Never know what the night will hold

About time summer rolls around West Glacier, today it is sunny and 80 out but at night it drops down to 40. I've started on a portion of my project and discovered that the beetle is in fact here although the forest is so dense that the trees being affected are going to be hard to see from the NASA images I have. I also had found a map that is most likely going to be my main source to get at these sites because its so rugged and there's no trails in the Great Bear leading to them. I would love to get mega indepth with it but as tourists start rolling in my time off the river is growing thin. For the capstone project I feel my information is suffcient enough and if needed I can grow on it as an independant study or something along those lines. As far as the river goes its been great, Mikey P and myself had another full day but this time we put in all the way up at Bear Creek. That made for about a 30-35 mile day which is almost double what we normally do. My first dinner trip didn't end up showing up after they paid and everything so that was a little dissapointing. I was so stoked to do it so our manager let me take the one today that I'm currently waiting for at 2:00. After the river yesterday the our whole "new" gang loaded up my van with 5 kayaks and 8 people and headed for a small creek inside the park called Mcdonald Creek. It's this baby blue, clear as crystal creek that flows out of Lake Mcdonald and eventually into the Middle Fork of the Flathead. The original plan was to float to the bridge which we quickly decided to tack on another 3 miles and head to Blankenship. Lets just say it was the best float I've ever done for reasons that you only had to be there to witness. On top of the already jammed packed day I was driving back to Wild River and sure enough I see this huge mountain lion walking on the road next to my campsite. It was probably 4 feet long and 3 feet tall just hangin out in our campground. I relayed the message to people at work n the campground because its kinda sketchy when we walk everywhere. Tomorrow I'm on the board for a scenic with Norma which should be interesting because there is no whitewater at all on the scenic stretch. After that the whole work crew is lined up for a free zipline tour in Whitefish down the ski-mountain. Oh the benefits of working in West Glacier. I'm headed out to pack and organize food for this dinner trip, nothing like making fresh salmon, steak, and chicken river side for a family of four.

 Starting where I believe I left off, the full day trip was superb. Danger and myself ended up taking out a family of doctors which made the trip quite interesting. It was awesome to give people who live in the city an opportunity to just gawk and gaze the whole time taking everything new in. Not only are full day's a day of complete relaxation but we get to eat free lunch as well. The days of the week are blending together very smoothly each with its new level of rafting knowledge. We had a summer solstice work party with the wranglers across the way as well which turned out awesome. Brian had made smoked ribs and trout which was a great meal to end a long day of weed wacking. With trips slowly getting a little more busy, me and Bryant noticed we weren't on the board yesterday so we decided to head to East Glacier and St. Mary's to hopefully see a glacier. Turned out to be the most spectacular views at mountains I've ever seen.

St. Mary's Entrance to Glacier Park

Driving around outside the Park

One of our boats on an overnighter we happended to see going past goat lick overlook.

If you look closly you can see a mountain goat at the top of the cutbank.

After our 16 mile trip down the North Fork today our work put on an activity called the weed rodeo 2011. Bascially the Forest Service came in and partnered up with our boss in order to gain awareness of invasive weeds that are growing along the banks of the Flathead river. We picked weeds for about an hour then headed back to Wild River World Headquarters for a meal. Bryant and myself got to cook for the 30 people that were there on this badass grill that can grill up to 25 hamburgers at a time. It's been great in West Glacier, the tourists are rolling in, the weather is fantastic, and trips are on the daily now.

Shazam

Awesome footage of the Middle Fork during flood stage. Filmed using a GoPro on a remote controlled helicopter.

Can never re-live a first.

Today was an awesome day in my books because it was the first commercial trip in which I get paid for out here. I ended up taking a paddle boat which I'm more comfortable with and the water dropped down to 13,000 cfs. Despite the onslaught of water it has yet to make the river rise. The 2:00 trip consisted of what I thought to be a bachelor group out of Canada but turned out to be a mens christian group out of Canada. It was Robb, Kenny, and myself which made a total of 15 people. Super smooth lines through each rapid and even styled Jaws. The group just loved it although they didn't express it in the form of any tips. After great success for the day we officially made it off the trainee list which is still 5 deep. Next week were already on the board, Bryant with a dinner trip and I landed a full day middle fork trip. Lovin' that I'm finally making some money although the Going to the Sun Road isn't open yet and from what I've heard today isn't supposed to open anytime soon. It's only been 20 days since I've got here and it literally seems like a lifetime ago. Our days consist of so many new things and so many out of the ordinary experiences that time is either flying by or time is just not a factor to the lifestyle. It's wierd to think that there's still two months to go and we've just now got through training. So many more trips are still to come adding to the ever increasing summer customer average of 33,000 people last summer to commercially raft the Flathead River. Finally going to get off the river a little tomorrow and hit up a hike in Glacier. Apgar Mountain seems like the best bet if the road is finally clear of flood water. Blue skies and no rain for the first time in about 8 days im off to a semi dry camp.

