Day 141 - Continental Divide Trail - East Glacier Park

Day: 141

Date: Tuesday, 24 September 2024

Start:  East Glacier MT

Finish:  East Glacier MT

Daily Kilometres:  0.0

GPX Track:  Click here and here for Julie’s Strava & Photos from her run and walk today.

Total Kilometres:  4089.3

Weather:  Cool early then mild and mostly sunny.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Omelette, hash browns, toast & jam/Scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, blueberry pancakes.

  Lunch:  Meat & cheese subs.

  Dinner:  Nachos, icecream 

Aches:  Nothing reported.

Highlight:  Lazy relaxing day.

Lowlight:  Dave tried six different possible shuttle drivers/companies to organise an early ride to the Glacier National Park Visitor Center in St Mary, 50km away, tomorrow morning to book our backcountry campsites for the next leg of our journey.  It opens at 7:30am.  Campsites are allocated on a first-come first-served basis on the day of, or the day before, you enter the park, so it is desirable to be there early.

The response of the companies/drivers contacted varied - some didn't respond, some weren't available and some were outrageously priced.  Finally, one offered to do it at a less outrageous price.  Hopefully they turn up at 7am as.promised.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Julie went for a dawn run and then we both walked to a nearby cafe for a nice American breakfast.

For much of the rest of the day, Dave hung out in the motel room doing planning and admin while Julie looked around town and went for a walk in the afternoon.

East Glacier apparently originated as a railway town, but is now more of a tourist stop for visitors to Glacier National Park.  A large percentage of the population are Native Americans of the Blackfeet Tribe.  It is a good place for hikers as there are various eateries and the town is compact.

Last night, Julie accepted an invitation (to both of us) to join some of the other CDT hikers for a drink back at the Mexican restaurant where we had earlier had dinner.  Dave opted out.  Tonight we joined some of the same hikers back there for a very convivial dinner.  Everybody is proud of what they have done and savoured the experience, but looking forward to their last days on the trail and moving on to the next thing in their lives.