August 1 Gunsight Pass Trail
I walked over to the St Mary visitor center at about 6:40 too catch the 7am bus. I could have showed up at 7, there was plenty of open seats. On the way to the trail head we spotted a black bear before Rising Sun. The first part of the trail goes through some thick timber then crosses Reynolds Creek on a suspension bridge.
Eventually the trail leads to a pretty meadow with a distant view of Gunsight Pass. The view was nice but the mosquitoes were horrible. I stopped for a minute and they almost ate me alive. This was the third time visiting Glacier and the bugs were by far the worst this time. It probably had something to do with the warm weather Glacier was having.
I kept leap frogging a couple from Missoula Mt and started hiking and chatting with them. They were great people and we got along really well. They were only hiking part of the way but when they found out I had a car at the end asked if they could tag along and catch a ride back to St Mary with me. Of course they could, they were fun to hike and visit with. They promised to buy me supper at Lake McDonald Lodge when we were done. That wasn't necessary since I was going to St Mary anyways but they insisted. Awesome, I had great company and a free supper at a historic lodge at the end of the hike.
At Gunsight Lake we talked to a couple backpackers who spent the night there. They confirmed the bugs almost carried them away but the view more than made up for the inconvenience. I've gotta say that the section of trail before Gunsight Pass is one of the most photogenic spots in the park. The layered cliff face across the valley was absolutely stunning!
At Gunsight Pass we took a break to have lunch. I'm sitting there when suddenly I feel something chewing on my butt. WTH! I jump up and a golden-mantled ground squirrel goes scurrying away. He must have been trying too get salt from my sweat. I sit down and the next thing I know it's licking my leg. Man these animals are brave! I shooed it away before it could take a bite out of me.
The views on the west side of Gunsight Pass wasn't quite as good as the east side but they were still pretty nice. It was hazy which my have lead to me thinking that. Lake Ellen Wilson was still gorgeous and fun to shoot.
I decided to pass on climbing Lincoln Peak because of the haze. Here's a view looking towards Lake McDonald. Sperry Chalet would be on your right. This was the first day the backcountry campground was open and we meet a number of backpackers climbing up from Lake McDonald.
While eating supper at Lake McDonald Lodge we talked about what a special park Glacier is. We both agreed when traveling that we compared everything on the Glacier scale. We both found ourselves saying other parks were as pretty as Glacier but never better. Back at St Mary we exchanged phone #s and went to get much needed showers and sleep. That's what I like about traveling to national parks, meeting great people who love the outdoors as much as I do. I though that was the end of my day but far from it.
I'm sitting in my campsite relaxing when suddenly a fox bursts out of the brush and grabs a squirrel right in front of me! That's something you don't see everyday. All week ranger's have been warning people that a grizzly was in the area so lock up your food. Well about 15 minutes after the fox vs squirrel carnage I hear a big animal crashing through the brush right towards me. Uh-oh here comes that bear! I jump up and run behind the car too put something between me and whatever is coming out of the brush. Out pops a cow moose and she see's me and freezes. While relieved it's not a grizzly I keep the car between us until she runs off into the campground. That was a crazy way to end the day. Only at Glacier. Here's a terrible phone picture. It's getting pretty dark.