Note: I will be linking the PNT maps to each post going forward. The PNT changes each year, so the maps reflect the PNT route in 2019. Notes like like “0024P” or “W204” or “0104A” refer to map waypoints.

I woke up around 5 a.m., anxious to see Peter and get to the PNT trailhead. The extra 100 miles that I hiked through Glacier had been gorgeous and totally worthwhile, but I couldn’t wait to actually be on the PNT. I hiked at a grueling pace along the Belly River Trail, totally failing to appreciate the scenery, and made it to the parking lot at least an hour early, emotionally eating through my bag of trail mix.

Peter showed up with their friends Benay and Zoë, tons of extra food, a new Sawyer filter, a new battery bank, and their old 1980s external frame Jansport backpack from the AT, still held together by duct tape and makeshift tent stake splints (Chekov’s backpack). We swapped food and supplies for a bit and excitedly caught up with each other. Benay and Zoë were in the middle of a road trip - they were just planning to hike with us for part of the day, then turn back to their car to continue west toward Seattle.

Obligatory trailhead photo

We strolled along the Belly River Trail, and this time I was more willing to appreciate the vast meadows and glacier-topped mountains surrounding us. We took a few breaks among the wildflowers and on the river bank.

Probably laughing about the clouds
Zoë crossing Belly River on one of Glacier's wonderfully-bouncy suspension bridges

Sometime in the afternoon, I started getting anxious about how far we had to go before we would reach our campsite that night. So Peter and I parted ways with Benay and Zoë, now left on our own to find our way west.

We had been hiking for about hour when Peter’s backpack fell apart for the first time. I don’t remember what actually happened, but the way my brain rewrote the memory is that we were moseying along and it just spontaneously exploded into a thousand pieces. We stopped for a bit so that they could perform some “pack wizardry”. This would become a common occurrence for the next couple of days.

Araniella displicata, "Six-spotted orb weaver", on a patchwork of lichens

We made it into Glenn’s Head campground before dusk. It was only then when I read Tim Youngbluth’s warning in the PNT trail guide about the constant wind that seems to funnel over the lake toward the campground. That was definitely true - the wind buffeted against my high-profile tent all night, making it a somewhat restless night. Peter strung up their hammock near me, but I don’t remember them being that bothered by the wind.

I think we decided before nightfall that we’d need to find Peter a new backpack as soon as possible.