I hope everyone knows that you can click on any picture to see it bigger. It makes a difference.
Sunday I did not wake up in time to take the ranger guided hike so I picked another hike I had heard was good and headed for Cracker Lake in the Many Glaciers area. I saw a grizzly on the side of the road near where I was going to hike. He was about 40 yards away keeping an eye on the onlookers. I snapped a couple of photos and moved on. The hike was an 11-1/2 mile hike to a lake deep in the mountains. The trail started off easy but soon the inevitable uphill part came and I was fine for a while but when I hit the switchbacks going up the side of a steep mountain, my body told me I was in trouble. I guess it was too soon after my last 2 long hikes and I had not recovered as well as I thought. I pushed on and was happy that this trail was through the mountain forest which was different from my previous hikes. The foliage was lush and there were beautiful wildflowers everywhere. I followed a creek for much of the hike and hearing the sound of the rushing water made things serene. The smells were also intoxicating with the fragrance of the flowers and the trees that smelled like Christmas. The mixture of the two should be bottled because it was very pleasant to the olfactory. When I did emerge from the forest, the sights of the creek and the colorful mountains around me were astounding. I never really knew what they meant in the song by "purple mountains majesty" until I came out here. They truly are purple. I started doing better although my pace was a little slower than the previous hike. I forged on for what seemed like hours and I knew I had to be getting close to my destination but I was wrong. I hiked alone this day only passing the occasional young hikers going the opposite way. After a while longer, I finally passed a young family and they told me I had another 30 minutes to go. I was really hurting by this point but I was not about to give up. I finally made it to the lake and it was very similar to Iceberg Lake except no icebergs and the water was cloudy from what they call "Glacier Flour" which is a powdery substance from the glaciers that makes the water milky. I found a spot that I could climb down to the water and took off my boots and socks and soaked my swollen tired feet in the icy cold water. It felt really good as I ate some snacks and rested. The wind was tremendously strong this day with gusts that would come up and almost knock me off my feet but the cool breeze felt good to my hot body. I was the only one at the lake at this point and it was very peaceful and I enjoyed the serenity. After about 45 minutes I decided I should head back since it was going to take a while. My feet felt better and I started off OK but at a slower pace. The journey back was long and hard. This trail had kicked my butt. I had made it almost all the way back when I ran into a big grizzly (see picture of scared face). I had startled him because I was too tired to sing or talk loudly anymore by this point. He did not like that and started to come at me. I was able to snap this photo as I was walking the other way. I threw a granola bar over my shoulder and he stopped to eat it. I slipped quickly away and went way around him and thankfully never saw him again. I hadn't told anyone I've spoken to about this because I didn't want to scare them but I felt the story should be told. That got my adrenaline going and I was able to hike the rest of the way at a very fast pace. I got on my bike and headed home which was 2-1/2 hours away. I was whooped and ready for some food and a shower. I needed some rest since I was skydiving the next day and I wanted to have my wits about me for that. There is no way that skydiving could be as scary as the encounter with the bear.
I awoke early on Monday and prepared myself for jumping out of a perfectly good plane to fall at 120 MPH to the ground for 30 seconds. The day was perfect with no clouds and light winds. I left early and stopped for some breakfast and then headed to Lost Prairie to mark something off my bucket list. I had to drive 3 miles down a dirt/gravel road to get there, surprise, surprise. I arrived right on time at 11:00 and met Fred, the owner, who I had made the arrangements with a couple of months ago. I then met the 29 year old ex-army man, Ryan, who I would be tethered to for our "flight". He was very nice and very confident. After signing and initialing all the legal forms that said I would not sue or hold responsible anybody or anything associated with the jump, I watched an 8 minute instructional video. Ryan gave me some more instructions and then I met Steven the cameraman who would be filming everything associated with the jump. I would be jumping out of a small Cessna that barely held us 4 big guys. Ryan and I practiced getting hooked up in the plane and getting into position to see if I was flexible enough to maneuver when the time came. I did just fine to my surprise so we did some on the ground video and then the pilot, Danny, showed up. We loaded into the plane and said our prayers that the plane would get off the ground with all this weight in it and then took off down the runway. We made it into the air and slowly ascended to 9000 feet which was our jump height. The view from the plane was incredible with the mountains, the blue/green lakes, and the fields below. At 7000 feet we moved around to get into position and hooked up for the jump. My feet were being smashed so I was hoping to get out the door as soon as possible. I never was scared or nervous as I thought I might be. Steven opened the door and got out on the wing strut and then Ryan got his foot in place and then it was my turn. My other knee was still in the plane and I had to move it a little so it wouldn't get caught on anything as we jumped. I just got it in place and the next thing I know Ryan had jumped us out of the plane. We started to tumble and ended face up to the sky which is opposite of where we needed to be. We rolled back into position and I arched my head back as instructed and we were good. The cameraman came in and shot some videos and still shots. The 30 seconds went by really quickly and Ryan deployed the shoot at 500 feet and it jarred us like slamming on the brakes. At this point everything went quiet and we just enjoyed the beauty and feeling of flying. The parachutes are like hang gliders the way they can maneuver them. At one point Ryan said "This is a speed chute so let me show you what it can do." At that point, he pulls on the left chord and we go flying at 70 MPH to the left and down. It was a lot like being on a roller coaster 3000 feet in the air with no rails. It was truly exhilarating. We came down and Ryan said we would probably come in too fast to land on our feet so we should just slide in. Ryan had knee surgery last year because a girl didn't land right and caused him to tear his knee. So we came down right on target and slid home. Before I jumped I had said that this would be my one and only time but after this experience I'm not so sure. It was such a rush and so much fun that I may do it again one day. I would like to go solo next time however so that would require some training. After Ryan repacked his chute, we celebrated with a beer while Steven worked on editing the film and putting it on a DVD. It took a while but I didn't mind as Ryan and I talked and looked out at the beautiful day. Steven finally finished and let me watch the DVD and it was great. We said our goodbyes and I headed home glad that I had decided to skydive in Montana. Steven warned me that the DVD may not play on my player because of the format and that happened. He said to let him know and he would correct it for me so I will have to get him to send me another copy formatted differently so I can show it when I get home.
