August Adventures in the Park

[al_in_al]

That pizza looks amazing! I'm going to put Glacier Park Trading Co on my list for next trip - I've never managed to stop there.

Love your Pumpelly Pillar picture - the afternoon sun wasn't cooperating when I was there, so I don't think I got any good pictures of it. Can't wait to see how your Dawson Pass hike went - I might have to do it again in the future, since I don't think I fully appreciated it on my loop hike.

[teapot57]

Triple Falls Hike: Baring, St Mary & Virginia Falls

I arrived home from our hiking trip at 3:00 on a Sunday. My husband left for a business trip to London at 4:00 that same day. In that hour, I made my case for returning to the Park on the upcoming Friday. Our family had plans to rent a place on the west side of the Park for a week starting on Saturday, but because of work commitments and my son's sport commitments, we had to cut that week down to only a couple of days. My husband knew I was disappointed about shortening the trip, so he said go ahead. Spend a couple days in the Park and do your hikes. Just don't do them alone unless you are on a busy trail.

Well what do you know . . . There was a ranger hike to Dawson Pass that coming Saturday. I could conquer Dawson and I wouldn't have to hike alone.

I left home around 10:00 am on Friday morning and made it to Sunrift Gorge just before 2:00. I was able to squeeze my car in the last spot between a car on the end and a big rock.

I was alone for most of the beginning of the hike, seeing only a few people at Baring Falls, and passing only one family before the trail junction that led to the St Mary Falls parking area. I honestly thought it would be a busy trail (sorry honey! ), but I had no fear hiking alone. It was actually quite nice to be by myself after hiking with a large group the previous week.

Baring Falls:



The trail borders St. Mary Lake and is mostly wide open due to it being largely through the burn area.


















There were more people after the St. Mary Falls parking area, but I never felt like it was crowded until I got to the bridge over St. Mary Falls.

St. Mary Falls (not great lighting in the afternoon):



And then I passed no one on my way to Virginia Falls, but there were lots of people relaxing at the falls when I got there, taking in the beautiful view.




Virginia Falls from the high viewing point:



Virginia Falls from the lower observation point:



I had never done this hike before, and I enjoyed it. It was short, easy and very scenic. Especially the stretch along St Mary Lake if you start at Sunrift Gorge.

I could have stayed in East Glacier Village again to have a short drive to Two Med in the morning. Or even Rising Sun would have been an option as it also had some openings. But when I found a Swiftcurrent cabin available for the night I wanted, I had to take it. I had camped at the Many Glacier campground the previous month, but it just wouldn't be a summer without at least one night in a Swiftcurrent cabin. Many is definitely the area of the Park that feels like home to me. So the extra drive in the morning seemed worth it if it meant I could stay in Many Glacier one last time this summer.

I had an early dinner at Glaciers Edge Cafe before driving into Many Glacier. There were were only 3 other customers besides myself when I arrived at 5:30. I had a burger which was fine, but not as good as Two Sisters. They bake huge homemade cinnamon rolls every morning, and I grabbed one of those to enjoy for breakfast the next morning.



So by 6:30 pm, I had checked in, settled into my cabin, and already had dinner. I decided to see what was going on for the ranger talk that evening. I checked the board and it didn't start until 7:30, so I thought I'd walk down to Fisher Cap Lake to look for moose.

After leaving the parking lot, I saw about 30 people on that first bridge you come to, all with their cameras pointed. There was a bear directly across the river in the bushes. It move off and we all moved on.

On my way back from the lake, the bear was foraging on the opposite side of the bridge, in the area between the river and the campground. So it had cross the trail or went under the bridge to get there after all the people left.

Or so I thought.

I met a gal with a nicer camera than I while standing on the bridge. We walked to the lake and back together. She sent me the next two photos, taken with her digital camera. Same bear? I'm not quite sure. The bear in the second photo seems to have a wider face, although it could just be the angle. The second bear also seems bigger to me. (All credit to Leslie for the two photos below.)





After leaving Swiftcurrent Trail, I went to the amphitheater to catch the ranger talk. It was actually quite interesting. Ranger David Benson talked about the different research projects going on in the Park. He is a great speaker. On display he had a bear skin that was pretty cool to touch and examine. Check out those claws:




I then hit the Swiftcurrent lobby to send a few texts to let my family know I was still alive. I also picked up some ice for my cooler, then headed back to my cabin for the night. I lucked out with one of the newer cabins with a shower. I love the new bedding at Swiftcurrent since the upgrade. It was so comfortable and I slept like an absolute rock, which is a good thing because I had a big hike planned for the next day. I really, really enjoyed this day. It was good to be back in the Park.

[teapot57]

Dawson Pass
9 miles
2,467 feet elevation

The rising sun was lighting up Grinnell Point as I waited for Nell's to open at 6:30 am. I had to pick up a coffee.



