George Ferguson Column: Never too late to get the hiking bug

Growing up in Havre, one of the most popular vacation destinations for my family each and every summer was just down U.S. Highway 2, in a special place called Glacier National Park. I’m sure, I wasn’t alone in that.

I’ve always said, I feel lucky to have grown up in a Montana, and I’m especially lucky to live in a state where places like Glacier, Yellowstone National Park, Flathead Lake, and so many other wild and beautiful places are part of everyday life here.

But, in all my trips to Glacier, and there have been too many to count, there’s one thing I never did — one thing that thousands upon thousands of people from all over the globe do every single summer in Glacier — and that’s get off the road and go hiking.

There’s probably many reasons I didn’t go hiking, but the two biggest as I got older were sheer laziness for one, and a healthy respect, bordering on a mild fear, of getting too close to the Ursus Horribilis or, as we know them better, the grizzly bear.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of grizzlies, and again, I have always been proud, and I’ve always felt fortunate that I live in one of the few remaining states where grizzlies not only now thrive, but are protected. And, every time I’ve seen one, whether it be in Glacier or Yellowstone, the thrill has always been the same. It's always like seeing one for the first time.

But on the other hand, I was also never in too big of a hurry to just charge out into their domain, where, in many cases, you’re miles from civilization, medical help, food and shelter.

And so that’s the way it was for me for years — I would visit Glacier Park, sometimes up to three times per summer. But, all I ever saw of that magnificent place was what you can see from the road, from the Going-to-the-Sun Road, or Many Glacier and other points where you could drive. And for a long, long time, that was alright with me.

Then something inside me changed. Maybe it was maturity, maybe it was time ticking away on me, maybe it was my competitive spirit. Maybe it was all of it. But, whatever it was, just a couple of years ago, I decided I wanted to hike. I decided I wanted to see the breathtakingly, spectacular parts of Glacier Park you can only see by getting out of your car, with a backpack and a can of bear spray strapped to your belt. And the first reaction I had to back country hiking is this — I, at age 40, have missed out on a lot. And after just one trip into Glacier’s back country, I wished I had been doing it all along.

Of course, the second thought that came to mind after a good, lengthy hike in Glacier was, it’s really hard. In fact, it’s so much more difficult than I had ever imagined it to be. But there in lies another major drawing card as to why I’m hooked on hiking now. I consider it a sport. I consider it a competition with myself, and at a time in my life when I have very little left to compete in, I think I really need the challenges that hiking in places like Glacier present.

This past July, my wife and I did the Highline/Loop Trail. It’s a nearly 12-mile journey with some of the most spectacular views, not only in Glacier, but in the world. It’s one of the most popular and well-known hikes in the lower 48 states, and on my first traverse along the storied trail, it was everything I hoped it would be. It was everything I had heard, read about and saw in pictures — and it was even more.

And that day back in July got me hooked for good. Honestly, all I wanted to do was go back to Glacier and do more. I already started researching hikes in Yellowstone, too, because, like Glacier, all I’ve ever seen of Yellowstone is what you can see from the car.

Yes, it was like I was finally let in on a secret everybody else already knew. Not to over dramatize it, but for me, hiking in the back country was like an awakening. It gave me a brand new sense of purpose.

But, as I said before, it also gave me a reason to compete again, too. Others may not look at hiking that way, but being the competitive, sports-crazed person that I am, I am looking at it that way. Now, just like I would if I was playing football or basketball, I have a reason to get in better shape. Now, I have something driving me, something pushing me, and it’s pushing me to want to go farther, go higher, and go deeper into majestic places like Glacier and Yellowstone.

And now that summer is over, my new-found sport is going to dance in my head until the snow thaws, and the wild grasses and wild flowers wake up, until the waterfalls start flowing again, and oh yeah, until the bears wake up too.

Now, I have a long nine months to wait — to wait until I can once again feel that spirit and sense of renewal I feel now when I get out there on the trails. And with the bug I have to go hiking now, next summer can’t get here fast enough.