8/30/11 Waterton Lakes Nat'l Park, Alberta, Canada

We spent nearly a week in Glacier Nat'l Park, often referred to as The Crown of the Continent. Tucked in the northeastern corner of the park, Many Glacier is a hiker's paradise.  In fact, most of the people we saw were garbed in hiker's duds. All ages were represented: Blue hairs and gray beards, younger people, and families with small kids hiked the moderately strenuous trails with their unmatched subalpine scenery. We certainly had a great time!

Another stellar, castle-like hotel.

The view from our Townsite campsite (nice, eh?). 

We left Glacier on Sun., 8/29 and drove the Chief Mountain Hwy north across the border to Waterton Lakes Nat'l Park and had a different kind of experience altogether. This Canadian side of Glacier Nat'l Park seemed more relaxed - lots of families with little ones riding bikes.

We put in one hike on the 30th to Red Rock Canyon and Blakiston Falls. The drive along Red Rock Canyon was as good as any we've done!

Blakiston Falls.

The black bear we encountered crossing the road was also the biggest black bear we've seen! (photo taken from Smartie). We spotted that guy twice. Wednesday, the 31st was the first whole day of rain we've had since starting out this year (on April 28th). We spent it wisely and enjoyed it very much. We did laundry and I made chili and we visited Pearl's Pantry to use her free wifi and so on. The low temp this day was 47. The high temp this day was 48! Great park to unwind in. On to Banff on Thursday!

Canada has great descriptive signs! (don't mess with deer or the deer might mess you up!) 

Saturday, 8/27/11 Glacier Nat'l Pk

Sorry all you bears, birds and people, but I'd like huckleberries on our cereal! Jimmy and I walked down toward Fishercap Lake (where I'd previously spotted patches of berries) to pick, but I had to search long and low to get half a cup of berries (they're small, like low-bush blueberries and the taste is similar). Seems like I was a day late? Darned grizzly bears have been stoking up for winter and cleaning berry bushes like giant vacuum cleaners. However, I picked enough of the tasty gems for several mornings.

(Speaking of bears… we’ve seen bears every day except when we did the Grinnell Glacier hike. One morning while we were driving on the Park Road, a grizzly dashed across the grassland at a pretty good clip, ran right behind the car and disappeared into low scrub on the other side. Durn thing was almost as big as Smartie! Another time, as we were driving, a grizzly darted out of the trees in front of us, saw the car, contemplated suicide, changed its mind and ducked back into the trees. Whew! Otherwise the bears we’ve seen have been much further away – GOOD!)

 

Swiftcurrent Lake from the Nature Path.

Purple mountain majesties - dusk at GNP.

Wildflowers galore at Logan Pass (on the Continental Divide).

After lunch we strolled around turquoise-colored Swiftcurrent Lake on the 2.6 mile loop Nature Path. Most of the path is shaded by fir trees, cooler and quieter, and we enjoyed the solitude. We stopped in at Many Glacier Hotel along the way, and learned a few things. The Hotel, designed in a Swiss Alpine style, opened in 1915. It’s large, picturesque, and perched at the edge of Swiftcurrent Lake. The lobby is three stories tall and very rustic, with a huge stone fire pit toward the center of the room, reminiscent of the lodges in Yellowstone andYosemite Nat’l Pks.

Big-horned sheep milling around in the pkg lot.

Equipment trailer used at the Star Party.

We signed up for the (free) Star Party at Logan Pass on Sat night. The Park provides space in the parking area, some telescopes, and amateur astronomers bring their own. The Party is limited to as many people as the parking lot will hold and tickets are available to those who want to come. It being the dark side of the Moon phase, and Logan Pass being far from any ambient light, it was a perfect opportunity to see the night sky in all its glory. First we had to shoo the pesky big horned sheep from the set up place… and they didn’t want to leave. Someone said they were addicted to licking antifreeze from the asphalt. (yuk!) Don’t know how true this is, but I did see them licking something from the pavement!

As the sky grew dark, one star after another popped out till the heavens were ablaze. The Milky Way stretched from horizon to horizon and seemed close enough to touch. From the west a large moving light appeared. An astronomer called out, “It’s the International Space Station!” Awestruck, we watched it track across the sky. Satellites zoomed by. Constellations and the stars in astrological signs were pointed out, till our necks grew stiff from looking up. We watched five “shooting stars” burn up in the atmosphere. We left around 11 pm, amazed by all we saw, but tired, knowing we had a slow 40-50 min drive to Many Glacier C/G. Slow, because we didn’t want to run into anything with eyes! What a wonderful day and night!

