Friday 8/1 - Aimee and I continued the long haul and I was rocking out to the iPod until we were about an hour out of Bismarck. We stopped at a rest area and napped for an hour and a half. Fully recharged we headed back on I-94. The sun was coming up a little after 5am when we saw the beginning of the North Dakota badlands. Once we hit Montana it was just a blur. I think the state of the Montana has split personality disorder. You have the beautiful western side with the Rocky Mountains and then you have its bastard sister, the eastern side that would NEVER END! It was like driving on a giant treadmill and all you got to see was open prairie and houses with a dozen broken down old cars and trucks scattered around the yard. We finally got off of this paved treadmill and arrived at Many Glacier hotel around 5pm (mst). It took us 22hrs of which 18.5 of that were driving and the rest was stopping to get gas, eating and sleeping. We checked into the hotel and the desk clerk said we had room 508. I’m thinking, sweet! When I booked the room I upgraded the room to be facing the lake. How awesome to be on the 5th floor! She then tells us that it is actually the basement, ground level. Oh how exciting (sarcasm here). We walk down the stairs and the hallway looked like something out of a Stephen King novel, exposed water pipes, exposed wires and lights. It looked like it used to be the old staff quarters or an asylum. We opened the door to the room and it didn’t look like it had been updated for 50 years. You can hear the wind howling through the door that leads you out to the porch facing the lake. I look over and we have a giant fire hydrant pipe running through our room and down the wall connecting it to the outside. The walls are paper thin, I can hear the floors creaking from above us and you can see the hallway through a gap in the door. On the bright side, it’s a roof over our head.
Saturday 8/2 – I woke up at 6:30 am to a beautiful sunrise this morning. The sun lit up Mount Grinnell like it was on fire. I immediately woke Aimee so she could witness this magnificent scenery. I took a few pictures and then before you know it, it began to rain. Aimee and I planned to hike to Iceberg Lake today. We put on our rain suits and walked down the road to the trail head. On the way we stopped by the ranger station to pick up our backcountry permit for Cracker Lake. By the time we were out of the ranger station the rain had ended. The trail head was behind some little cabins. A main reason why we came to Glacier at the beginning of August was because of the wildflowers. Let me tell you that we were not disappointed. All along the trail was an array of color. One of the most common flowers we saw was the Indian Paint Brush. You could find it in a variety of colors, red, hot pink, orange and white. Ice Berg Lake is one of the most popular hikes in the park. We got passed by a lot of people whose mission seemed to be just the destination. All the while they are racing to the finish line and missing out on what Glacier has to offer. We saw some moose, butterflies, lots of big fat bumble bees gorging themselves on the full bloom and the picturesque view of the valley behind us. Once we got to lake you could understand why the hike was so popular. There were many ice bergs floating at the end of the lake. A few un-melted snow piles covered the trail you had to walk through to get to the lake. We pulled up a boulder and had some lunch next to Iceberg Lake along with 20 other tourists. On the menu was some chicken wraps brought to you by Tyson. It was rather chilly at the lake because the sun was hidden behind the clouds and you could feel the wind blow the cold air off of the lake. After lunch we started the trek back to the hotel. As made it off of the trail we were walking another trail on the side of the Swiftcurrent Lake on the way back when I all of a sudden looked up and there was a mule deer 5 feet away from me feeding on the grass. I just about had a heart attack because I just saw a large brown animal out of my peripheral vision; I thought it was a bear. After a few pictures of Bambi, we got close to the hotel road when we noticed everyone looking up at the side of the mountain. We looked to see two grizzly bears feeding on some grub. They were a good 500 yards away from us. Even at that distance, you could still grasp the size of these bears. They would turn over large rocks as if made of foam. Upon our return, we made some dinner and ate it out on the hotel breeze way. Following dinner and relaxing on the porch, we headed back to the room to begin packing for tomorrow’s Cracker Lake backcountry adventure. In total we hiked 12 miles today. 8 hours total split evenly with 4 hours hiking moving time and 4 hours stopped time which accounting for lunch, taking pictures etc.
