Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Mt. Morgan Split
06/23/04
OK, it was the first time I used my bivy. But you would think that the dark fabric would be the bottom and the light fabric would be the top, but no. So I slept with the sil-nylon side up. Sil-nylon doesn't let any moisture through, so it all ended up on top of my down bag. However, my new down bag has some amazing fabric that keeps water out. The fabric's not perfect, but I'm perfectly happy with it.
Today, the trail took us up to a place with a choice of routes into Two Medicine. The traditional route is Pitamaken Pass. Jonathan's maps also pointed out another route which wrapped around Mt. Morgan and would take us to Dawson Pass, then down another valley into Two Medicine.
We decided to go up to Mt. Morgan and ended up at Cutbank Pass after crossing a long snow field which got a little steep toward the end. Cutbank Pass was below the trail around Mt. Morgan, or so the map told me. I informed everybody that I was going up to find the trail we intened to take.
I found it, but during my descending return, I saw that Gottago and Apple Pie were retreating to Pitamaken Pass. I was a little frustrated at their unilateral decision, so I made one myself: I was going to take the Mt. Morgan trail, warnings be damned. Spur chose to join me. The boys headed off for the 'dangerous' route. We continued on the well-defined, but not too used, trail. It had some steep snow on it, but it wasn't a bit deal. Plus, we got two points with two great views.
 | Cupcake at one of the great Mt. Morgan vistas |
As I made my way across more snow banks, I saw someone walking toward us. They stopped at the first snowbank. I said Hi fairly far away, then, as I drew closer, said, "Is that a familar face?" The reply was, "It is if you are Cupcake." It was Anish! She'd made plans with Gottago to meet us up here.
The three of us walked out toward Dawson Pass and had about 100 yards on a nice stretch of the Divide with a great mountain luring us forward. Then we dropped down past the Pillar, a very narrow, tall and long ridge that when viewed head-on looks like a pillar. Anish said it's a mile long and an amazing geological remnant. We continued to Two Medicine Lake, which had a tempting ferry, which we were perfectly timed to catch, but we passed. It was a long out for me. My energy was low.
I found out as I arrived that Apple Pie and Gottago had just arrived. I assumed they would have beaten us by hours. Gottago was stretched out on the ground. She wasn't doing well. Soon it was evident. She was shivering on a warm day which had little or no rain. I made a barrier with our packs to block the wind, but it didn't seem to make a difference. Soon I had another jacket on her and her sleeping bag. I was also trying to get her to drink water. I knew she hadn't eaten enough, but food was out of the question.
We were supposed to stay in the campground, but Anish got a ride to get her car, and she drove us into E. Glacier, where we got two rooms for the night. Gottago collapsed into sleep and the rest of us went to Serrano's for dinner.
One piece of news that Anish had passed on was that Chris Mills, Tony N's, and Jesse's team had fallen apart and backed out into Canada.
Chris had emailed Gottago and Spur, inquiring about the possibility of joining our troop. I got a hand-written note expressing the same desire, and a proposing getting together. I left a note for him, and we met up during dinner. Discussions will continue.
The hotel that had room was not the Whistling Swan, the place we stayed before because it had a great location. We decided that a zero was in order, but a hotel move had to happen. It was a little messy, but it worked out in the end.
To end this report of many details, Spur has decided to move on. He's not happy with the long breaks and the general cadence of his days with Apple Pie, Gottago and I. I want to keep him in our pack, so I'm working him to stay. We'll see.
