Ptarmigan Tunnel

July 2012

To begin this story, let me just say that you should always check the guidebook prior to setting out on a hike in the wilderness. Had I referenced the book, I would have read that the Ptarmigan Trail was moderately strenuous. 11 miles and moderately strenuous? I thought to myself, "11 miles isn't that much. I've completed half marathons before." Wrong! I completed half marathons on flat, exceptionally level, paved surfaces in a city with water and bathrooms every few feeet---not up the side of a mountain.

Nikki, Alicia, Hannah, and I began the hike in the morning. The weather was cloudy and cool. The trail was relatively level and easy to walk along.



We reached the waterfall and sat down to rest and eat a snack.



Nikki

We reached the turn-off to Ptarmigan Tunnel. As aforementioned, up to that point, the trail had not been excessively steep. Was I in for a surprise!

Bear grass--it blooms every seven years or so.

The trail began to get steeper...





By this time, I was absolutely certain my lungs were on the verge of collapse. I asked a hiker returning from the tunnel how the trail was ahead. He laughed and said, "Oh, it gets much worse! The switchbacks can be tough." I always appreciate honesty, but at that moment, I wished he had lied to me. At least that way I could have clung to a false sense of security and hope that it would get better. :)

Nikki, Alicia, & Hannah

We ate lunch at the lake before beginning the ascent to the summit.

I contemplated never moving again.

A marmot joined us for lunch.

Up ahead are the infamous switchbacks to reach the tunnel. I tried not to look.

It was getting colder, as evidenced by the ice in the lake.

Beginning the "moderately strenuous" (ha!) ascent.

I would focus on a rock in the distance, walk to it, stop, and find another rock. Alicia was my encourager and kept my spirits up with her frequent, "You got this, Holly!" and, "We're going to make it! Just a few more steps."

The higher we climbed, the colder and windier it became. The rocks in Glacier are called scree. It is a strange kind of loose, thin rock that will send a hiker tumbling down a mountainside if the person isn't careful. We were all hunched down and creeping along when the wind would hit us to keep from falling.

The switchbacks were brutal, but the views glorious!

The tunnel was a most welcome sight! The large steel doors are shut during the winter to keep the snow out. If snow ever filled the tunnel, it would never melt at that elevation.

We made sure there weren't any bears in the tunnel before entering.

~Alicia, Nikki, me, & Hannah~
I had moments along the hike where I wanted to sit on a rock and let the others go on without me. My lungs weren't working properly, my throat hurt from the cold, and I questioned my sanity (I didn't know it then, but I was getting sick. By the next day, I was at the doctor's office with an ear infection/cold). But the struggle was quickly forgotten when I walked thru the tunnel to the other side and was greeted with the view below.

Tears came to my eyes upon seeing the awe-inspiring majesty of God's creation, and every struggle along the journey to the summit was worth it.





Sitting on top of the world! :)

Hiking down---it was almost impossible not to slip and fall every few feet, but I was just thankful to be going down instead of up!

As we neared the end of the trail, we came upon a group of people looking at something on the hillside. They told us it was a grizzly bear. I was looking way up the mountainside trying to find it when a man standing next to me said, "He's right there in front of you." My glance came down the hillside and there was the bear about 100 feet away. Captain Observant, right here. :)

I saw these lovely deer at the end of the trail.

I enjoy seeing wildlife along the trail that will not trample, maul, eat, claw, or otherwise maim me for life.

The end. :)