This was my last full day in Montana as I am leaving in the morning for Banff in Alberta, Canada. I am looking forward to what I am being told is an even more beautiful place than here. This I've got to see and I am anxious to get there. Goodbye Montana and thanks for all the happy memories.
I awoke early on Monday and prepared myself for jumping out of a perfectly good plane to fall at 120 MPH to the ground for 30 seconds. The day was perfect with no clouds and light winds. I left early and stopped for some breakfast and then headed to Lost Prairie to mark something off my bucket list. I had to drive 3 miles down a dirt/gravel road to get there, surprise, surprise. I arrived right on time at 11:00 and met Fred, the owner, who I had made the arrangements with a couple of months ago. I then met the 29 year old ex-army man, Ryan, who I would be tethered to for our "flight". He was very nice and very confident. After signing and initialing all the legal forms that said I would not sue or hold responsible anybody or anything associated with the jump, I watched an 8 minute instructional video. Ryan gave me some more instructions and then I met Steven the cameraman who would be filming everything associated with the jump. I would be jumping out of a small Cessna that barely held us 4 big guys. Ryan and I practiced getting hooked up in the plane and getting into position to see if I was flexible enough to maneuver when the time came. I did just fine to my surprise so we did some on the ground video and then the pilot, Danny, showed up. We loaded into the plane and said our prayers that the plane would get off the ground with all this weight in it and then took off down the runway. We made it into the air and slowly ascended to 9000 feet which was our jump height. The view from the plane was incredible with the mountains, the blue/green lakes, and the fields below. At 7000 feet we moved around to get into position and hooked up for the jump. My feet were being smashed so I was hoping to get out the door as soon as possible. I never was scared or nervous as I thought I might be. Steven opened the door and got out on the wing strut and then Ryan got his foot in place and then it was my turn. My other knee was still in the plane and I had to move it a little so it wouldn't get caught on anything as we jumped. I just got it in place and the next thing I know Ryan had jumped us out of the plane. We started to tumble and ended face up to the sky which is opposite of where we needed to be. We rolled back into position and I arched my head back as instructed and we were good. The cameraman came in and shot some videos and still shots. The 30 seconds went by really quickly and Ryan deployed the shoot at 500 feet and it jarred us like slamming on the brakes. At this point everything went quiet and we just enjoyed the beauty and feeling of flying. The parachutes are like hang gliders the way they can maneuver them. At one point Ryan said "This is a speed chute so let me show you what it can do." At that point, he pulls on the left chord and we go flying at 70 MPH to the left and down. It was a lot like being on a roller coaster 3000 feet in the air with no rails. It was truly exhilarating. We came down and Ryan said we would probably come in too fast to land on our feet so we should just slide in. Ryan had knee surgery last year because a girl didn't land right and caused him to tear his knee. So we came down right on target and slid home. Before I jumped I had said that this would be my one and only time but after this experience I'm not so sure. It was such a rush and so much fun that I may do it again one day. I would like to go solo next time however so that would require some training. After Ryan repacked his chute, we celebrated with a beer while Steven worked on editing the film and putting it on a DVD. It took a while but I didn't mind as Ryan and I talked and looked out at the beautiful day. Steven finally finished and let me watch the DVD and it was great. We said our goodbyes and I headed home glad that I had decided to skydive in Montana. Steven warned me that the DVD may not play on my player because of the format and that happened. He said to let him know and he would correct it for me so I will have to get him to send me another copy formatted differently so I can show it when I get home.
This was my last full day in Montana as I am leaving in the morning for Banff in Alberta, Canada. I am looking forward to what I am being told is an even more beautiful place than here. This I've got to see and I am anxious to get there. Goodbye Montana and thanks for all the happy memories.
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