I then drove over to the Many Glacier Hotel and parked in the webcam area. I wanted to enjoy my breakfast while soaking in the view I checked every day on my computer. I sat on the bench by Swiftcurrent Lake and said my goodbyes to Many Glacier while I ate my breakfast: two hard boiled eggs brought from home, a cinnamon roll, and coffee. Not a bad view. Much better in person than on the webcam.












Driving out on the Many Glacier Road, there was a mist rising over Sherburne Lake and the river flowing out of it. I spotted a moose standing in the river, surrounded by the mist. It was a gorgeous sight but I didn't get a photo. I took 89 then the Looking Glass Highway to Two Med, dodging cows along the way. I got to Two Med with plenty of time to catch the 9:00 am boat and ranger tour.

I have taken the Two Medicine boat so many times this summer, I should just give the boat operators a break next time and give the spiel myself.

You can see Dawson Pass through the boat window:




The ranger hike was led by Lynn Dixon, a 74 year old park ranger. We had 8 hikers in the group, 3 of whom were from Montana, 2 from Washington, and 2 from the east coast. Ranger Lynn kept a good pace up the trail. She didn't make a lot of stops, but I was thankful for the ones she did make as the uphill on that trail is relentless.

Once we got out of the trees and into the meadow area, she let us all loose and told us to go at our own pace and we would meet at the pass.




That section once we got above the tree line was gorgeous, but the steepness of the trail was unforgiving. These are the only two big horn sheep we saw that day:




A few of the men in the group took off like bats out of hell, bounding up those stone steps like they were nothing. I'm only 5'4" on a good day, and my inseam is about 28". Stone steps that are 18-24 inches high are a challenge. But I managed to stay in the middle of the pack on this stretch. I stopped to talk to a mother and son who were sitting on the trail. They left from the campground and were thinking of turning back, as they weren't regular hikers and the steepness was more than the mom had bargained for. This caused me to fall behind, and I ended up cresting the pass with the ranger and a couple of the other ladies that were bringing up the rear. I ate lunch with these ladies and really enjoyed their company. I ended up walking all the way back with them.

At the Pass, we ate our lunch sheltered from the wind by the cairn:



From Dawson Pass, the view toward Two Medicine Lake:



Towards the Nyack:




You can see the Thompson Fire burn area:






Dawson Pass is gorgeous. But honestly, for the amount of effort involved, I think I would choose a different 2400 ft elevation hike UNLESS I was doing the entire Dawson-Pitamakan Loop. Too much of the elevation gain is in the trees. I can't say I really enjoyed the hike until we got above the forest, and by that point we were almost to our destination.

So why didn't I do the whole loop, you ask? I considered it. In fact, I had the opportunity. As we were climbing the trail, the gentleman behind me asked if I would be interested in doing the whole loop. My answer at the time was no thanks, simply due to a lack of time, since we didn't start hiking until 9:30 am and I had a couple hour drive after the hike to meet my family. However, once we got to Dawson Pass, I realized I was just starting to enjoy the hike and the worst of the effort was over. There was still about a 500 foot climb after leaving the Pass and before getting on the ridge, but it was within sight. I started looking around for the man to say I changed my mind, and saw him heading off with a couple others to start the 500 foot climb. I hadn't had more than a 5 minute break at this point, and wanted to eat my lunch. So I waved goodbye and watched them head for the switchbacks.

It's all good. There's always next year. And a few from my hiking group want to add this hike to the list next summer, so we'll do it then.

The 500 foot climb after arriving at Dawson Pass heads off in this direction:



Hiking back down:







We hiked back at a good pace and were at the boat dock in time to catch the 3:20 boat. However, there wasn't enough room for us. I took off my boots and soaked my feet in Two Medicine Lake as we waited for the 4:00 boat.

The next morning, I was sore. I hadn't felt sore after any of the hikes the previous week, but this one did my legs in. My tshirt was fitting the next day.




But I wasn't done with the Park just yet! This should make it easy to guess which section of the Park I visited next:

[teapot57]

My husband and son decided to go fishing one day, so I took off to Polebridge. It was a beautiful day, and while driving on the Camas Road I had a bald eagle fly directly over me. There is not much to report from this day because I didn't have a lot of time to spend in the North Fork. The driving alone took about 4 hours round trip with a trek up to Bowman Lake. I did take some time to explore the Bowman lakeshore and campground.

The gravel wasn't bad until after the Mercantile, and I think the stretch from the Mercantile to the Park entrance was the worst part. My car was christened with a fresh coating of North Fork dust.

[Jay w]

Sorry Dawson kicked your.....legs. It's plenty steep. This kind of sounds like the end and if so, thanks for the report.

Jay

[PeteE]

Very nice Tina!
I laughed about your hike up to Dawson pass.
"I feel your pain" as the wag said. I went up Dawson twice since apparently I'm a slow learner.
First time day hiking---not so bad years ago when I was younger and more fit.
Then in 2010 I backpacked that loop going up Dawson and down Pitamakan. NOT fun on a hot July day.
Well done!

pete

[teapot57]

Thanks, Jay and Pete! I still have one more morning in the Park to share, so stay tuned.

