In, Glacier

“REAL ADVENTURE IS DEFINED BEST AS A JOURNEY FROM WHICH YOU MAY NOT COME BACK ALIVE, AND CERTAINLY NOT AS THE SAME PERSON.” -YVON CHOUINARD

I’ll be the first to say that there was little chance we wouldn’t survive in Montana, but the second part of Yvon’s quote did happened — I never returned from Montana the same person. From wild horses attacking for the oats in my pack, to fresh tea we made from trail berries, to a standoff with big horned sheep, my ego, entitlements, and civilized self was completely scrambled.

Leading up to this trip, I’d never come close to a real adventure or even an understanding of what the word meant; even hearing the word in daily life makes me cringe now as local hikes and car camping trips have earned the stamp of adventure to a lot of people. Sorry to say, but a real adventure means that your survival, experiences, and outcomes are totally undefined. I too used this word a lot out of context, until I let Montana kick my teeth out. The word has fundamentally changed since then, and it took a scary, beautiful, and testing experience to finally catch up to what I was missing. This place will teach you lessons about power, wealth, spirituality, and what it means to be human that no textbook or classroom ever can.

WHERE WE STOOD AND RAIN FELL, THE WATER COULD EVENTUALLY RUN INTO THREE DIFFERENT OCEANS.

Glacier National Park is the most spectacular place I’ve seen, let alone been. It encompasses over 1 million acres of land, two mountain ranges, 130 named lakes, more than 1,000 different species of plants, and hundreds of species of animals (thanks Wikipedia). We also hiked Triple Divide Peak (middle-left photo below) and found that this is the only place in the US where water will eventually flow into either the Pacific, Atlantic, or Arctic Ocean.

WE FOUND A PLACE NO MAN HAS BUILT, BUT MANY HAVE PROTECTED.

Everyone who enjoys the outdoors and places like Glacier National Park should thank the National Park Service for managing all of the 56 National Parks here in the US. It’s an absolute gift and privilege for all who want to enjoy nature, tell stories, hike with the wildlife, make echoes in the canyons, and camp under the stars. America’s Best Idea is proving true, and is a piece of policy that’s been done right, is transparent, powerful, and comes from human’s core relationship with nature.

GLACIER ERADICATION IN 30 YEARS.

Within my lifetime the glaciers in GNP will be gone. That’s a sad thing to say out loud. Since 1910, the documentation of melting glaciers from climate change has been clear, and an even more rapid decline picks up as time passes. As it stands now, we only have thirty years to enjoy the giant glaciers before they’re completely wiped from GNP. This is an important time for us, not in terms of prevention or salvation (they are too far gone to save), but in terms of education for us to learn and tell stories from the things that have lived and thrived here for thousands of years. I urge you to plan a trip to this area, with the mission to connect and learn from something wonderful and approaching extinction.