missoulamarathon.org >>MTC Note: Whitefish’s Burket Kniveton shared this photo essay with us about a recent spring outing in Glacier National Park. To see more of Burket’s photography check out his website https://www.burketkniveton.com/
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April 13, 2015
SPRING RUNNING IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MT
By Burket Kniveton
By Burket Kniveton
April can be an interesting month in Montana. This is the time of year in which winter relinquishes it’s grasp of the mountains, and the snow begins to melt from the higher elevations. Those of us who are interested in maximizing our time traveling through Montana’s backcountry are left with a choice this time of year: skis, bikes or trail shoes?
I’m fortunate to have a community of friends (and an amazing wife) who are willing to swap ski boots for trail running shoes, as conditions permit, in order to take advantage of the day, no matter the weather conditions in the mountains.
This brings me to last week:
I was fortunate to connect with Matthew Smeltzer from https://competitivetiming.com who was enthusiastic about connecting for a lower elevation run in Glacier National Park last week.
Running with Matthew is always a treat”¦ I really enjoy connecting with him. We approach running form different perspectives, and we always end up challenging each other on the trail.
Matthew is a great running partner. He constantly pushes me to pick up the pace while carrying on interesting conversations, both of which are qualities I seek-out in my training partners.
During last week’s run, our conversation topics included: vegan eating, the social impacts of Macklemore’s music, website SEO, mountaineering, the ecological effects of natural fire regimes, and life in general.
Matthew runs a lot. He has ran a minimum of 5k, every day, for nearly 3 years now”¦ I don’t run every day, nor do I want to”¦ But, I greatly appreciate Matthew’s focus, commitment, and persistence!
The STATS:
We left Whitefish mid morning.
Ran to the Apgar lookout and back to the truck. Run data (with map!): https://www.movescount.com/moves/move58943714
We then ran a few more miles on the McDonald Lake Trail. Run data (with map!): https://www.movescount.com/moves/move58943703
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| Matt running up, towards the Apgar Lookout – Credit: Burket Kniveton |
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| Credit: Burket Kniveton |
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| Near the Fishcreek Trailhead – Credit: Burket Kniveton |
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| Matt running along Lake McDonald, Glacier N.P. – Credit: Burket Kniveton |
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| Credit: Burket Kniveton |
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| Credit: Burket Kniveton |
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| Credit: Burket Kniveton |
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| Credit: Burket Kniveton |
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| Evidence of winter – Credit: Burket Kniveton |
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| In the burn – Credit: Burket Kniveton |
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Credit: Burket Kniveton
 Credit: Burket Kniveton |
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| Up – Credit: Burket Kniveton |
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| Lake McDonald, Glacier N.P. – Credit: Burket Kniveton |
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| The North Fork – Credit: Burket Kniveton |