There’s a place in Glacier National Park called the Granite Park Chalet.  Granite Park is one of two chalets left for hikers in Glacier, the other being the Sperry Chalet.  Several chalets were built in Glacier around 1915 to serve as destinations for tourists arriving by train.  Actually, there is a third chalet still in use, it is serving as the general store at Two Medicine.  The Granite Park Chalet and the Sperry Chalet are both reachable only by trail.  Sperry Chalet is a “full service” chalet which serves gourmet meals in its dining hall, Granite Park Chalet has a kitchen, complete with propane stove and oven, which it allows hikers to use to prepare their own meals.  Most hikers bring in freeze dried food and eat their dinner out of an aluminum pouch.  We’re not most hikers.

The last time we went to Granite Park we planned on hiking in via the Highline Trail and out over Swiftcurrent Pass to Many Glacier.  The Red Eagle forest fire changed our plans, closing Logan’s Pass and the Highline Trail, and forced us to hike in and out over Swiftcurrent.  Previous to leaving Illinois I threw a boneless turkey breast on my smoker, froze it solid, and packed it in ice for the 20 hour roadtrip to Montana.  Wrapped it in aluminum foil and packed that baby in my daypack for the 8 mile hike in to the chalet.

I heated up the smoked turkey in the Granite Park oven, made some Stove Top Stuffing, and prepared the fresh green beans with garlic and hoisin sauce that I dehydrated at home.  When John asked me what we were having for dinner and I told him, his reply was “You brought a turkey?”.  I can only image him envisioning that I had packed in a raw, 15 pound turkey.  It was kind of fun sitting down with a complete turkey dinner while the rest of the hikers were eating freeze dried mac-and-cheese.  We even had plenty left over to feed the chalet staff.

Location: 48.775424024724984, -113.80668640136719

We returned from a Mediterranean cruise a couple weeks ago.  Click on the pic below to see the Google satellite views of the GPS coordinates that were captured with the SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger.  Very cool, even if I do say so myself.

http://www.trekkingpoleenvy.com

All-in-all a very good trip. We had no problems with fire, for once, although one started recently near LeHardy Rapids. We did need to change our backpacking itinerary because Bighorn Pass was blocked with 20 feet of snow and impassable. One thing that I have learned is no matter how long you plan for a backcountry excursion, you need to be prepared to audible and be flexible. Plans change for reasons out of your control, fires, snow, bears etc., so just roll with it and enjoy!

Saw a Griz from about 30 yards at Heart Lake, a Moose cow walked through our camp there also. Coyotes, bison, black bears, and all the other usual suspects causing traffic jams on the roads. Idiocy reigns supreme, a guy in a bright red shirt standing about 10 foot from a huge bison, taking a picture. A little bit of head butt action would have been nice…..just because Darwin says so.

Pictures coming soon!

If you only have a few minutes take a look at the Grand Canyon 2007 – Favorites set.

• Cool weather, almost cold, warm weather, hot actually, solitude in the backcountry, pleasant company (and beer!) at Phantom Ranch, scorpions, route finding, some uphills, some downhills, dollar games, the challenge of finding water, Sierra Coolers, thieving Ravens, Tarantulas, a cave, a great waterfall, Bighorn Sheep, lizards (including one that didn’t make it), the full moon, bats, drinking games with dice, steep drop offs, a rattlesnake, wind wind wind, red dust covered sleeping bags, ribs at a cowboy steakhouse, and a night in Vegas to wrap it up.

More later.

The good news is that, if stung, “death is rare”.

The bad news is that a sting results in “severe pain (but rarely swelling [ more good news? (Len) ]) at the site of the sting, numbness, frothing at the mouth, difficulties in breathing (including respiratory paralysis), muscle twitching, and convulsions.”

Hmm, watch where you put your hands and be careful when walking around bare foot.

• 10/20/06 – High 61, Low 25
• 10/20/05 – High 64, Low 28
• 10/20/04 – High 54, Low 44
• 10/20/03 – High 80, Low 30
• 10/20/02 – High 63, Low 26

So, decent during the day and downright cold at night, with as much as a 36 degree swing between high and low. Bring your long underwear to sleep in!

Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)
River Runner Being Treated For Rabies

A river runner is receiving rabies treatment after being bitten or scratched by a rabid bat while at Lees Ferry on August 21st. The river runner was loading his boat with supplies when a young bat (Cave myotis) flew into his shirt, which was lying next to him. When the river runner put his shirt back on, the bat bit/scratched him on his left hip. The bat was captured, euthanized and submitted for testing. On August 22nd, the Arizona State Health Lab determined that the bat had rabies. Since the river runner had continued with his river trip, the National Park Service had to evacuate him from the canyon by helicopter. He then transported himself to Flagstaff for further treatment. Someone exposed to rabies undergoes post exposure prophylaxis or PEP. In the United States, PEP consists of a regimen of one dose of immune globulin and five doses of rabies vaccine over a 28-day period. Rabies immune globulin and the first dose of rabies vaccine should be given by a health care provider as soon as possible after exposure. Additional doses or rabies vaccine should be given 3, 7, 14 and 28 days after the first vaccination. Current vaccines are relatively painless and are given in a person’s arm, like a flu or tetanus vaccine. [Submitted by Pamela Walls, Public Affairs Specialist]