#giantsridge getting fake snowed. Wish I were more excited.

The lakes near my condo are very glassy today! #naturepics #prettylakes #reflections #naturephotography

My winter gig is at the brand new Giant's Ridge Pool Haus, walking distance from the condo where I live. It's a nice facility, including a huge pool and a spa and two saunas, and a very nice staff. Come for a swim!

I traveled to #voyageursnationalpark today, a couple hours from me, right by the Canadian border. It's a beautiful park, but you really need a boat to appreciate it. I'll return with my kayak someday for sure.

My beautiful awesome mother died Monday after a 10 year battle with Alzheimers and weeklong painful struggle to breathe at the end. I'm grateful I was back from Montana and had a good visit before she got sick, and that I could be with her as she passed. I'll miss her so much. She's with dad again.

I visited a huge Western shop in Cut Bank today. I could have easily dropped a grand, but settled on this #bitchinwesternshirt I'll be back next year for boots!!

I only have two weeks left here, so I repeated my fave hike #dawsonpitamakan #hiking #glacierpark #hikemoreworryless

It's that time of the summer when I am excited to go home and see my family, but super sad to be saying goodbye to new friends, some of whom I may never see again :-( Goodbye to the best team ever!

Glacier Park Lodge has adopted a chunk of Hwy 2, and we picked up trash this morning. Lotsa cans, bottles, cig butts. Needles. Diapers. And one bike. It was both gross and fun. Please friends, dispose of your trash properly! #giveahootdontpollute

Spent afternoon on Lake McDonald with my friend after scoring a free tandem kayak at Apgar. We thought we'd paddle to Lake McDonald Lodge and have dinner, then kayak back. About six miles in we realized it's a huge effin lake and turned back. #bucketlist #soretomorrow

The best part of seasonal work is the people you meet. We had a going-away party tonight for our J1 international workers. We truly had the best team ever, and a lot of that was due to these sweet girls from Thailand, Lithuania and Czech Republic. The thought of never seeing them again brings tears!

Triple Divide Pass is a significant hydrological location where water flows to three different oceans—the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Arctic, making it a rare and unique spot! I spent a bunch of time watching some crazy climbers also. I hope they made it down ok! #hiking #glacier 2/2

Triple Divide Pass is one of my favorite hikes! It is located in a sparsely visited part of the park, so there arent many people on the trail. 14.5 miles rt, 2500 ft elev gain, and a geological wonder! #hiking #glacierpark 1/2

Sometimes a #hammocking day is needed. I had a lovely relaxing day by Two Medicine Lake :-)

If you take the boat and start the Two Medicine Pass #hike at the other end of the big lake, you can cut off 2.5 unexciting miles, making the hike about 13 rt and 2500 elev gain. Bring a bag to pick huckleberries! I could have picked at least a gallon without even stepping off the trail, yummy! 2/2

If you are planning on #hiking to #twomedicinepass in #glaciernationalpark here are a few tips: It's gorgeous and worth the effort. Wear a hat with a string! I have been on other windy passes (Dawson, Firebrand), but this pass takes the cake for gale force, barely able to stand at times wind! 1/2

I can tell the weather is bad outside if I see Goldie sleeping behind the bellman's station. She only comes inside if it's cold or raining. She knows she isn't supposed to come in the Lodge otherwise. I'm glad management tolerates and let's us love on these sweet rez dogs! #dogsofbluesky

#hiking up the Dancing Lady trail before work. It's #mushrooms season!

Me and my young coworkers hiked up to Grinnell Glacier. 10 miles rt, 2000 ft elev. Gorgeous but too many people cuz it's well known and popular. This summer's road restrictions helped though. I was afraid I'd have trouble keeping up with these youngsters, but i didn't cuz I'm a badass #hiking mf!

This is Grizz, another rez dog who hangs out around the Lodge. He is saying hello from the open doorway of the employee cafeteria. He knows he isn't supposed to come in, so he isn't, but he sure hopes someone will bring him a tasty treat! #dogsofbluesky

The Siyeh Pass #hike is in my top 3 in the park! Shhhh, don't tell anyone. About 10 miles and 2400 feet elev gain if you start from Siyeh Bend and come out at Sunrift Gorge on GTS Road. Incredibly scenic, diverse and way less people than Highline, I loved taking Eamon for his first time. His mind 🤯

My friend Bobby and his son Eamon have been visiting the past few days. Always the best days of the summer when they meet me here. Tomorrow we hike Siyeh!

#sperrychalet is a tough #hike with 3600 ft elevation gain, 12.6 miles roundtrip. But it didnt feel as tough as I anticipated. The worst part is the lack of shade for 80% of the trail as it travels through the burn area which is regrowing, but big shade trees take time. It was hot too! 2/3

People can reserve rooms and sleep up there (bucket list!!). You can also eat lunch up there, and the food is good and reasonably priced considering all supplies must be brought up by horses and there is only solar power and propane for cooking and preserving. I'm so glad I finally went back! 3/3

Today's hike was to Sperry Chalet, which partially burned in 2017 and was rebuilt. Thankfully most of the original structures survived. I hadn't been up there since 1989 when i was a youngster and #hiking in terrible shoes, with probably a box of raisins in a fanny pack. Oh how I've geared up! 1/3

I met this goofy #marmot on my #hike today. Those feet!!! I'm in love ❤️ !!!

