• AT HAND: Deuce Lee, The Big Dipper
• LOCATION: Glacier NP, MT
• DATES: September 25-29, 2015
• STATS: 5 days/4 nights, 48 miles – 12,918 feet EG

Glacier National Park looms large in the backpacking ethos. It’s an ethos that promises access to the divine reason implicit in the cosmos-its corresponding logos-by way of pure, unblemished beauty within a seemingly impossible expanse of mountains, valleys, rivers and lakes. There are grizzly bears, too. They are a prescient reminder of the frailty of life, and their presence confirms the immutable fact that despite the general malaise of indifference to nature that society embraces, having a cerebellum doesn’t elevate you beyond it. Tunneling into the park in late season, before the portal is sealed for the winter, to access all the consequence that this special place offers is a unique experience. Human ingenuity has made the incredible vista at the other side accessible, but nothing feels less connected to the modern sphere of pointless entertainment and mental escapism that seems to define our contemporary, collective (un)awareness. There’s nothing wrong with changing your mindset and altering your consciousness. How you manage the terrible master is an insight into your personal philosophy and a chance to embrace the final pathos that drives us onward whether we choose to confront or ignore it.

Of consequence: Swampy air; finger-length claw prints pooling water in the mud; huddled in tents staying less wet in patient rain; Going-to-the-Sun; waterfalls and rivers; one-way trails on a cliff face with nowhere to hide; overcast lakes in morning darkness; 1/2 a day of sunlight; Taco John’s.