Sunday 8/3 – We checked out of Many Glacier hotel. We broke the rule and drove on the maintenance road to pack the car. There was no way I was going to bring that 100qt cooler full of food and ice up the stairs. We drove the car up to the parking lot and grabbed our full backpacks to hike to Cracker Lake. We learned at the beginning that this was going to be a smelly hike because this trail is also use as a horseback trail. Yup, stinky horse shit and the smell of ammonia from urine littered the trail. Luckily most of the horse traffic does a loop a couple miles down the trail. There are some horse rides that do go up to Cracker Lake but not many. We followed the gradual climb which paralleled Canyon Creek which was nestled between Allen Mountain, Wynn Mountain, and Mt. Siyeh. We arrived to a gorgeous, aqua green Cracker lake which was fed by Siyeh Glacier. Cracker Lake is filled with tiny particles of rock, ground up by the glacier. These tiny particles, suspended in the water, reflect and refract light giving the lake a deep opalescent color. We set up the tent at the 2nd of 3 campsites. We also met our only campmate which was a mountain goat we nicknamed Herbie. After getting settled in, we hiked down to the lake where there used to be an old mine. There was a bunch of left over mine equipment and the mine entrance was filled with rocks and debris. We were pretty wiped out from the 6 mile hike so we got into the tent around 7:30pm, played a round of Farkel, I lost, and went to sleep around 8pm.
Monday 8/4 – We woke up around 7am in the morning. It was a chilly night but our sleeping bags kept us warm throughout the night. The sun rose but it wasn’t until 10am when the sun breached over Siyeh Mountain to start drying off the tent from the morning dew. We packed everything up and since it was a clear sunny morning we hiked to the end of the lake to take some pictures. We then started our decent back to civilization. It took us half the time to descend than it did to ascend. After 2.5 hrs of hiking we arrived back at the Many Glacier Hotel parking lot. Next on the agenda was to find a campsite at Rising Sun campground. We arrived at the camp ground at 4pm and after driving around we found a nice open site. We setup shop and called it home for the rest of the trip. We then went into the town of St. Mary for some supplies and we also hit up the local KOA for a shower. Between Rising Sun and St. Mary campground there is only 1 shower for the guys and 1 for gals. We didn’t want to wait in line so we figured it was worth the $7.50 to go to the KOA. That was the best shower ever! We were pretty damn stinky. We drove back to Rising Sun to make brats and beans for dinner followed up some Bayern Dancing Trout beer.
Tuesday 8/5 – Today was our easy day. No hikes, just driving. We drove Going-To-The-Sun Road and stopped at the road side attractions. The park seemed pretty busy today, for it was hard to find parking in some areas. We checked out Goose Island for the iconic “The Shining” photo shot and pressed on through Logan’s Pass. This year marks the 75th anniversary of they road. They are fixing parts of Going-To-The-Sun Rd which caused some delays in places. We stopped at Avalanche Creek where I remember from my first trip to Glacier, I cliff jumped into a deep pool in the creek. I remember when you hit the water it would take your breathe away because of the cold temperatures. Down the road we checked out Lake McDonald lodge. The lodge had an old rustic charm to it with a touch of Indian heritage. It seemed like a nice place to stay if you like West Glacier, (I favor East Glacier). We then drove down the road to Apgar Village to see what it offered. There were a bunch of little shops full of the same stuff you find in every little shop around Glacier. On the way back we stopped at the Trail of Cedars which had Red Cedar trees that were up to 700 years old. It was an easy .8 mile hike over a wooden boardwalk. These were some huge trees. Because of the location in the valley there is a lot of moisture in this area and they estimated there hasn’t been a forest fire in this area in since the mid 1500’s. After our hike we jumped back in the car again to enjoy going back up the road. Aimee really enjoyed being 5 feet from the cliffs with only a boulder to stop you. We arrived back around 5pm to start making some dinner. After dinner, with our full bellies, we sat down and read some Backpacker magazines for an hour. We then played a game of Farkel. I lost again. I am determined to win a game this week. It was a nice night and we sat by the fire for a while before going to bed. I would also like to add that fire wood is insanely expensive here. $5.50 for 4 logs…RIP OFF!! Luckily we found some nice size bundles for $4 at Apgar Village.