8/26/11 Highline Trail, GNP

The Vista fits just right in our large pull-thru campsite. We’re in a fairly wooded area, but there’s good overhead clearing so the solar panels can soak up sun rays to charge our batteries. Our dinette window looks out toward a mountain that glows positively golden in the morning’s first light, and our bedroom window faces into the woods, giving us privacy – always nice in a campground. Nights are warm, surprising to us – in the low 60’s – and we sleep with our windows open. In fact, Thursday night’s low was 64° (really warm!), but things changed Friday night – the low dipped to 51° (woohoo!). Daytime temps range from hi 70’s to mid-80’s and are mainly sunny. We’ve heard an occasional thunderclap and once or twice about 16 drops of rain spotted the car, but that’s about it.

After our strenuous Glacier hike, we rested on Thursday – read and did computer stuff. I’m still wading thru Michener’s Alaska and Jimmy is reading Rollins’ Map of Bones. I dug two big trout from the freezer which Jimmy grilled for dinner … yum! Thursday’s evening program in the amphitheater was given by Ranger Bob on “Bears!” and it was both interesting and entertaining. We learned a thing or two. Tuesday night’s program was presented by Ernie Heavy Runner of the Blackfoot Nation and he spoke about the Indian’s connection to animals and their significance to them. We learned a bunch that night, too.

Late afternoons in front of Swiftcurrent Motor Inn (across from the campground) the park rangers set up powerful scopes aimed at the mountains slopes on either the north or south sides of the campground. Mountain goats/big horn sheep/grizzly bears can almost always be seen on one side or the other. Campers and day trippers and folks staying at the Inn line up to look thru the scopes, including us. The Inn also serves delicious soft huckleberry ice cream in a cup.  Just sayin' ....

Lenticular clouds over the Park.

On Friday, we took Smartie for a drive to Logan Pass. Here’s some notable trivia – from Triple Divide Peak southeast of Logan Pass, a hand’s width can determine whether a raindrop becomes part of the Columbia, Mississippi, or Saskatchewan River systems. Waters flow to the Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and northeastward into Hudson Bay.  How cool is that?

Here we are at the Pass.

The Highline trailhead takes off from Logan Pass, and this is a trail Jimmy and I wanted to hike.  Another tidbit: We put in three miles (before we turned around) on this relatively easy path, and at that point, we were actually on the other side of the arête (called the “Garden Wall”) from Grinnell Glacier where we were on Wednesday. How cool is this?

Hairy-scary part of the trail -- a very narrow path on a steep slope with a green rope anchored into the cliff wall to hang onto.  (some sentence!)  Not recommended for the timid!

Jimmy eating lunch at the turnaround point.

The Garden Wall is behind.

Rain falling near Going-to-the-Sun Road which winds thru the Park.

 

Another snow field (at our turnaround point).

Columbian Ground Squirrel waiting for a handout.

These critters are everywhere!  (An eggshell?)

  

Jimmy on our return to Logan Pass.

After eating our sandwiches, we looked at the sky and said, uh-oh, and made tracks. I do not like hearing thunder while on a trail. Too bad for me, ‘cause we got caught in a quick storm. I put on a poncho and Jimmy donned his jacket. The rain didn’t last long and it didn’t amount to much, but I was very relieved when the thunder quit. We enjoyed the whole six miles; well, maybe only five of the six miles, but the trail was superb!

GNP -- Grinnell Glacier hike - Aug 24th

If there is such a thing as a bucket list and if we had one, high on that list would be hiking to Grinnell Glacier in the heart of Glacier National Park. Clear and sunny with very little wind, TODAY is THAT day! 

Using the concession boats from the hotel, our glacier hike will be roughly 9 miles R/T, with a 1600’ elevation gain. We took two different boats on two separate lakes to get to the T/H. The first boat left the hotel dock at 8:30 crossing Swiftcurrent Lake. Up and over a short hill and the second boat took us across iridescent turquoise-colored Josephine Lake. This is a ranger-led hike with a group of about 45 people of all ages. Due to enormous snowfall the past winter and a lot of grizzly bear activity this spring/summer, yesterday was the 1st day the trail opened this year!  Can you say, superb timing?

Grinnell Glacier is (far away!) at the back of the bowl.

When we stepped off the boat, Ranger Diane pointed up and to the west toward Grinnell Falls (four miles away and 1600’ higher!), and said, “That’s where we’re going!” Yikes! It was daunting, yes, but worth it, especially in terms of beauty. We saw deer far below romping along the shore waters of beautiful Josephine Lake, wolverines rolling in a snow patch high above us ... but we encountered no grizzlies, thank goodness.  Flowers? Ohmigosh, we encountered a cornucopia of colorful flowers!

On the trail ....

Lovely Lake Josephine and Grinnell Falls.

Isn't this gorgeous?

We stepped over rivulets, hiked around streams, and splashed thru a waterfall; climbed up a snow “ladder” and trudged over rough glacial moraine, but for me the hardest part was trying to look around while moving – too hazardous to walk and look at the same time! Ranger Diane stopped strategically, as in before or after steep climbs, which also afforded viewing opportunities. Lunch was in a copse of fir trees at the base of a melting snow field. Somehow rangers had dragged or carried benches way up there.

