big creek lake backpack hike

read on to get the story of why we ended up like this...

so, after dropping mom, amy, will and bailey off at the airport on saturday, dad, chris and i decide that we were going to go on an overnight backpacking trip to big creek lake. we stop at sportmans warehouse and get packs, sleeping bags, backpacker tents, freeze dried food, all the things we think we will need for our 'adventure'. sunday morning at 9 am, we are off. here are the particulars of this 'adventure':

goal: big creek lake, montana
beginning elevation of hike: 4000'
ending elevation of hike: 6000'
estimated distance: 20 miles, one way (at least it seemed)
actual distance: 9 miles (one way)
estimated time to reach goal: 4-5 hours
actual time to reach goal: 8 hours
weight of packs carried on our backs: 35-45 pounds

needless to say, certain persons in our 'adventure' did not plan very well. meaning, all three of us over packed. the difficulty of the hike was never put out in the open either. about the last mile or so of the hike consisted of several switchbacks and 60 steps...STRAIGHT UP. within that last mile, we went up about 800'. it was a very difficult, extreme hike that had us at several points wondering if we were going to make it. but let me now insert a picture that rewarded our efforts:

pictures, words can not describe the absolutely amazing, breathtaking, marvelous reward at the top of the mountain we hiked to. what peace and absence of pain in our bodies from the treacherous hike when we reached our goal. stunning. we set up camp, fished a little. i caught the biggest trout that chris cooked over the fire and we all shared. after securing our packs to avoid overnight visitors (aka...bears) we enjoyed the fire and view before settling in for the night. it took me a little longer to fall asleep due to every sound mimicking a bear (in my mind). of course dads snoring did not help! the morning brought a majestic place to wake up. absolutely beautiful. we made breakfast, cleaned up camp, fished a little more then set back down the very treacherous trail. it took us 7 hours to get back and again, there were times where we wondered if we would make it. we are very proud of ourselves for this mighty accomplishment. you would have to hike it (with the packs we loaded) to get a full understanding and appreciation of what we experienced. of course we learned some very important lessons in hiker school. somethings are not necessary to take on that type of trip. we have all agreed that despite the pain, we would do it again.

we will be getting up early in the morning as mickey is picking us up to take us fishing. what fun we are having.

there is so much to share. our trip to glacier national park while mom, amy, will and bailey were here included playing in the snow!!! i will post more pictures and share more about our trip when we return and i can get on a faster computer...