A Run for the Border in FiveFingers

Mid August, in final preparations for the Moose Mountain Marathon, my running partner, Wade, and I made a run for the border. After stealthily pushing through trees and over rocks along the Waterton Lake shore line, we found ourselves on the final approach. What? No barbed wire? No machine guns? Oh yeah, this was the 49th parallel, the Canadian border.

Our goal was a 12 mile run as a warm down for the upcoming trail Marathon. We chose the Goat Haunt trail in Waterton Lakes National Park, part of the International Peace Park with the neighboring Glacier National Park. The trail moves equidistant to the rugged shoreline, approximately 5 miles to the border's cutline, and a few miles beyond that is a ranger station and International Peace Park Pavillion celebrating the union of the parks in June of 1932.

Because of time restraints, we didn't push for the full out-and-back. We simply made for a mile past the border, turned around, and came on back. The sound of waves gently caressing the shore, fresh air filtering through the greenery, and stunning views had me contemplating how great it was to be alive, a great way to start the morning.