I’m your Huckleberry. Sure. As long as you’re my germaphobe.

Original Post Date 7/09/21

I have been driving past this trailhead for the Huckleberry Fire Lookout on the Camas road going up to Polebridge for literally decades. I have never stopped there. Not even to take in the view.

Always had better places to go. And ever since the early 90’s I can’t get that Doc Holiday clip out of my mind from the movie Tombstone.

Val Kilmer playing a gun fighter with a bad case of tuberculous. Michael Bean of Terminator fame was about to have a very very bad day. It’s finally my turn to be the huckleberry.

Today I got to see what I had been passing up all of these years  I running a little late and the sun had already started up. As I geared up at the trailhead (which I’m getting pretty good at), this beat up minivan pulled in and parked next to me in the otherwise completely empty parking lot.

Just a little deja vouge from stripper pole hiker girl. A middle age lady steeped out and said ‘what a beautiful sunrise.’  I said ‘yes, it is.’  Wrong answer.

What followed next was a twenty-minute conversation about her mold and germ phobia, resulting in selling everything she owned and hitting the open road. Last night she got eaten by bugs because her van window wouldn’t close as she camped illegal in a dry stream bed.

That lead us down the path to sharing a couple of very personal relationship issues, her grown children thinking she is crazy, and something about a pet chicken. I couldn’t quite follow that tangent.  I also learned people who hate germs call themselves ‘germers.’

Wow. A lot of pre-hike information to digest. I made sure she saw me lock all doors, canopy liftgate, and tailgate.  Don’t get me wrong, she was very personable and at no time did I fear for my life.   And in my world I’d probably check the crazy box.

But what I’m learning this summer is my world is just one of the many millions of personal worlds. There’s nothing wrong with showing a little respect as I pass thru those of others. It was a late start anyway, what’s a few more minutes for a shared human interaction? Something to muse as I trekked down the trail.

This is probably the best 2700 of gain I have ever walked (which seems as if it would be a little counter intuitive).  And the 12-mile roundtrip hits the sweet spot of a moderate double-digit day. This is the most western part of the park, forest fire free, and is the most beautifully cut grade I have had the pleasure to tread. 

The trail is wonderfully level, not troughed out, no roots, no big rocks.   It was constructed so consistently there is only a single switch back for the entire six miles in. 

The last mile was one long lateral traverse, with great views and comfortable strides.  And yes, huckleberries along the trail, on the hillsides, everywhere for every mile.   There were even some starting to ripen up –  in mid July – which shows you how much heat we have been having.  No, I will not be going back when they ripen.  This would be bear heaven in late august.

I rolled up to the manned fire lookout, got a scruffy ‘hello’ from the female fire watcher.  Then I dropped my prior work experience in the park for some hiker cred, and asked her ‘hey, have you seen what a shit show Logan Pass has been with this bullshit entry ticket stuff?’   She smiled, the ice cracked, and then Elizabeth and I talked steadily for the next 40 minutes.  Her New England accent even kicked in. She was fun to swap stories with, as we each had many similar experience in the park. Lizzy was soooooo tired of ‘tourist’ talk. Not as though she had anywhere to hide from hikers on a mountain top. She had worked at this location for the last three seasons, and it was her favorite post ever (she had seen quite a few).

Trail is not heavily trafficked, with lush forests rolling with non-stop views, and from the top you can see the entire West side of the park from Alberta down to Hwy 2.  The mountains just jump up with their rugged cliffs and snowfields and form a clear break from the open valley bottoms and rolling forest to the west.  It was just an enjoyable hike with only a dozen or so other people (most of whom clearly started after 10am).  From the license plates at the trailhead, it looks like only Montana natives know about this hidden gem.  Now you are in the know as well.