If you're local to the Flathead Valley, or even northwestern Montana, you've heard of the Great Northern, which is a mountain to the east of our area. It makes for a stunning view on a clear day, with its snow covered peak rising up in between the two closer mountain ranges.
Earlier this summer my husband Derek said he wanted to hike it at some point and I said I'm coming! Then towards the end of July my sister said hey I'm going to do this hike this Saturday, want to come? We said yes absolutely!
And let me tell you, about half a mile into the hike, I was regretting all of my life choices. It is about a 9.5 mile hike round trip, with about 3700 feet of elevation gain. The first two miles are quite literally straight up the side of the mountain. We were hiking slowly enough on this climb that we could pick huckleberries as we went! Side note: this area was also the most phenomenal huckleberry picking I've ever seen, with huge berries loaded on the bushes for as far as you could see.
I was doing my best to keep my endurance and stamina going and we took a LOT of breaks on our way up to the top of the first ridge. We knew we were getting close to the top of the ridge when the tree line started shifting from big evergreens to smaller scrubbier trees. The views were already amazing at this point!
We took a snack break at the top of the ridge, rested our already tired legs, and admired the 360 degree view we had, looking at Glacier National Park to the north, the Hungry Horse reservoir to the west, and the Great Northern peak to our east. The trail at this point was a slow ascent along a ridge, through the trees. There was a waterfall from runoff off the glacier that sits behind the peak. It was beautiful!
Remember how tired our legs were though? We still had a few miles of climbing to do! By the time we reached the sandy/rocky shale path that winds along the last stretch of rock face that brings you to the actual peak, I was battling with my mind. I was so tired, my legs were already jelly, I was doing everything I could to just keep taking steps forward.
My husband was my cheerleader and kept encouraging me that I could do it. He was doing this all with our baby on his back, but I was doing enough complaining for the both of us! I told my sister at one point that this was the hardest physical thing I have ever done and she asked even more than labor?? I said yes, because at least you get a break between contractions! On this trail, the upward climb is pretty relentless. It also started to feel at some points that no matter how much ground we covered, that peak just wasn't getting any closer.
I had a little mental breakdown on the final rocky stretch to the top. My husband called me out on the excuses I was making, and his tough love annoyed me enough (haha) to keep going. When we reached the actual top of the ridge right before the first peak - there are a few peaks leading up to the actual peak - a thunderstorm was rolling in on us. My intrusive thoughts kicked in and I panicked. We were going to be lightning rods if we were up this high!
My sister and I were both nervous with the height too. Picture being on a rocky ridge with steep drop offs on either side. Yikes! The wind also picked up at this point with the storm rolling in. We decided to call it good enough making it to this point so we sat and rested, and I fed my baby. My husband and our other friend wanted to make it to the peak so they scrambled along the rest of rocky path on up. They made it!
On their way back down it started raining, and we were needing to get down fast back into the tree line. During this portion of the descent, Derek told us that he felt a shock in his trekking pole and heard static in his ear. I was just praying we didn't become a rescue mission at this point. Remember, the views at the top were breathtaking! But at this point staying safe was our priority. Our hair was standing on end due to the static charge in the air.
Back in the tree line we all breathed a sigh of relief. This next portion of the hike was fun and everyone was in good spirits. We had made it to the top, we survived the thunderstorm, the air had cooled off, and we were halfway done and making our way back.
We had one minor oops when we get off trail and starting heading down the wrong way, but thankfully some hikers in front of us had made the same mistake and caught us from traveling too far down the trail.
The last difficult mental stretch was descending that steep 2 miles back to the parking lot. If you thought hiking up at 45 degree angle was relentless, ask your toes when you get down how the descent was! My toenails are still bruised. Also trying to slow your momentum down a sandy trail while your legs are tired and shaky is another kind of workout in itself.
We joked that the sight of the parking lot was the prettiest view! Taking our shoes off, guzzling water and eating another snack, and enjoying being done with 8 hours of hiking was the best feeling. I would have told you in the week afterwards that I was never doing that again, but just like labor, your mind starts to cloud how challenging the experience was and you start to think, yeah I could do that again!
At this point I have no plans to, but it does feel like I need to redeem myself for how much complaining I did! As my sister said, it was a character building experience, to say the least. It is worthwhile to challenge ourselves and push outside of our comfort zones. I think I'm good to stay in my comfort zone for a little while, until the next challenge comes along :)
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