Just got back from the Park

[ND]

I'll just drop a short line for now.

Drove straight through last Friday night, July 13.

Two Medicine campground was full before noon on Saturday. That was a surprise! We moved on to St. Mary.

The sky was quite hazy for landscape photography. I think due to fires in the "Bob".

From Saturday thru Wednesday we day hiked about 46 miles.

We did the Siyeh Pass loop backwards (to most) by going up the Baring Creek side.

Got to Swiftcurrent Pass from the Many Glacier side. Heat and the flies were tough on this one.

Iceberg/Ptarmigan, Cracker Lake, & Grinnell Glacier were all closed, so we did Grinnell Lake and surrounding area. Wildflowers on north side of Josephine Lake were varied and blooming. Pretty good year for wildflowers everywhere I thought.

After some searching we finally found the trailhead for Firebrand Pass. I think the guide books are somewhat misleading. We kept looking for a dirt road that crossed the tracks. From the trailhead I spotted a black bear thru binoculars near the trail area. Met up with another guy who wanted to do the trail, but not alone, so the four of us went. Abundant Fireweed in bloom and the first time I ever hiked in vegetation nearly head high in some places. The trail did open up later on for some spectacular views. The high point of the trip came when we reached the pass. 8^) For about 20 minutes we got to watch a beautiful grizzly working his way across the flanks of Red Crow Mountain. I figure about 250-300 yds away. That made the trip for us.

Wednesday night at Two Medicine, we had a thunderstorm and some of the most incredible lightening I have ever seen.

We spent one more day just touring the park and headed for home.

Discovered leaking radiator on our van on Saturday morning in Glendive. Not good! We were told we would have to wait until Monday to get a repair. Instead we bought some coolant at the Napa parts store and tried to limp it home. We drove slower, didn't use AC,(ugh!) and added a gallon about every 100 miles, but we made it. It was a long 400 miles.

Overall it was a pretty darn good trip. I will share photos later if I got anything decent. My grizzly shots will be the standard dots in the picture since as the week went along I packed less and less on my hiking trips due to the heat and weight. So I didn't have my telephoto for the bear. haha

BTW- We need to have some kind of identification marker for fellow Glacier chatters in the park. Even if it is something as simple as a small piece of colored tape attached to a cap or jacket. A few times I wanted to ask, but it kind of felt awkward.

Ha! It wasn't that short!
ND

[switchback]

ND, thanks for your report. Surprised you didn't try some stop-leak in your radiator. But glad to hear you made it anyway.
Did you camp only at St. Mary? We are heading to the park early Thurs for a 4 day weekend. We were planning on Many Glacier, but looks like the most popular trails are all still closed
Did you hear any word on if/when Iceberg might reopen?
We may reconsider and try our luck at Sprague Creek CG instead. And then just hike around Logan pass / Granite park, etc.

I like your idea of some sort of chat page ID - is there a logo for this forum? I s'pose I could just print up a label of that picture and site name in the upper left corner to stick on my pack strap or something...
~ Jim

[daveparker]

I like your idea of some sort of chat page ID - is there a logo for this forum? I s'pose I could just print up a label of that picture and site name in the upper left corner to stick on my pack strap or something...
~ Jim

Jim,

Actually, there are a couple of threads devoted to this particular subject, we could not all agree, so it was put on hold for the summer months while everyone was visiting the park, but come Sept. We will delve back into the quest for a logo, because I as the owner of the page, would like to see us all able to identify each other when in the park and surrounding areas.

Thanks for your input.

Dave

[ND]

switchback,

The mechanic at Glendive said Stop-leak wouldn't help because of where the radiator was leaking and the extent of the leak. We should have used some anyway, it couldn't have hurt. It was a bad leak, however. It seemed to do better when we were on the road and getting some air cooling to help. Thankfully it ran at normal on the temp. guage as long as we kept the coolant level up by adding periodically. When we stopped or shut down the leak got very bad.

We camped at Many Glacier for 2 nights. No problem getting a site if you get there in the morning it seems. We also camped at Two Medicine later on and had no problems. They didn't even fill up. It probably is more busy on weekends.

I don't know when the MG trails will open again. Sometimes they can be shut down for bears for quite a while. From what we heard Grinnell Glacier trail was closed because of a carcass near the trail. I wonder if that one wouldn't be the first to open again. Just guessing, though.

We saw about a dozen bighorn sheep near Logan Pass one day and if you hike in MG keep an eye out near Josephine we saw a moose in the lake there. If you decide to pass on Many Glacier, you might consider Two Medicine. Some very nice hikes down there, too.

[Jen]

I will share photos later if I got anything decent.

That is an oxymoron, coming from you.

Thanks for the report

[Jan]

Hey, ND, sounds like a great trip again! DO post your photos, as many of us will look forward to seeing your shots. What is your feedback on Siyeh pass hike (reversed)?

[llholmes1948]

What is your feedback on Siyeh pass hike (reversed)?

