On the Danny On

As some of you know, our base camp near Glacier is TH brother-in-law's ski condo on Big Mountain in Whitefish. (This is funny. Right after I wrote that, I went to the site to get the link and it said "Make Big Mountain your base camp for fun in the Glacier Park area this summer." Okay, if you insist.)

We've done this for several years, but have always bypassed the attractions of Big Mountain for the lure of Glacier. After Wednesday's clusterfuck, we decided to stick around on Thursday. I'm glad we did. We took the gondola to the summit (very chilly up there) and hiked the 3.8 miles back to the village via the Danny On Memorial Trail (we did not have time to hike up, unfortunately).

I like this trail immensely, and will do it again next time. Bears frequent it, and juniper and huckleberries grow along the path. Vibrant fuschia fireweed, goldenrod and indian paintbrush grow lavishly in the meadows. There are log benches placed at every scenic point.

We stopped briefly to sit on one of these and gaze out over the drop. My feet hurt a bit, because I'm more used to going uphill than downhill. As we were chatting, we noticed someone moving up the trail. Two someones.

And they were running. Up the mountain. As they passed us they offered us a cheery, and decidedly not short of breath "hello!" They appeared to be members of the local high school's cross country team. TH Spouse and I looked at each other for a few moments afterward with raised eyebrows.

"They're only about seventeen years old," scoffed THS. "Of course they can do that."

Then came the coach. And the assistant coach. They were not seventeen.

THS and I turned to one another again, mouths agape, and no excuse to make this time. A few more teenagers sprinted by as we stared helplessly at each other.

"I think we'd better get up," I said. We rose reluctantly.

"I'm going to get in shape again," announced THS. "As soon as we get home."

Yes. As soon as we get home.