We woke up to overcast skies, but it had not yet rained. After packing up, we headed to the Johnson Café just outside of the park. Excellent family style meal, lots of food. We sat on a covered bench outside the café after breakfast for a while, with a view of the lake and the forest. While there (getting up to date on some journal entries) it began to rain.
The rain was not bad yet, and we headed into the park on Going to the Sun Road. It rained on and off, but never more than a heavy drizzle. We went for a few short hikes off of the road, and saw some incredible views and waterfalls. As the road winded and weaved up the mountain, it began to get more and more foggy. By the time we reached Logan Pass (the summit, with a lookout building), visibility was in the 30-foot range. We stopped briefly, found out that tomorrow is supposed to be clearer, and decided to get a campsite for the night and come back in the morning.
We continued on down the road to the next campground about 15 miles west. On the way down, the fog eventually cleared, but it was still raining, and getting heavier. At Avalanche Campground, we managed to get a really nice site (with a bear box, even!, usually that's our biggest concern since we can't just put things in the car like most people), and headed into town to pick up supplies for dinner.
It rained heavily throughout the evening, as we cooked beef stew and chili over the stove. Making a fire was challenging, but we had good dry wood, and some slightly damp paper. Lots of kindling later (I'm really glad we bought an axe…) and we had a great fire despite the heavy rain!
The night had its moments of miserableness… rain in the chili, EVERYTHING getting wet, Janet doubting if we could make it through the night, etc. I was beginning to have my doubts too, however once we got inside of the tent, all was ok. Despite the tent being soaked inside and out, and all of our clothes and riding gear being the same (we need to go crazy with some scotchgard soon!), the full size thermarests once again saved the day. I will again sing their praises! They are the Thermarest Camp Rest LE, and are 25"x77"x2.5" inflated. We have what they call the "couples kit" that straps them together so you can't fall between the cracks, and it was like a dry island in the sea. In the morning, the bottom of the thermarests were soaked, but the tops remained dry and warm. The old foam pads we used to use back in my Boy Scout days would have sucked. The sleeping bag got damp on the bottom where it touched the tent, but as the manufacturer claimed, they retained their warmth despite the wetness. We slept quite well, considering.
This log would read very different but for one thing… it did not rain the next day, and we were able to get everything dried out. But we will get into that in the next log…
later,
david.
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