Swiftcurrent Happenings Week 2

 6/4/21

Today was a big day! Myself and two other employees at Swiftcurrent, maintenance and security guys, went to the summit of Altyn Mountain, 7,947 ft! It was quite a journey to get up there. First we were bushwhacking through the pines being loud so that any animals would avoid us. Then we reached an open plain area as the terrain grew steeper. We made it to the base of the mountain in around 35 minutes so we were pretty optimistic about getting through the whole hike within 3 hours. However, we did not realize that the steepness of the slope would slow us down so intensely. We traveled a quarter mile in about an hour because of how the rocks were like loose sand so every two steps was only one step. We were careful to take breaks throughout the trek up so that we could adjust to altitude and not overwork ourselves. The security guard was really pushing himself because he had not done anything like this before so once we had reached a certain difficult part he found a cave to sit in and wait for me and the maintenance guy to reach the summit. It took us another hour from where we separated for us to reach the top but once we did it was spectacular. We could see the entire Many Glacier valley and could even see the mountains beyond the range that we were in. We spent around 20 minutes at the top before heading down so that we could be back for dinner. We met back up with the security guy and then continued down the slopes. We implemented a sliding method due to the loose rock and it worked really well! We made it back down for dinner and basked in the accomplishment of reaching the summit.  I did find a tick on me after the hike so I heated up a knife and pressed it against the head of the tick so it would release from my skin and then I cut it in half. Not a very big fan of ticks. After dinner I took a shower and a nap and then right after my nap I ate some PB&J tortillas then went straight to sleep. It was an amazing day and filled with pushing ourselves to accomplish more than we thought we could. The whole hike took 9 hours and we shared lunch in the cave we found on the mountain.

Views from the grassy hillside.

The route that I picked out for us to take.

About half way up.

After leaving the security guy in the cave and about 3/4 of the way up.

Finally at the top.

Mount Henkel is in the background of this photo and I wanted to honor my Great Uncle Dan with it.

A waterfall from the ice and snow melt.

6/5/21

Today was another exciting day. I had scheduled for 8 people to go white water rafting through Glacier Rafting Co. One person ended up dropping out so we only had 7 ready to go. While I was eating breakfast, the local mascot at Swiftcurrent, Allen, tried to steal some food off of me. After breakfast, I thought we had to leave from Swiftcurrent on the East side at 10:00am to make it to West Glacier by 2:00pm due to traffic but we ended up making it to the West side in less than 2 hours. Since we arrived so early we decided to try a restaurant that was nearby. Glacier Highland Restaurant. It was a really nice spot where I tried the Huckleberry Hound Burger, huckleberry is the popular local berry that humans and animals love in Glacier. The burger was excellent! We then went over to the check in spot for the rafting and got geared up with a wet suit, booties, and a splash jacket. The group got onto a bus and we drove about 25 miles east to the offloading point on the Middle Fork Flathead River. Our guide was named Ox, because when he was in training he lugged an entire raft filled with gear up a hill, and was super cool! We learned that part of the scene where Meryl Streep is canoeing down the river in Wind River, the movie, was filmed on the Middle Fork Flathead River. We had a great time going through the rapids, not too rocky but lots of splashing, and came out in great spirits. We then went to The Wandering Gringo, a restaurant that Ox recommended, and each got a 2.5 lb burrito. Me and two other guys finished ours while everyone else had a little leftover. We then drove back to Swiftcurrent on the East side and made it back in time to be in the midst of some rain. All in all, another wonderful day!

6/6/21

Today was a wonderful day as well! For worship this morning I had the security guy, that I went hiking with, join to play guitar for the music portion. He has been taking lessons for over 5 years and has been playing for over 10 years so it went really well. After the morning worship the ministry team went to a local restaurant called Johnson's. It has been on the Blackfeet Reservation for over 70 years and is renowned for its surprise soup of the day. I ordered the one eighty burger, which was classified as a local favorite, and then had a huckleberry milkshake for dessert. Afterwards when we got back to Swiftcurrent I lead some people to a ravine and we went rock climbing for a bit before the evening service. It was a lot of fun with some coworkers spectating from the top and commenting on our technique. Finally for the evening service I had the manager for the housekeeping staff join me and he lead guitar, having played in bars and shops for the past few years. The sermon focused on God's overwhelming love and with a cool moment we ended the service with the song "Reckless Love" which was chosen by the housekeeping manager. It was another amazing day in Montana!

6/7/21

Today was filled with the last day of training. We were at the Swiftcurrent front desk from 9am-4pm and it ended up being more of a relaxing finish to our training. I was expecting the management to put us through the ringer with questions and scenarios but I was pleasantly surprised to be organizing the desk and making sure we were comfortable with everything. Today was the final day before we open for the season so the parking lot was filling up rather quickly with day hikers. We took some group photos of the crew for the front desk and finished the day with great expectations for tomorrow. Later in the evening I went and played some games with the ministry team over at Many Glacier Hotel and then came back to Swiftcurrent for the evening. 

6/8/21

Today was our opening day at Swiftcurrent. I woke up and had until 3pm before I needed to report for my shift. Thus, I decided to start a 30 day workout plan. I also spent some time practicing guitar and learning some new songs. Finally I began my shift at 2:55pm, trying to be punctual, and it went really well. Rather than having an overflow of guests we had a steady trickle that was easily maintained. I was being trained on how to close because tomorrow night will be me closing on my own. The time passed by quickly as I checked guests in and gave advice on trails/hikes. Good conversation was had and nothing out of the ordinary occurred. I finished my shift at around 11:00pm and then went off to bed. I didn't take any photos of the day mainly because I wasn't thinking about it.

6/9/21

Today was another work day for me but I decided to go on a hike with my security guard friend in the morning. We attempted to make it to iceberg lake but we made it about 1.5 miles from the lake before deciding to head back to make it for lunch and because of the snow covering the trail. It was a total of 7.6 miles and we made it back for lunch with 10 minutes to spare. I then went and continued on my 30 day workout plan (basically at least 25 pull-ups, 50 push-ups, 100 squats, and 6 minutes of core every day). I then went to my shift, again from 3pm-11pm, and arrived early to work. The beginning was mostly uneventful but a good flow of people. We were pretty ahead with just 10 check-ins left for the entire day at 5pm. At 6:30 pm the manager felt that we were in a good spot and were confident that we could handle the rest of the shift. Ironically, 5 minutes after they left the fire alarm went off in one of the cabin circles. Thus, I went through what we were trained to do and contacted security to investigate, then contacted National Park Service to let them know we were investigating, then went through the fire system buttons, then found out from security that it was a false alarm, then contacted NPS to let them know it was a false alarm and not to send the trucks. All-in-all when our manager came back they said they were proud that we handled the situation perfectly! I was then on my own for the shift from 8pm-11pm and was able to handle everything quite well. I am thoroughly enjoying helping the guests and finding a lot of purpose in giving information and insights to the park.

6/10/21

Today was the first day where I really had a consistent routine. I woke up and worked out then went to lunch. After lunch I went and checked out the camp store and ended up purchasing a hat, jacket, patch, and a sticker. I then went back to my cabin and played guitar for  bit before changing and heading to work. During my shift I met an older woman who is attending school at UK and she knew about my hometown Wilmore which was exciting! It was fairly normal beyond that and I am approaching one more day of work before my first day off after having worked this much!

P.S. I am avoiding using people's names because I don't want to intrude on their privacy and if I get famous for making it on survivor then this blog might blow up.\

"Oh what a wonderful place this is" - maybe Winnie the Pooh