*/The Stupendous Birthday Present, part 1

/*We met Kiersten for the first time just over a year ago, during the first week in July of 2021.  She and her friend Kayla stayed with us briefly (2 days?).  Curiously, their stay is not even listed on my calendar, and we had overlapping guests for part of that visit.  At the time, we also had the living room torn apart with the fireplace project, and Nadine's wedding in 3 weeks, so I have very limited recollections of their stay.

As I recall, their first introduction to ever seeing Glacier National was that Sandy drove them up to Logan Pass early in the morning and they biked down the west side at sunrise, at which point Sandy drove them back up to the pass and the biked down the east side to Sun Point.  All on a very clear sunny morning.  This, or course, becomes a life changing event for them, /Hooked on Glacier for Life!

/Kiersten's twin sister -- "Channing the Elder" (because she was born 30 minutes earlier!) -- also visited last year.  Somehow or other we discovered Channing's birth date, with the incredible coincidence that her twin sister has the same birth date.  And since Kiersten was working relatively nearby this summer, we invited her to come visit and we'd have a birthday party.  Heck, as a birthday present I'd take her for a hike in the park.

I'd like to think that a hike as a birthday present is like the American Express commercial that says "/How much would you pay for this/?" and then answer "/Priceless/".  Unlike a material gift, this is a gift of cherishable memories (hopefully positive!). It ended up being a /firing on all cylinders /and /goes to eleven/ hike.  Just wow!  At one point on the trail we came across another hiker coming down the trail, and after a smiling greeting -- curiously almost every hiker on the trail in Glacier always has a smile! -- I remarked that I had run out of adjectives to describe the views.  The stranger remarked "Stupendous", and so it was named! */

/*I did not say there were no material gifts.  Sandy made a birthday cake.  A lemon huckleberry cake.  With a lemon curd buttercream frosting.  With huckleberries on top.  3 layers tall. A sugar buzz to last a week.  The bag contained a small insignificant present that I've found useful when hiking.  I think just the smell of the cake elicited the smile and glazed look in the eyes 😉 */

/*The next morning we got up early to go hike.  Sandy and our other guest Rick drove in as well and helped us position my car at the end of the trail.  We would be hiking Siyeh Pass which is a point-to-point trail.  Prior to hiking, we made a stop at Sun Point.  Whitecaps on St. Mary Lake show how windy it was, but the air is crystal clear with no clouds.

After a short drive up to Siyeh Bend, we are dropped off at the trailhead.  The first 2.5 miles are on the Piegan Pass trail, at which point we take a right turn to Siyeh Pass.

I very briefly took the lead on the trail, but insisted Kiersten lead.  She doesn't need to look at my backside for 10.5 miles. The other reason is to allow her the freedom to choose the photo stops.  I really enjoy hiking with people who have not been on a trail before; not only are they seeing it for the first time, but where they stop and what they look at allows me to also get some of that first time experience again, and see things I would overlook.

In West Glacier we had a fantastic Beargrass season in June.  That was at 3100 ft elevation and that played out many weeks ago.  But now we are at 6000 feet, and while not the abundance as down below had, there was still a fair amount.

The giant Beargrass.  Not photo shopped, by the way!

The wildflowers in Preston Park were good, but I think we were about 2 weeks early for their peak performance.  Nonetheless, we attempted to create the flower child Woodstock look.  In the background on the mountain is Piegan Glacier (the "experts" prediction of it's demise by 2020 appears to be unmet).

Mt. Siyeh and wildflowers.  I will summit it someday (the mountain, not the flowers)!

The bridge that leads to Piegan Pass.  We had a nice chat with a backcountry ranger here.  From this point onward we follow the Siyeh Pass trail.