Miles later, this is THE Glacier with "calves" embedded in it.

The group hiking up snow "steps!"

And crossing a snow field!

Wow! We made it down to the bottom!   Grinnell is now sitting in a shimmering blue lake; we walked to the glacier edge, but didn't step onto it. Even tho we were surrounded by snow and ice, we were warm in shorts and T-shirts.

Jimmy sliding down (not intentionally!) a snow field on our return.

This snow field was very slick.

These alpine glaciers have been shrinking dramatically the past 50 years and scientists predict they’ll be gone by 2020. Grinnell Glacier and Salamander Glacier used to be connected, but separated sometime before 1929 when Grinnell retreated significantly. Parked above both, Gem Glacier looks like the top scoop of a vanilla ice cream cone.

The boat dock where we're headed is far away at the red arrow,

and we're only half way there.  Yowzers!

Common bear grass in a majestic setting.

Breathtaking.

Reluctantly we began our return sometime after 2pm and we moved fast so we could catch the 4pm boat. If we'd waited for the next boat, we'd be much later returning to the C/G (but, a slower pace would have been nice). We were exhausted when we got back to Tergel and in sore need of showers, available at the lodge, thank goodness. This hike surpassed our expectations; it really and truly was an A+. We'd do it again in a heartbeat.

August - Week 4 - Glacier National Park!

Located in the Rocky Mtns, the Many Glacier area of GNP is incomparably beautiful. Rising straight up out of high prairie grasslands, the mtns’ sudden emergence is breathtaking. We were thrilled to be here (and out of the fierce headwind that tried to blow us backward!). When we toured Glacier Nat’l Park three yrs ago, we stayed at a C/G in West Glacier, and talked about hiking to Grinnell Glacier, but the trailhead is located on the east side in Many Glacier and has to be a destination in itself. So, this year we signed up for six nights in Many Glacier C/G ($10/night with senior passes; no hookups, of course), specifically to hike to the glacier. After getting settled in on Mon afternoon, we hopped on our bikes to scope out Many Glacier and Swiftcurrent Hotels.

Grizzly Mom and two cubs filling up on berries.

 

Papa Moose!

Admiring the view - oh yeah!

 

One of Redrock Falls pools.

 

Hiking thru the red rocks.

 

 

Happy people having fun!

Because Wednesday was forecast for less wind and sunny, it’d be a better day for hiking to Grinnell Glacier, so Tuesday morning we drove the short hop to Many Glacier Hotel to get boat tickets for the first leg of the Grinnell Glacier hike. That’s when we saw grizzly bears on the mountainside, whoa Nellie! 

Not ones to sit around much and do nothing, today – still windy – we picked a shorter, 4-mile R/T hike to Redrock Falls, which was recommended as a very scenic hike and accessible from the C/G. We packed PB&J sandwiches and “took a hike.” The first thing we saw off the main trail was a giant bull moose in Fishercap Lake. He was standing belly deep in cool water (all the water around here is either cool or COLD glacial runoff), minding his own business. We took his picture and left him alone. Redrock Falls is a series of cascades, very scenic, and the hike here was very nice. Surrounded as we are by spectacular mtns, any hike in these parts would be great. Along the way, I picked huckleberries, thimble (salmon) berries and raspberries, but never enough to take home – too bad. Think I’ll return to a place closer to the C/G and pick more!

Monday, 8/25, McDonald Creek Trail in GNP

I took this photo (L) of our shadows on the rocks thru the flowing water.

We wanted to hike one last trail, but not one so strenuous or steep, so we took off on the above trail, which follows McDonald Creek from the cascades to the beginning of the 10-mile long McDonald Lake. Figured it should be easy; however, nothing in this park (or the Rocky Mtn chain, for that matter) is flat or level, but we enjoyed trekking across the rocks and up/down thru the cedar forest. The forest floor with all the fallen trees looks like a kid has pitched out pick-up-stix. Much of the GNP forest is ancient; some of it has burned recently (2002).

Since the Labor Day holiday is next wkend, we decided this morning to head up to Canada to avoid our crowded USA national parks... only to discover this evening that Canada celebrates the same three-day 

wkend as the USA!!  Joke's on us!  So, what the heck, we're here - we're on the way to Banff, Lake Louise and the Columbia Icefield.  Hope there's no crowd!  yuk yuk yuk

Sunday - Hidden Lake Trail in GNP

As usual, click on any photo to enlarge.

From Logan Pass, we decided to hike the moderate/strenuous 6-mile R/T Hidden Lake trail. Of course when we started we didn't realize half of it would be strenuous, or even that it was six miles. Of course! From the Overlook, it's a drop of 780' in 1.5 miles... and the return was, uh, quite challenging.

Again, awesome views in every direction! Close encounters with mountain goats, hoary marmots, golden-mantled squirrels, and one big-horn sheep kept us entertained. Our feet and knees were tired when we finished, but the hike was unbelievable! What a place!  What an experience!