Wednesday 8/6 – We woke up early today so we could get to Logan Pass before the mass crowds arrived. We rolled up and in the parking lot we were greeted by three big horn sheep. A few pictures were taken and we walked up to the visitor center where there were another ten big horns just hanging out on the side of a hill. With our Camelbaks filled with water, we headed up to Hidden Lake. The first section of the hike is on a boardwalk. Due to the late spring, there was still plenty of snow to walk through. Any time after 10am this hike is a tourist nightmare. Arriving early allowed us to avoid that nightmare. As we reached the top we saw plenty of mountain goats along with their offspring. Once we reached the top of Logan’s pass, we had views of Clements Mountain, Bearhat Mountain, Reynolds Mountain, Heavy Runner Mountain and Mt. Oberlin. Below us you had a magnificent view of Hidden Lake. Once we were done taking in the view we started the 1.5 mile descent to Hidden Lake. The descent consisted of hugging the hillside of Clemens Mountain until we reached the switchbacks that brought us right to the lake. While we were hiking the trail we heard this thunderous noise. As we looked up we saw that a large chunk of the snow field let go and was heading straight for us. Not knowing what to do we started to run down the trail. By the time the snow made it even remotely close to us it had turned from boulder sized pieces of ice to pebble size. Once we got to the lake we pulled up a rock and had some lunch. There were a few people already down at the lake fly fishing for trout. After lunch we checked out Hidden Lake creek which was filled with hundreds of Cutthroat Trout. We then made the hike back up the mountain which consisted of many breather breaks. Once we made it back to the boardwalk we were in tourist hell. People are just plain stupid. Parents not watching their kids, people walking off of the trail, we even saw someone go off the trail to fill a ziplock bag full of snow. What are they going to do with that? I just wanted to push people to the ground and make a run for it. If I was a Park Ranger I would be kicking ass and taking names. Once we were in the parking lot we retreated to the safety of our car. We headed back to camp to get cleaned up and take some showers. We then went to St Mary for some gifts, firewood, beer and ice. Dinner tonight was breakfast. Yah, we had scrambled eggs with sausage and some potatoes. We were STUFFED! After dinner we hopped into the car and drove up to Sun Point to check out the views of St. Mary Lake. Then we went over to St. Mary Falls. After hiking .8 of a mile you come to a beautiful triple falls. A wooden bridge lets you cross over the creek in front of the falls. With dusk only an hour away the mosquitoes started to find us as a meal. We hiked out and then headed towards Two Dog Flats when we noticed the “Yellowstone Effect” as we like to call it on the side of the road. The “Yellowstone Effect” is when people notices some kind of animal off of the road and then stop to take pictures of it. Tonight’s “Yellowstone Effect” was a large black bear. He or she was coming out of the forest to dine on some berries. We also saw some white tails deer on the way back to camp. Another campfire tonight along with reading up on some of the trails Glacier has to offer.
Thursday 8/7 – Today was another early one. We woke up around 6am and then drove to Logan’s Pass to park the car for the day. Today’s hike was the Garden Wall. We started the hike on the Northern Highline Trail. The beginning of the trail takes you on narrow ledges while you hug the tall rocky cliffs. This is not a trail for someone that is afraid of heights. If you look down you will see the Going-to-the-Sun Rd about 500 feet below you. The only sense of security is a garden-hose-coved cable for you to hang on to. The views were absolutely breathtaking. You could see all through the valley down to Lake McDonald. We passed by several snow fed water falls that sprinkled down the side of the mountain. On our way down the trail we followed fresh Mountain Goat tracks which led us to a new friend munching on some grass. As we looked up on the mountain you could see 20 more goats scaling the steep cliffs above us. Continuing along the trail we reached a patch of snow before climbing Haystack Butte. The cool breeze off of the snow lowered the air temp by 10 degrees. This was a relief as the temps were reaching 80+ degrees. As we walked through the snow we were pleasantly surprised by a yellow blanket of Glacier Lilies. Once we reached Haystack Butte we were at an elevation of 7,300 feet. Compare this elevation to Apple Valley’s mere 940 feet. The Going-To-The-Sun Rd was over a thousand feet below us. You could see all of the Livingston Range with scattered white spots where the snow had yet to melt. You could also get a real sense of how much of the park burned back in 2003. The mountains were covered with fire scorched trees that