Friday – Cool Down in the Mountains

Sitting next to my best friend at 11,000 feet on a sunny day with blue skies, cool temperatures, smooth air, and beautiful views of mountains dotted with lakes is a great way to start my birthday. The 15-knot tailwind was a nice bonus too.

We’re on our way to Glacier National Park near Kalispell, Montana to celebrate Phil’s birthday and get some relief from the 100-degree temperatures in Boise. This is our second trip to Kalispell. Our first was in 1998 (just a few months after buying into the Mooney partnership), and we were excited to see the area again with a little more time to explore. The 1998 trip was a very quick weekend; fly in on Saturday, hike around that day and return on Sunday. Continue reading Glacier National Park: Part 1 →

Saturday – Hiking

We woke up to great hiking weather on Saturday morning-not too hot, or too cold with overcast skies providing plenty of shade from the July rays. As we drove towards the park, the clouds thickened and occasionally freckled the windshield. We had picked out a few hikes that we wanted to do inside the park, but if the rain kept up like this, the trails would be pretty muddy. Continue reading Glacier National Park: Part 2 →

Weather Briefing

The unsettled conditions from the cold front that moved through on Saturday were still lingering in the Kalispell area. We awoke to a layer of broken clouds, but still a good amount of blue sky peeking out above. The Flight Service weather briefer said the clouds at Glacier Part International were broken at 4,500 feet and overcast at 8,500 feet. Those altitudes are reported as above ground level (AGL) so by adding the airport elevation at Glacier Park to those numbers, the MSL (above mean sea level) altitudes for the cloud layers were at 7,500 and 11,500 feet respectively. Continue reading Glacier National Park: Part 3 →