feel lazy. Apple's step counter says I hiked almost 12 miles total so that's not too bad. I am enjoying the relaxation of not really caring about what I do or don't do. 

I have arranged a shuttle that will pick me up early and take me to the border to do my overnight. I may return to St. Mary's ranger station after I complete this little segment and see if there's any other one nighters I can get a permit for. Or maybe I will just go back to Luna's and get my box and start the real CDT.