I have noticed that some guidebooks describe the Siyeh hike backwards starting at Sunrift Gorge and ending at Siyeh Bend. That wouldn't be my choice but the vistas in that direction must be very nice.

Great report and trip, ND. I was interested in your comments on Firebrand Pass and did not realize it was such a high vegetation hike. Sounds like it must be similar to the lower part of Piegan Pass trail when you come down from the pass and hike toward Many Glaicer.

Lyman

[ND]

Lyman & Jan

We were definitely in the minority going up the Baring Creek side. Some of the hikers we spoke to considered it the more difficult way. I have done it this way once before, but most of the time have went up on the Preston Park side. I must admit the final switchbacks were taxing, but I'm not convinced there is that much of a difference. There is a very long stretch of relatively flat ground hiking. It seems to break out into the open sooner than going up from the Siyeh bend. Less walking in the forest. It offers nice views of the basin, Sexton Glacier, Baring Creek going up. This is something that one may not notice as much by going down that way.

Lyman, the Firebrand hike offered different looks all the way, from prairie, aspen forest, to wide open views following along Calf Robe Mt. There were portions, especially where fireweed and huckleberry bushes were prevalent, that had high thick vegetation. Make some noise going through these areas because it seems to be a place where one could surprise a bear. We did see some fresh scat full of berries on the trail here. I don't want to scare folks off this trail though, it was a great hike.

Jen, thanks.

ND

[flatlander]

ND -- had to chuckle a bit over your 'backward' climb over Siyeh and up Swiftcurrent from many Glacier. I also prefer those routes, so maybe it is a ND trait, as I am a native of the state (Grand Forks).

I have done both hikes both ways, but prefer the 'backward' route as well, for better perspective, as well as easier on my knees.

I'm looking foward to your photos.

[llholmes1948]

ND, Thanks for the additional information on these hikes.

Isn't the elevation gain doing Siyeh backwards (Sunrift Gorge to Siyeh Bend) substantially more than going Siyeh Bend to Sunrift Gorge? That has always discouraged me from trying it that way. Does anyone have the actual figures on the elevation gain on each direction so we can compare?

You are quite correct that if you do the hike the "right" way from Siyeh Bend to Sunrift Gorge, you have to look backwards many times in order to appreciate the best views.

The last time I hiked Siyeh, my son and I just did an afternoon hike from the Bend to Siyeh Pass and return. Other than the side trail to Sexton Glacier, I am not sure if we missed much by not doing the hike all the way to Sunrift Gorge. I did the full hike years ago but my mind is sort of blank when it comes to recalling much about the section from the Sexton Glacier spur trail to Sunrift Gorge. I must have evdently found that section to be rather uninteresting; otherwise I would probably remember more about it. What is your view on that section?

Would a Siyeh Bend to Sexton Glacier round trip hike take in most of the best scenery along this trail?

Thanks,
Lyman

[ND]

"Would a Siyeh Bend to Sexton Glacier round trip hike take in most of the best scenery along this trail?"

Lyman,

As far as 'best', I probably wouldn't disagree. Preston Park is the more scenic side with wildflowers, lakes, and meadows. I've also did the out and back trip. Personally I prefer doing a loop when it's possible to avoid retracing my steps. I think you are right that the elevation gain is more on the Baring Creek side. I don't have any numbers, but I'll see if I can find something unless someone else can provide them sooner.

BTW- how do you guys do that quote thingy?

[daveparker]

BTW- how do you guys do that quote thingy?

ND,

Just click the quote button on the message you want to quote in your reply.

Dave

[ND]

Just click the quote button on the message you want to quote in your reply.

Thanks, Dave.

[llholmes1948]

I think you are right that the elevation gain is more on the Baring Creek side. I don't have any numbers, but I'll see if I can find something unless someone else can provide them sooner.

ND,

I decided to check this out myself and found that I already had the information. The Park Service publication "Day Hikes in Glacier" reports that there is an elevation gain of 2240 feet from Siyeh Bend to Siyeh Pass and an elevation gain of 3440 feet from Sunrift Gorge to Siyeh Pass.

This is one of the few instances I have noticed where the Park Service information and the information in my 1999 edition of Eric Molvar's hiking book agree. I have posted some comments on these discrepancies in the General Glacier discussion section.

Lyman

[TNsoccer07]

I really enjoyed the report ND---thanks for sharing! It sounds like you were able to see a lot of beautiful places, and that griz on the Firebrand Pass Trail sounds awesome. I can't wait for pictures---especially Firebrand and Baring Creek to Siyeh! Does anyone have an opinion about hiking from Sunrift Gorge to Siyeh Pass, down to Preston Park, up and over Piegan Pass and down to Many Glacier? I'm seriously considering either this next time I'm in the park and was wondering what anyone's thoughts were on this. Also, do you get to see the best of Preston Park between Siyeh and the Piegan/Siyeh junction, or is the best part down the trail toward the Bend?

Sean