stood like giant match sticks. We arrived at the Granite Park Chalet around 1pm. There is no fresh water at the Chalet so I took my trusty MSR water filter and back tracked on the trail about 100 yards to a little stream. I filtered 4 liters of water in only minutes. I look 20 feet up stream and an older couple is filtering water with an older Katadyn filter and they could only muster a half liter in the same time. I head back to the Chalet and started to prepare lunch. Some Mountain House dehydrated meals, beef jerky and to drink, Propel. The Park Ranger told us it was about a 2 hour hike down the mountain to the Loop. Since is was getting close to 3pm we decided to head down so we could catch a shuttle back to Logan’s Pass. We hiked through an area that was on fire in 2003. The only new growth was some bushes and wild flowers. Because there were no trees meant there was no shade, so as we hiked down the temp was getting close to 90 degrees. Hot, sweaty and our boots covered in a layer of dust we stopped and waded in Mineral Creek. The water had to have been around 40 degrees but it felt so good. We washed the layer of dust off of our legs and just stood there with relief. We didn’t have to wait long for a shuttle to bring us back. It was nice to sit, relax and take in the views. This was our last night in camp. We kept it pretty low key with a simple dinner of hot ham and cheese sandwiches. We gathered up our loose-end belongings so we could have an easy time in the morning packing the car. For the trip we have hiked over 45 miles.
Friday 8/8 – Time to say goodbye to our home for the past 4 days. On the road by 10am we drove down to East Glacier Lodge to take some pictures. With our stomach’s rumbling we stopped at The Whistle Stop Café for breakfast. Aimee and I both had the Huckleberry French toast. Unbeknownst to us this is not your normal French toast. This was more of a pastry with huckleberry cream filling inside, then deep fried and served with whip cream and a sprinkle of huckleberries. It was delicious but also extremely filling. A quarter of it was still on my plate when we left. At high noon it was time to start our long trek back to the land of 10,000 lakes. It definitely was not the most exciting of car rides staring out at a straight road rolling over an ocean of wheat fields. For dinner we wanted to give Wendy’s in Havre a second chance. Let’s back up a bit to give you some context about our first visit to the Havre Wendy’s. We stopped on the way to Glacier. We entered the Wendy’s and there were 3 customers waiting on food, a few customers in line waiting to order and only 2 employees to be seen. The 2 employees were running around the kitchen like chickens with their heads cut off. Obviously they were short staffed but not once did an employee say, “We will be with you in a couple minutes.” 5 minutes later we just left and went to Taco Time. BTW Taco Time sucks. Now on our second visit, only a couple customers inside were waiting. I think 1 customer was waiting for their order. We stood there and no employees were taking orders so we gave them 2 minutes. Still not a sign of an employee, frustrated we left. Really how hard is it people? We now search for the Taco John’s which is somewhere in town. There was a billboard that said it was off of 5th ave. We finally found 5th ave and drove down a few blocks to find the smallest Taco John’s ever. It was only drive through or you walk inside to get it to go. There are no places to sit and eat, similar to some older Dairy Queens. We ordered and then drove across the street to park and eat. With a full belly it was back on the road. We stopped in Wolf Point to gas up when we met the local drunk looking for beer. While I was gassing up he was going from car to car trying to make a friend. He was also taking old cigarette butts out of the ashtrays to light up. The local police was also filling up his cruiser and made sure the old drunk was on his way. After our tour of the towns we were back on the road. We finally make it off of the back roads down to I-94. We drove until midnight then we stopped at a rest area for a few hours of sleep. Around 3am I was feeling pretty good so I continued to drive until I just hit the wall (not an actual wall, I was tired) around 5am. We stopped again and slept another 3 hours. After that the car ride was just a blur of rolling hills, semi trucks and gas stations. We rolled into the driveway around 3pm putting over 2,500 miles on the car in a week while averaging 30 mpg. This was a memorable trip and the best part about it was spending it with my best friend, my wife Aimee. I can’t wait to continue to go on some more camping trips together. Maybe Yosemite next?
-MikeyB
2 comments:
Sounds like you had a GREAT trip! Your pictures are awesome. You're very good with the camera Mikey.
Forgot to mention...Summit's dad's name is Logan (after the Logan Pass you were talking about.)
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