I, too, must be a slow learner, Pete, because I'm debating in my head whether to do the loop clockwise or counterclockwise next summer.

[brindledog]

Love your shirt and thanks for the nice trip report. I love reading about Glacier from back east. It sustains me until my family and I can return.

[teapot57]

Logan Pass


I forgot to show you the supper we had on the night I got back from Polebridge. Lake trout caught by my son earlier that day:



It was delicious.

On our last night in Montana, I decided I would wake up at the crack of dawn and stop at Logan Pass on my way back to Calgary. My plan was to hike down to Hidden Lake, where I would say my goodbyes to the Park for the season.

I was out the door by 6:15 am, through the west gate by 7:00 am, and at Logan Pass before the multitudes. I had my pick of parking spaces as there were probably only 20 cars there.

Panarama taken from the road while waiting through construction delay:



Unfortunately for me, the trail down to Hidden Lake had a bear closure posted the night before. But I set off anyway, thinking I might attempt the Dragons Tail as I knew where the climbers trail forked off from the Hidden Lake trail.

It was a cold morning, and a cloud had settled low on Logan Pass. I pulled out my wool toque and gloves and added another layer.






I set out with a handful of hikers within sight in front of me. As I got within a short distance of the climbers trail, a family of four were walking towards me. The father was holding his bear spray with the safety off. He told me that they just had a grizzly and cub cross the trail about 30 yards in front of them, right near the small pond before the overlook, heading to the south. Darn for me, as it sounded like the bears were heading right down the climbers trail.

So I headed toward the Overlook and found a rock to perch myself a bit away from the boardwalk. It was a beautiful morning. I sat there for about an hour, watching the clouds shift, listening to the marmots whistle, and admiring the view. I felt fortunate to have spent the time I did in the Park this summer. I was happy with the hiking I accomplished, and felt lucky that neither weather nor injury messed with my plans this year.








I was making my way back to the parking lot when I saw a man looking my way saying to his wife, "What is that? It's too small to be a bear." I turned to look, and had my first wolverine sighting. It was running on a snowfield part way up Clements.

Here's the snowfield:





Two rangers carrying large rifles appeared and confirmed that it was a wolverine. They were on their way to find the sow and cub that closed the trail. I told them about the family's encounter earlier that morning, and pointed out which way the bears were heading. At this point, people were accumulating. A young girl asked the rangers about the guns they carried, and they took the time to show her the rubber bullets and bean bag-type ammo they were carrying, explaining how and when they used each. It was pretty interesting.

After a close encounter with a goat that wanted the rock I was standing on,



I made my way back down, stopping in a few places to sit with my back to the masses and just take it all in. I made out the triple falls area while looking off to the southeast, and also followed the Highline route while gazing toward the Garden Wall. I had never noticed the Swiftcurrent Lookout from Logan Pass before. I was also able to make out the boulders where we stopped to eat lunch back in July on our hike to the Chalet, just before the switchbacks up the Haystack.





I really took my time and made it back to the parking lot at around 11:00. I left Logan Pass and considered hiking to Piegan Pass, but there was absolutely no parking anywhere near Siyeh Bend at that point.

I just wasn't ready to leave, so I stopped at Lunch Creek, which seemed the perfect place to . . . you know . . . eat my lunch.



I hiked up along the falls for a bit, but I was only in sandals so I didn't get very far. So I reluctantly turned back and figured it was time to head home.

Life got busy after this trip, and going back to the Park just wasn't in the cards for me in September. So now I'm left dreaming and planning for next summer. I am hoping to rent the Waterton backcountry cabin near Cameron Lake in March, if I can get a group together before the cabin books up. If it all pans out, I will write a trip report.

Thanks for making it this far. I'm looking forward to reading more of your trip reports over the winter months!

[Jay w]

Wolverine sighting. Gotta be happy about that.

Thanks for the report.

Jay

[davidwayne]

Thank you for the trip report! I'm having withdrawals since my last trip to GNP was over 3 years ago, so this helps!!

[isleroyaleguy]

Great Report Tina!
What an incredible adventure you had. Looks liked you nailed it, weather wise and had some great animal encounters too.
Your report has sparked our interest in a Glacier trip for next summer.
Thanks for sharing
IRG
Doug

[joybird]

Thanks for the great report, Tina! I'm so glad you were able to gets such good hikes in with your friends this year. And I really appreciate your laid back, "go with the flow" attitude when things don't roll the way you originally planned.

Wolverine! Wow. Lucky you!

One question: how does planning to head up Dragon Tail solo fit in with the promise to your hubby to stay on "busy" trails, eh?

[teapot57]

One question: how does planning to head up Dragon Tail solo fit in with the promise to your hubby to stay on "busy" trails, eh?

Oh yeah . . . That promise . . .

Well . . . I made it with respect to a trip earlier that week, not this particular one . . . Or maybe hikes above treeline don't really count?!

[Sue Z]

Loved the Siyeh Pass report, especially the pix of the silver studded blue butterfly (?) and the view from the top. Great stuff!