Cold and Wet

For the past two days I've been taking swiftwater which is the river form of a wilderness first responder course. The guy who teaches it is actually the owner of Montana River Guides who I had actually applied for before I came out here. down by Missoula. They run rafting and river board trips on the Blackfoot, Stillwater, and the Alberton Gorge on the Clarks Fork. Alot of the crew from work needed it or needed to re-certify for it so we were all there. People who've taken it says that mother nature never cooperates and indeed this yea r wasn't about to break that tradition. It was raining and the river is still at about 38 degrees. We did everything from swim rapids, rescue "unconscious" victims, unpin people/boats on strainers, and hook up all sorts of tension retrieval systems. Although we complained about the horrible weather and cold the only thing that truly sucked was putting on our equipment in the morning. There's just something about putting on wet cold gear in preparation to get wet and cold again that doesn't exactly motivate us very much. Once we got going on scenarios we were all eager to get at it and stay warm. Last night was also a combo of events because Glacier Raft Company was having a guide party/gear night sponsored by NRS and it was free game food at the Dew Drop as well. Ended up going to both and got a bunch of free swag from the gear party. On top of our busy days my new helmet is in route and the replacement knife from NRS showed up today as well. A lot of the people from work need their wilderness first aid this coming Saturday so I guess their short guides. That means Bryant and I have our first commercial trip on Saturday afternoon!!! So pumped to finally get on the board and we even captained the whole 9 mile whitewater stretch today during swiftwater today. Weathers not supposed to lighten up until next Tuesday but the word on the street is that after the big rain summer will officially begin and the rain will be far less. For now I'm staying warm and back on the river tomorrow, it couldn't get any better.

Waitin on the World

Training is continuing as normal Bob talks in the morning then we sit around until the 2:00 trip. Still waiting on Going to the Sun road to open up and for the tourists to arrive because its getting real old spending money with none coming in. But seriously the whole town of West Glacier is waiting on the rest of the world to roll into Glacier. Training is becoming more and more fun because we've "advanced" you could say to a point where we get our own boats without veterans. Today Dave popped out at the most notorious rapid that we don't want people to swim at. Pinball was a rager today and the far right line at this level can swing you sideways, snag an oar, and in Dave's case jab you in the arm hard enough to throw you 4 feet into the air and in the drink. He ended up getting dragged under the boat twice but we found him as he a hydraulic was sucking him down. No worries but damn that would be quite the ride. Totalled up my miles and I'm already at a wopping 205. Keep on keepin on in West Glacier hopefully the rain will clear up a bit for some hammock sitting.

Buck Wild

After an epic night with live music at the Stonefly we got the day off from Bobby J. Ended up waking up mega late and got the horse show on the road bright and early at 10. I was riding Braveheart who ended up being an awesome ride. Norma, the only one out of us who was worried about this whole deal, got bucked off on the way back n took a beast of a flop that knocked the wind out of her. On top of that work gave her mad shit for being one of two people who have ever fell off of a horse. For having the day off we crushed it with a 16 mile stretch of river after the horseback ride. It's crazy how we all crossed paths with such unique backgrounds n now we're all on the same badass crew. Starting reading a book called Rock Me On The Water that Sarah gave me from her epic journey on the Grand Canyon. Renny Russel was one of the trip leaders on her Canyon trip n a legend within the river world.