Guess who won the #ChristmasinJuly golf cart decorating contest??!!? I'm pretty sure we won cuz our funniest coworker dressed as an over-the-top tourist, running scared in front of our "bear." We paraded them through the Lodge driveway and the guests loved it! There were a lot of great carts! #fun

#hiking back from the Chalet the weather got better, but then there were even more people on the trail. This is why I only do the #highline once per summer. When I got back to my car, tons of folks were circling parking lot waiting for a spot. Beautiful #hike but I prefer other quieter trails! 2/2

Today's #glacierpark #hike was a classic, the Highline from Logan's Pass to Granite Park Chalet and back. I got up at 4:00 am, and arrived at the parking lot at 5:52, and there were only a few parking spots left, despite cloudy rainy cold weather. Too many people on the trail, even at 6:00 am!! 1/2

#Glacierpark #dawsonpitamakan #hike 3/3. What a perfect day!

I prefer starting on the Dawson side as it makes catching the boat easier, plus I think it's easier as most of the tough uphill (2968 elevation gain) is at the beginning of the hike. I love this #hike as it spends a lot of time way up high, which is my favorite thing about #hiking 2/3

My friend Bryce is visiting, yay! Today we hiked my favorite trail, the Dawson-Pitamakan Loop. It's long, it's hard, but it is gorgeous, especially today with the most perfect clouds! We took the tour boat across Two Med Lake to knock off a couple miles, which brought it to around 16 miles. 1/3

The Prince of Wales Hotel in #waterton #canada is so classy and beautiful! It feels very Swiss and is certainly the jewel of this lovely little mountain town. It was super foggy today, but the view of the lake and mountains from the glass wall in the lobby was still breathtaking! Check it out!

I went to #waterton #canada for the first time in 24 years. Last time I was there I had a hassle at the border and later got a speeding ticket, so I was hesitant to go back, but I'm glad I did as what a gorgeous place! Even in the rain :-) I'll be back again soon!

Goldie and Hunter are rez dogs who basically live at the Lodge. They supposedly have a home, but since they are at the Lodge 24/7 I'm skeptical. They are so sweet, and all the employees (and some of the guests) love them. They occasionally come inside, even into the gift shop where I work. #doglove

North American Indian Days is happening in Browning, MT. It's a huge powwow including dancing, singing, drumming, traditional foods, arts, and crafts. There is also a rodeo featuring an Indian relay race (bareback racers jumping from horse to horse between laps, hard to describe but awesome!) Go!

#ptarmigantunnel is a cool tunnel through a top of a mountain in #glacierpark which today yielded my best marmot pic ever (see prev post). They are super limiting who can come into this part of park this summer, so there were very few people on the trail. Now I could use a beer and foot massage! 2/2

Today's #hike was #ptarmigantunnel ! It's a cool tunnel through a top of a mountain. Here's a video of me walking through it, which is always so awesome! Today I met a new friend in there :-)

Sweet little morning #hike to #asterfalls and overlook, about 4 miles roundtrip. I enjoyed coffee, scones, my book, and some delightful conversation with friends I ran into up high. I also saw my 4th moose of the summer! Too buried in foliage for a good pic, but she was huge! #glacierpark

Public service announcement for #tourons : It's uncool to deface anything found in a national park. No one wants to see the stupid message you scratch into a rock, or your initials, or your empty Cheetos bag, or to hear your music. Don't be an asshole, please, when enjoying our national parks!

The #beargrass was insane on this trail. Like I've never seen so much on one trail. The trail parallels a stream with several waterfalls. I dumped hat fulls of water over my head at every opportunity! So many great hikes here in #glaciernationalpark !! 2/2

Today's #hike was to #otokomilake , about 10 miles roundtrip. It was challenging as it was hot and there are a few miles through a burn area with very little shade. Also, lotsa uphill! But it was a beautiful day, the lake was refreshing and lotsa fish which I think I coulda grabbed bare-handed! 1/2

An easy 7.2 miles today, North Shore trail to Upper Two Medicine Lake (and I caught the boat back). It was hot so it was nice to be by a gorgeous lake to cool off. My foot is still bothering me, so I'm trying to ease up on the long hikes til it fully heals. As mom said, it's no fun getting old!

My view walking home from work last night #trippysky #photography #naturepics

Giving my feet a rest, so I drove the Going-to-the-Sun Road today to Lake McDonald where the weather was perfect, so I kayaked for a couple hours. And ate a giant ice cream cone! #glacierpark

The beargrass is out and gorgeous here at #glacierpark !

As I hiked 18 miles today (woops, gonna have trouble walking tomorrow), I kept thinking, this is how the world should be. Even when I got attacked (for real) by an angry grouse. Turn off the news and #hike

#glacierpark #hiking Unfortunately it got quite smoky as I summited Scenic Point. Even this cute marmot couldn't see much of a view, but it was still a fantastic hike and highly recommended! 2/2

#glacierpark #hiking Today I hiked from East Glacier to Two Medicine via the Mount Henry trail and over Scenic Point. The first 3 miles are on reservation land until you hit the park border. It's a gorgeous but challenging 12 miles with 3100 feet of elevation gain. 1/2

#pieganpass #hike 3/3 It was an hour drive each way to the trail during which I listened to the new Alan Sparhawk/Trampled By Turtles cd on repeat. Sooo gorgeous. "Get Still" in particular took me to a new dimension. Thanks so much @lowtheband.bsky.social You will accompany me to hikes all summer ❤️