A Fork in Our Trail

For sixteen months, Maggie and I were rarely more than a stone’s throw from each other. Sharing in all the sights, sounds, and smells from far corners of the globe, and making new memories together everyday. Routines of normal working life make spending so much time with your significant other impossible, unless you somehow work together…

Maggie got on the job hunt early, applying for National Park Ranger positions in December of 2022 for the summer ’23 seasonal openings. It was only a few weeks after we got back from South America when she got word that Glacier National Park wanted to interview her. Not long after that, they extended an offer, which Maggie eagerly accepted! She would be starting mid-May and work through the end of September.

After a year on the move, Maggie and I had a lot of time to think about where we wanted to settle down. Generally, it seemed we would stay in the western US, but the diversity of choices is fairly daunting. Desert or rain forest, coastal or mountains? We polled tons of people while hiking the PCT, “Where do you live? What do you like about it?” When the question returned to us, we usually found ourselves touting everything there is to love about Santa Fe, NM. Awesome access to the outdoors, the climate, and the relatively low population density of New Mexico. Having an outstanding group of friends in Santa Fe is also a big plus, so it became clear that we should continue growing our roots back in the Land of Enchantment.

I began my job hunt in earnest back in March. The idea was that I would try to get an engineering job in New Mexico (or work remotely) and then start getting settled there by the time Maggie’s summer job wrapped up. Attempting to make myself available for interviews and apartment searching, I would spend most of my summer between Salida, CO and Santa Fe, NM.

We could now see a fork in our trail. In some ways, it was exciting for me – the idea of making my own adventures. But on the other hand, it was unsettling… Maggie and I had come to rely on each other quite a bit. I think we make a good team. Mainly, having each other’s company is something we would both miss. However, we had done it before when Maggie worked at Wind Cave National Park, so we prepared ourselves as best we could for a summer separate.

Maggie first wanted to run 30 miles as a “last hurrah” in Colorado, and as a birthday present to herself. She picked out the route, connecting a series of trails around Salida. I ran the first 20 miles with her, and supported her at road crossings for the last 10 miles. It was a resounding success! Maggie was pleased with her performance and it was fun to explore new trails along the way.

Maggie bought a used car at the end of April, a 2003 Subaru Forester. We went down to Santa Fe to dig Maggie’s stuff out of the storage unit, spent some quality time with friends, then began the long drive north.

I’ll spare you the details, but Maggie’s car was experiencing some issues, and my car had chronic low tire pressure… We limped along for five days, stressed and fearful her car might break down, but we made it to Glacier National Park on schedule.

Wandering around some trails near West Glacier, I was instantly surprised to find the botanical community looking more like the Pacific Northwest, rather than the interior Rockies. Western red-cedar, bear grass, trilium, and larches. Maggie even spotted a calypso orchid! The Flathead River was raging with spring runoff. Extended summer daylight of the northern latitudes was also noticeable as we laid down at 9:30 pm, wondering if the sun would ever go down.

Botanical Splendor of Glacier National Park

After spending a day in Kalispell, taking care of everything to get Maggie settled, we had a day to ourselves. Much of the park was still closed for winter conditions, so we went for a day hike to Avalanche Lake. Given that it was one of the few trails open, the trailhead parking was packed. The trail was busy too, but less so than I expected. An easy 5 mile out and back, we got an appetizer of the surreal scenery at Glacier NP.

The geology throughout Glacier NP is predominantly metamorphic sedimentary rock, which isn’t a particularly tough. After several millennia of glacial sculpting, what’s left is wide, flat bottomed valleys lined by very steep slopes. Many peaks are more like fins, or long narrow knife blades of rock, which were spared the brunt of the glaciation. The elevation barely extends above 10,000 feet, but the local prominence of the peaks is astounding. Sadly, most of the rock is pretty poor quality, at least for climbing and hiking. Only the most adventurous and seasoned peak baggers attempt to set foot on the upper reaches of Glacier NP.

It was Maggie’s first day of work the next day. We savored our last night together, as I would be getting back on the road to head south.

In the morning, we went our different directions – Maggie on the bike path, and me on my own path out of West Glacier. I’m no good at good byes, perhaps a little too emotionless, but we knew our paths would rejoin each other before long…