Glacier Country

Yesterday we didn't end up going on the river because it was mega cold and rainy but we ended up getting a large folklore lecture from Bobby J on the history that this region holds. Pretty crazy how many things have gone on around here, things like floods, rum runners that used to live in the park, proprietors trying to turn the area into a tourism area (which they totally nailed), and tons more. The campground crew went to check out Pinball rapid which is ragin at a steady 22,000 cfs on the Flathead! To get a comparison they ran the river at a season low of 500 cfs last year. Found a hitchhiker in West Glacier on the way so we gave her a ride which turned into her chillen with us all night and the next. She went by Shannon and had quit her biology job in southern Cali to live life for a little bit. We told her about the free food at the Dew Drop that they put on for all the raft bums, backpackers, and other summer employees and she was sold. From there we learned that the Southfork Saloon has free food on Fridays. So at this rate we have two nights of the week that are golden for free food.  Ended up rockin it all night at the local raft bar called Frita's with almost the complete crew from work. This morning it was rainy and cold again but we toughed it out and did a mellow section of the North Fork from Northern Flats to Blankenship which is about 9 miles. Other than that it was a chill day not to much going on. Would be great to start making money but the tourist season is supposed to be 6 weeks of pure money making chaos. Tomorrow we have the day off and plan to go horseback riding up the mountains. The word on the street is that we have a deal with the wrangler outfitter across from us and get free horse tours which we are going to take full advantage of asap. I've noticed that I've been saying we alot and should probably explain. Since Bryant, Dave (Logan,Utah), Sarah (Denver, CO), and myself all live right next to each other on the campground we do alot of shit together. West Glacier is a bomb town with people from everywhere. Everyones got a story to tell and a story to create this summer. Great atmosphere when everyone brings the stoke to work all day, everyday.

Picture perfect

Surfin on the last wave of the kettle.

Headed out of Missoula

Camp at Glacier Campground

Heat two of the Wild Mile on the Swan in Bigfork

Chronic

We rocked a 55 mile section of the Upper Middle Fork on the Flathead today in a wopping 6 hours. Not to mention the water was up 2 feet from yesterday which made for crazy huge holes and other features. Saw a wolf staring at us from shore as well as a mountain goat licking the mineral rock. We got through the 90 degree bends in the first portion then got to the crux of the run. Brown's hole is the size of a large school bus and is created from a massive pour over smack dab in the middle of the river. We scouted it at lunch and everyone played safety below. Mikey P, the Sarah duo's and myself decided to hit an even bigger hole than chronic, which is a hole we almost surfed earlier, got through it no problem and cruised on. Mike likes to take the meaty lines so I ended up going over what looked like a little pour over, not to munchy, but instead it tried to gobble us up; oars were flyin, highsiding left and right overall just a great hit.  I gotta work on my ferry angles and get that down because high water is nothing to mess with. The regular 9 mile section from Moccasin to West Glacier was crazy huge today. I mean like make a 16 footer stand on end at the crest of each wave huge. Super long day and another is expected tomorrow. People need to get out here it's unreal of a scenery not to mention the water is huge right now.

Quote of the day
 Mike to Dave: Dude I found a solid nickname for you. Goobkie. It's a cross between a goob and a rookie.

Joke of the day: How do you know theres a raft guide in the bar? Because he'll let you know

Getting to know the area

It's been a few days but a lot has happened. Bryant and I hit up the local bar where everyone who works around here tends to migrate towards at night. Met a bunch of people including Bill, a janitor at the Lake McDonald Lodge, his opening line is "My name is Bob I like to chase women, drink beer, and smoke some joints." It was his birthday so his whole work crew was there. The following day we ran the Middle Fork of the Flathead with our kayaks which turned into an absolutely horrible day. I swam river left at Jaws by getting stuck in a huge hole that eventually ripped off my helmet. Bryant got out of sight and ended up swimming as well. After a hitchhike, the whole town finding out, and us loosing alot of our equipment including my phone this time we made it out and started the search. If you would like it in detail I would love to sit and chat but for now we are looking forward to new things and pretending it will turn up or its gone. I decided to get my mind off things by going on a  hike into Glacier Park. We did the Ceder Forest and Avalanche Creek hike which was absolutely phenomenal. Beside the giant ceder trees there were huge potholes 15 ft wide all in a line to create a raging gorge and it eventually opened up to an amplitheater area with mountains on all sides with clear blue Avalanche Lake filling up as the snow is starting to melt. Great 6 mile hike which all done in a solid downpour that is still continuing into today. Training starts tomorrow and its supposed to be gorgeous.I'm keeping my fingers crossed for. Keep on truckin' to the next day rain or shine, equipment or no equipment, things will work out and turn around eventually. Learning the area the hardway.

Quote of the day: Bob "I like that fist pump, its saying hey I'm going to come pillage your village"

Without a camera, I'll try to get pictures up soon!