Thought I would take a cut at getting a Trip Report started for our Glacier Northern Traverse Group Backpack!
It was a big crew! So I'm hoping we can do some tag-teaming on the trip report!
Tim Hef, Laura MissGuiness, Tina Teapot57, Joyce Joybird, Jen, Maia, Mira, and myself MattB; we were also joined by Al from EastGlacier for two nights at Glenn's Lake head, and Paul for one night at Stoney Indian while he was hiking the same route but in the opposite direction.
July 31, After driving up from Choteau to Browning I texted Jen and TIna that I was at the grocery store in Browning, and if there was anything I should get... They texted right back, "Stay right there, we'll be there in 10 minutes".. They were on their way from East Glacier to Browning on a grocery run.. We met up at the grocery store, did some shopping and then headed for Many Glacier..
Had a great meet up and spaghetti dinner at Many Glacier Campground: Tara, Rosie, Natuyi(Tara's Rez Dog rescue), Jen, Maia, Mira, Tina, Bill MarxMn, Jim, McKenzie, and Rebecca SlowHiker. (Hope I didn't forget anyone)
August 1st Day #1 Chief Mtn to Cosley Lake 8.7 miles (GNP says 700ft elevation loss, Google Maps says 1250ft elevation loss, 804ft elevation GAIN)
Got up and packed up.. Had a nice breakfast at Nell's Cafe at Swift Current with Tina, Jen, Maia, and Mira. Then drove to Chief Mountain Customs and started our epic adventure..
Tim, Laura, and Joyce were coming up from East Glacier. Joyce got an earlier start from Chief Mtn, and Tim and Laura were taking the Lee Ridge route. So we we kind of set a precedent for the trip, the early starters fast hikers (Tim, Laura, and Joyce), and the stagglers (Me, Jen, Tina, Maia, and Mira) [**NOTE** I'm really only making this distinction, so I don't have to keep typing out all the names!!
**]
Our Backcountry Permit said "700 ft elevatiion loss" from Chief Mtn to Cosely Lake, so I was expecting a nice easy day strolling along the Belly River to Cosely Lake... But we encountered a lot of up and down.. It was also a hot day. The Stragglers were all pretty beat by the time we got to Gros Ventres Falls, so we took a nice break by the falls, dipped our toes a bit. We got to camp around 4-5pm, Setup camp and cooled off a bit in Cosley Lake.
A long, tiring, hot day, but beautiful views all the way, and the camp sites at Cosley were great. I felt better after resting and dinner, but I was worried, that if I felt this way after our "easy day" how would I ever survive our difficult days. I was even considering bailing out and going back to Chief Mtn, because if I went another day or two, and then found I couldn't make it there'd be no way to turn back. But I slept well that night, and was still alive the next morning so I decided to go another day! A few sips of Jen's Captn Morgan's after dinner may also have helped!
I'm working on Photos, but can't seem to find a way to get Google Photo;s pics to work here....