Rest
I still had three and a half days until I would meet Peter at the PNT trailhead, and only about 26 miles to go. I would be in for a couple of short days. My itinerary for this day had me hiking only 6.4 miles to Poia Lake Campground. I took my time in the morning and savored some more camp store coffee, sending a couple last messages to Peter.
I decided that if the weather was nice, I would just find a nice spot on top of the ridge to sit for the afternoon. The sun came out and stayed out, making the climb up to the ridge feel surprisingly tough. I knew that if there was a treeless spot anywhere on the ridge, the view down toward Many Glacier would be incredible.
At the very top of the ridge, I saw a faint side trail leading off of the main path. I hadn’t actually seen anything like this in Glacier; most of the trails were pretty well-defined. My curiosity took hold and I followed the side trail about a quarter-mile to an open meadow with one of the best views I have ever seen.
Right next to the meadow was a pond with clear, cold water. All of my needs were met. I sat there for the whole afternoon, feeling the contrast between the intense sunlight and the icy wind. When the sun beat down, everything was still and quiet. Mosquitos would swarm around me, probably smelling my sweat. But as soon as a cloud came over, the wind would chill me to the bone, blowing away the mosquitos and making the pine trees whisper.
I played Big Thief’s album U.F.O.F out of my phone speaker and cried multiple times, feeling so centered, happy, grateful to be doing this.
