Montana - God's Own Country

I know I might get flak for the title of the post from our neighbors across the border. But Montana is one place that has been abundantly blessed by nature that the title of God's own country will be only appropriate. Why this sudden post about Montana? Well, many should have guessed it. A long weekend has just passed by and you are not a desi if you do not undertake some kind of trip. So, to carry on the 'rich' desi traditions, myself along with 2 other friends of mine went to the Glacier National Park in north-west Montana and spent 2 unforgettable days in the close confines of nature. Some of the highlights from the trip:

1) We all should have heard about how sparsely populated Montana is. I have had a first hand experience of the same when I drove through the entire breath of Montana last year en route to Mount Rushmore. And this time around, we were actually venturing into the most remote parts of the state (we were a few miles away from the Canadian border) and as expected, there were hardly people anywhere on the roads. That brings us to this highlight. The roads are so sparsely populated that even on a 2-lane undivided freeway (one lane each way), the speed limit is an unbelievable 70 mph. The maximum I have seen on such similar roads in other states is 50. It was definitely a very memorable experience driving at such high speeds on such roads, which given the mountainous terrain of the area, had a lots of curves and sharp bends. One such road can be seen in one of the pictures below.

2) The trip was marked by one good day followed by one bad day. We had planned to start around 3am on Saturday morning so that we will be at the park at around noon. So, I get up at 2:30 and head straight to check the India Vs Bangladesh score. There it was, another Sachin century. Wow...it felt so good to start the trip and the whole first day went on well, with us doing a decent & tiring hike. But the next day was not to be another good day. The second day was when we had planned to visit the Eastern side of the park and which is where most of the beautiful sights are located. On our way to the eastern entrance, we find this really beautiful scenic view. So, we stop our car to take some pictures. But that is when disaster struck :( We got the 'Battery exhausted' message on my digital camera. Looks like I had not properly charged the battery the previous night and so there was no charge left in the battery. Imagine how helpless we would have felt. The eastern entrance is a good 2 hours drive from where we had booked our cabins. So, we ended up taking pictures on our cell phones. I was saying that we are a disgrace to the entire desi community bcos desis usually carry the best products when it comes to digital cameras and camcorders.

3) The National Parks foundation issues this National park pass which is valid in all the national parks across the nation. I would strongly recommend buying this pass. The pass costs just 50$/ year but the benefits of the same run into hundreds of dollars. Ever since I bought it last October, I have used it 5 times in 4 different national parks and thus I have saved more than 75$ so far. If you are in an area like Seattle where there are so many national parks in driving distance and if you are someone who is into visiting such national parks quite often, then this park pass is a must-buy. Basically, the more you use, the more you save.

4) The park as such was so beautiful. And on top of that, there were not too many visitors to the park, even given the fact that we visited it on a long weekend. I would have said Evvlo azhagaa irukku-la to my friends umpteen number of times that they got tired of myself saying it and asked me to stop it :) Everywhere you stop your vehicle, you will get a gorgeous view of the mountains some of which were still snow clad. There were lakes, hiking trails and scenic falls galore throughout the park. We did couple of moderately tough and immensely satisfying hikes. Also, the name Glacier national park can be very misleading, in the sense that, you do not get to see any glacier from up-close, like the way we do in say Alaska. The best you get is a glimpse of the glacier from a few miles away from it. Only if you go on 10-15 mile hikes, will you be able to get to the point of seeing the glaciers at a very close range. The other thing that is hard to miss about the mountains is that the peaks of the mountains are so sharp with pointed tips. The reason behind them is the fact that the glaciers are actually stuck between these mountains and when they melt away, they erode the mountains in this uniquely shaped way.

5) The only danger in the park is the presence of a large number of grizzly bears. Everywhere you go, there are signs (like this) warning you about the park being their habitat and had so many guidelines on what to do if & when you encounter a bear. Acting drop dead is one of the most recommended ways to follow when you come face to face with a bear. Due to these signs basically all over the park, I was scared to death almost entirely through the 2 hikes we did. Apparently, one of the common mistakes that humans do on facing a bear is that we tend to run away from it which is strongly discouraged bcos as I read somewhere, even the slowest of bears can easily beat Carl Lewis in a 100 m dash :)

Anybody within driving distance of this place should definitely plan a visit to the park on a 3-day weekend. (For us, this was a 9 hour drive) There is just so much activity to do in that area that even a 3-day long weekend might not do complete justice to this marvelous place. Highly recommended. Here are a few pictures from the trip: