Day 67: Fitter, Happier, More Productive...

Woke up early and didn't feel like getting anywhere near the bike; especially with the panniers back on. So I killed time by watching downloaded episodes of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Season 3 is not holding up to the former glory of seasons 1 and 2. It's a bit disappointing. I ate a bunch of junk food, and drank a lot of bottled water I didn't want to carry with me today. Did I ever mention that the water in East Glacier can give you Giardia (sp?)? I also messed around with Photoshop CS3. Visiting Two Medicine was a good impetus to download and install it; those vistas demanded panoramic pictures. I have to give props to Mike Riscica (Sp?) of TNT2007 for the idea. I've taken so many cues from those guys and their excellent blog, I really need to thank them at some point, or buy them a Coke or something.

Around 9:30am I finally headed out the door and got moving west along Hwy 2. The climb was really not bad at all; not even really all that much of a climb. A little anti-climactic really... leave it to me to complain about it not being ENOUGH of a climb. The scenery was nice, but it just couldn't hold a candle to yesterday so I was rather conservative with my picture taking. I want my parents to see this place. I think they'd like it. When they move back to the states, they want to move to somewhere cool, and It'd be pretty great to visit this area for Christmas every year... not too likely though.


Wow... the other side of Marias pass is pretty stellar. There are a lot more Evergreens; it really feels like I've crossed the gateway into the Pacific Northwest. I love the smell, the moisture in the air and the views, which become pretty spectacular right after Marias Pass. The first 12 miles is all downhill, and I am flying I am a bird now; I am unstoppable; uncontrollable; untouchable; this is pretty mindblowing; the best riding of the trip surpasses yesterday (not in the view, but in the riding). Every mile gets more and more scenic. Giant walls of Evergreens unlike anything I have ever seen. The mountains in Utah are a joke, an afterthought. Today is a good day.

I stop for lunch in Essex and the meal is surprisingly good. I think I've passed through that phase where I got sick of food. I'm really digging the hamburger I got today. I ate quickly so I could get back out on the road. The crazy thing was that despite being at 5K feet, it was the warmest day I've seen in weeks. The day continued with a downward trend, though the downhills definitely mellowed. When I rolled out of the mountains and into West Glacier, I was craving more speed... maybe "velocity" would be a less confusing way to phrase that. I stopped at a Conoco and got a soda.

I entered the West Glacier Entrance of the park so I could get set up in the Apgar campground. There was a line of cars at the entrance gate, and when eventually it was my turn, I had my receipt/pass and ID ready for the ranger to inspect. He asked me where I was going and where I had come from, and he seemed impressed with my answers. I asked him about the camping fees and his reply was:

'I can't think of any other fees that YOU should have to pay'.

Wow. He accented YOU, and had a strange look on his face that seemed the subtle equivalent to a 'wink'. I could only assume he was 'waiving' my camping fee because he was so impressed with the quality of my character, or 'cut of my jib', to use the parlance of our times. And you know what... yeah... why not? Maybe I DO deserve free camping. This park ranger had such a keen insight into human nature that he could pick me out for the exemplary citizen that I am and determine that I was an asset to this community, and would bestow a certain legitimacy to this whole ramshackle affair they call a National Park. Unlike these other jerks, who drive their big fancy cars and hike with their big unwieldy backpacks, I manage to be bio-friendly whilst still possessing the good sense to know that hiking is just a dressed up term for 'walking around a while'. Yes... You are correct Mr. Aging Park Ranger. I can't think of any fees 'I' should have to pay either.

I roll into Apgar and Lake McDonald is just sitting there, front and center. I couldn't believe how amazing it looked, and also how little work it took to get there. I had seen pictures before, but assumed that this view had to be the reward for hours and hours of cycling. Nope it took 5 minutes to get there, and it's right next to the gift shop; simply amazing to look at.

I roll into the campground and ask the Camp Host, who is cleaning the roof of his RV, where the Hiker/Biker site is. He points it out (A10) and then instructs me to pay $5 at the self-register station. I take pause... Does he not realize who I am? Maybe if he came down from the roof of his RV, he would be able to see what an amazing specimen I am? Maybe his inability to see how deserving I am of free camping speaks more of his character than mine. How did this yahoo get to be a Camp Host? Clearly he lacks the insight of his aging counterpart at the entrance station. This guy is a menace. He's grown mad with his own power. Tyrant.

I begrudgingly pay the $5 like one of the common people, and the Camp Host's offer of free firewood does little to set things right between us. I set up my tent, shove the rest of my stuff in a bear-box, and go riding around on the bike trails they have in the park. The deer are fearless and stand in the middle of the trails staring at me as I pass within 2 feet of them.

The Glacier Bear Pamphlet recommends that you make noise on the trails to alert any possible bears of your presence. I haven't memorized too many things in my life, so I recite a little bit of the Gettysburg address, and a few LDS 'Articles of Faith' while I ride... but apparently in my old age, I no longer have a perfect mastery of those. It seems the only 'speech' I have memorized and retained is track 7 on OK Computer: 'Fitter Happier', which for those of you not familiar, is spoken by a 'text to speech program' (think Stephen Hawking) to produce an ominous effect.

'Fitter. Happier. more productive. Comfortable. not drinking too much. regular exercise at the gym (3 days a week). getting on better with your associate employee contemporaries. at ease. Eating well (no more microwave dinners and saturated fats). a patient better driver. a safer car (baby smiling in back seat). sleeping well (no bad dreams). no paranoia. careful to all animals (never washing spiders down the plughole). keep in contact with old friends (enjoy a drink now and then). will frequently check credit at (moral) bank (hole in wall). favours for favours. fond but not in love. charity standing orders. on sundays ring road supermarket. (no killing moths or putting boiling water on the ants). car wash (also on sundays). no longer afraid of the dark. or midday shadows. nothing so ridiculously teenage and desperate. nothing so childish. at a better pace. slower and more calculated. no chance of escape. now self-employed. concerned (but powerless). an empowered and informed member of society (pragmatism not idealism). will not cry in public. less chance of illness. tires that grip in the wet (shot of baby strapped in back seat). a good memory. still cries at a good film. still kisses with saliva. no longer empty and frantic. like a cat. tied to a stick. that's driven into frozen winter shit. (the ability to laugh at weakness). Calm. Fitter. Healthier and more productive. a pig. in a cage. on antibiotics.'

So yeah... I felt a little silly whenever a person would pop up from on the trail and it would be clear that they had caught at least 2 or 3 lines of what I was saying. Their faces seemed to say: 'Who is this kid, and why doesn't he get along with his associate employee contemporaries?'

I meet Matt P for dinner, which was another pretty good meal... I gotta say how much I am sick of 'homestyle' food though. He decides to camp out at Apgar as well, and after he gets set up in the dark, we have pretty much nothing to do so we talk for a couple of hours about the future, the past, relationships, jobs, friends, music, wild animals, etc. It's a good way to end the reunion period of this trip. Tomorrow Matt goes off on his own for good, and I will stick around here for a few more days. So now... and for real this time, I will be going solo.

Tomorrow it is supposed to rain, so I will get a 1-room cabin at KOA and kill a day tooling around on the internet so I can ride as far up the GOING TO THE SUN ROAD as I can on Saturday. I'm really looking forward to that, even if it is an abbreviated ride.