Heading back out in a few days!

 Hi everyone,

Well, it's time to finish the trail -- this time, heading south ("SOBO" - south bound) from Waterton, Canada into Glacier National Park, and then on to that place where I left the trail, the Seedhouse Campground about a day south of the Wyoming border in Colorado.

Why am I heading back?

I want to finish what I started. I may just be a guy who can't maintain enthusiasm for hiking beyond about 3 months. And that's okay with me. But it also makes sense to walk the whole line, even if it takes me twice as long as other folks. :)

Blogging

I had a chance to blog with TheTrek.co, which was an honor, but I decided not to, because well...I am walking alone a lot, and I end up thinking about deep things (deep to me anyway, and I might be "shallow" :D). I want to be able to write without thinking about offending people. I very much believe there is a God, and our journey through the world will bring us closer to Him if we pay attention. A lot of my thoughts are speculating along those lines. Nobody has to agree with me on any of these things! But I want to write for my friends and family, who, even if they don't see it the same way, they know me, and they know I'm not trying to hassle anyone or impose. My own journey to feeling the reality of spirit was long and twisty! I am the last person to judge the journey of another. But I do judge myself often. I wonder about my failures and my successes. And I call that fun.

Why else wander into enormous landscapes if you aren't using them to make inner space equally large? We have so much room inside us. Put an outrageous vista in front of your eyes, and your internal furniture is adjusting, getting smaller, so the same kind of wilderness finds a home in there.

Logistics!

Oh man, this is tough. First off, getting the permits for Glacier was hard. I'm really happy that today I've got my permits getting a third of the way through the park in a very leisurely 10-mile-per-day pace, from Waterton to Many Glacier. I definitely want to speed up after that, but at this point I've exhausted the permit options. I need to show up at a ranger station, and some more options open up to me.

I've got a difficult stretch starting on day 3: the Highline Trail, covered in snow, traversing a steep mountainside. I'm not worried though...I only have to make 10 miles that day, so even if it's kind of a nightmare, I should get through.

I did little training this time for the heavy pack, though I did a good bit of rock climbing, and that meant some heavy carries. But I just haven't had the patience for long mile days this time. I hiked 20 miles last Friday, with the luxury of Barbara picking me up afterwards and sharing some dinner. That was fun :). So it's indeed good to have easy days at the start.

Here you can see the first four days, from Waterton Park in the upper left, to the Many Glacier lake country on the right:

Flight leaves Wednesday, and I'm in Waterton late that night. First night on the trail is Friday, June 23rd.