The Family that Plunges into Frigid Glacial Pools Together Thrives Together

Each time I enter a national park I think “This is the most beautiful place I have ever been!” Glacier National Park is absolutely STUNNING! As we approached the park I was surprised at the high mountains with rocky tops and snow (in August) nestled in valleys between the peaks that looked like Alps. And that’s exactly what they are – North American Alps.

We stayed for a full week at Glacier in Big Baby at primitive sites, which means no electrical or city water hookups, no cell service or wifi. The RV’s battery provides power for the water pump and lights inside the travel trailer. Our stove and refrigerator run on propane. We fill our fresh water tank before we pull into a site, so we have water to drink and for other purposes.

 We are in bear country, but haven’t seen any bears yet. I feel about bears as I do tornadoes: I’d like to see one, but from a safe distance. We have been instructed by park rangers to hike in groups of 4 or more and make lots of noise as we go, to give wildlife a heads up to our presence. Apparently bears don’t like having surprise visitors entering their homes unannounced and get aggravated at surprise encounters. Anyone who knows Kolton knows that we are safe in that regard. On our first hike here, as our noisy party proceeded along the trail, we passed a gentleman to whom I inquired, “Who needs bear bells?” “What bear would dare?” was his cheerful reply.

Our first hike was to Avalanche Lake, which is in a valley that is fed by glacial streams and waterfalls. The trail for this hike was alongside a lovely mountain stream that rushed over stones smoothed by the flowing current.  Another hike we took featured three waterfalls, each more breathtaking than the last. Monday, August 13^th was Kolton’s 11^th birthday, and we celebrated his special day in typical Kolton style, in a daring feat that required a dose of courage and gave each of us a super shot of adrenaline.

 The first waterfall was gorgeous. There’s something about flowing water from pure glacial sources into clear blue pools, under a canopy of lush greenery that takes my breath away. At the second waterfall there was a bridge that spanned the flow just beyond the falls. There were a couple of young men who were jumping from the bridge into the water. Kolton saw this and begged, “Can I do that? PLEASE?” My initial response in my mind was “Hell no!” Ken, on the other hand, felt more indulgent than me and said, “On the way back from the 3^rd waterfall you can do it.” So we continued on to the next stop on the trail, all of us considering the idea of taking that plunge.

We sat on the rocks near the third waterfall and ate our lunch of nuts, seeds, jerky and dried fruit. Ken had brought a water purification system that he and the boys were eager to try out. So they collected water from the stream and poured it through the purifier into a bottle. That was the BEST water I have ever had! It tasted as God intended water to:  Absolutely pure, chemical free and delicious! We washed and packed up, and headed back in the direction of Kolton’s birthday celebration.

We reached the site and the two young men who had been jumping from the bridge and the rocks were still there. There were also about 40 people standing and sitting around enjoying the warm day and the beautiful view. Immediately Kolton went to the bridge and asked, “Can I go from here?” “No.” Ken said, “Let’s try from lower down, from the rocks.” The jumpers showed us a safe rock from which we could go and gave us some pointers. Our entire family climbed down to the large rocks that stood out over the current. The water was absolutely clear and you could see every round stone on the bottom.  



Kolton went first. He pulled off his shirt and stood posing on the rock, pounding on his chest gorilla-style while we took pictures. Then without hesitation or fear, he leapt from that rock into the glacial river, surfacing with an enormous smile. He swam to the side and ran back up, wanting to go again.

Karson went next. Like Kolton, he jumped without fear and swam out into the current. However the water was stronger than his swimming, and began to pull him back toward the falls. I began to panic a bit and called for Ken to help him. Ken reached out and pulled him right back onto the rocks, lower down from where he had jumped. My heart rate (and Karson’s I’m sure) dropped back to normal as he climbed up onto the rock.



I was eager to try the leap, so I stepped up next. As I stood on the precipice, Ken started counting and I jumped on “three!”

“Holy cow” I exclaimed  It was exhilarating and a bit painful, and I felt completely alive.  I made it back to the riverbank and climbed back up to where Kalista was crying and begging to go next.

My thoughts were completely against her going into that water. “You’re going to cry, Honey. It’s so cold!” Her pleas were insistent and Ken claimed that he could jump in with her. Meanwhile Kolton had gone 2 or 3 more times. So Ken stood holding our four year old daughter on a rock over freezing glacial water, instructing her on how to climb up on his back once they were in the water. And then he jumped. When they surfaced she didn’t cry. She smiled and clung to her daddy as they made their way to the side.



Now our cautious Kane had been busy videoing our frigid aquatic escapades up to this point, having no desire to join the rest of his crazy family. But when Kalista went in, that kinda threw down the gauntlet. His brothers pressured him to go, and I could see him wavering. “You don’t have to go Kane.” He was near tears, torn between wanting to and not wanting to do this daring thing. Ken encouraged, “You’ll regret it if you don’t do it.” Ever so hesitantly, he made his way to the jumping rock, truly shaking with fear. Again I told him, “Don’t do it if you don’t want to Honey.” Kolton offered to jump right in front of him and lead the way. Ken promised to go right afterward. After several false starts he took that plunge! With his eyes wide from the painful cold, he swam to the edge and sat alone for awhile warming himself in the sun before rejoining the family on the rocks where Kalista was crying to go again.



In the end Kolton jumped 6 times, Ken went twice with Kalista plus two more times, and the rest of us were happy with solo jumps. No eleventh birthday was ever celebrated in such grand fashion!



We hiked back to the trailhead, jumped into Mambo and drove into St. Mary where we found a café for Kolton’s birthday dinner. We recognized the waiter who greeted us inside the café. He was one of the young men whom we had initially seen jumping from the bridge at the falls, who had encouraged and watched our family take that frigid glacial plunge!