Drive to Polebridge Mercantile

July 18, 2014

After a leisurely morning in our room, we wanted to arrive in Polebridge later in the day so we would be there for a late lunch/early dinner time and possibly improve our chances of seeing a wolf pack. We had another lovely breakfast compliments of Glacier Guides Lodge and "hunted" a chipmunk down the path to get a picture.

We talked with Jennifer, the lodge manager, about our Polebridge plans and she showed us a map and some short hikes we could take off Camas Road aka Outside North Fork Road. She told us about the great bakery in the Polebridge Mercantile and said she hadn't made it up there this season but wanted to pick up some baked goods for the lodge. Soooo, we offered to bring those yummy treats back with us. She placed her order and paid for it in advance and all we had to do was mention Jennifer from Glacier Guides to pick them up. Of course, we'd pick up these goodies since we get to enjoy them for breakfast in the morning!

We headed out around 10 and made an unplanned stop to hike the Huckleberry Nature Trail. The sign states a .6 mile trail with a "hill" at midway. What a variety of vegetation with forested areas, meadows, or new growth since the 2001 fire. After hiking, we question the accuracy of the .6 to be more like a full mile. This approximate one hour hike took us closer to 1.5-2.0 hours with all the photo stops we make but it was fabulous! I was feeling tired before the hike but very invigorated at its end.

Scat. Bear? Deer?

Can you see me?

The paved road gave way to around 10 miles of gravel road on our 25 mile drive to Polebridge. We drove a section of paved road which began with a warning sign from the landowners. One landowner had constructed a two mile fence line on both sides of the road and called his/her ranch the Rocky Bar O at 8500 North Fork Road. The fence line alone must have cost a fortune! We thought we'd try our hand at researching who owns these acres of Montana land.

Before the 2001 fire, you wouldn't have been able to get views of the valley below because of all the old growth forest. The new growth is still young enough to allow us to take a shot at the valley on our gravel road.

A couple cute "Little Library" stands had been erected for anyone wanting to give or take a book.

Reaching Polebridge, a few more signs reminded us of a new four-letter word.

We made a few purchases and ogled the fresh-made breads and pastries. We bought one of the bread muffins and a huckleberry bear claw along with some other goodies. Picking up Jennifer's order, we put everything in our cooler away from the heat and sat in the shade to have our sandwiches. Unfortunately, the Northern Lights Saloon was closed until 4 and we were ready to head out at 3 so having a lunch/dinner there was out of the question.

The trip back was unusual. The ridges in the road were devious. They rattled the steering wheel and made the tires slip and slide like they were on ice. Slower speeds and driving more in the center of the road was needed. After getting back on a paved road, we decided to stop in Apgar at Eddie's for a huckleberry cobbler with ice cream. It was delicious and filled my last huckleberry taste bud need. Marius from Romania had been our server yesterday and we promised we would be back for dessert so we asked to be seated where he would be our waiter.

We delivered Jennifer's Polebridge pastries and assured her we would be down for breakfast early before the goodies were gone!

Shower and blogging. Tomorrow is our Walk in the Treetops back on Big Mountain so we need an alarm wake-up to get moving with breakfast and making the 45 minute drive to the mountain.