Category: Glacier National Park

Glacier Odds Without Ends

We know you have heard of odds and ends. Those strange little pieces of things that accumulate from seemingly nowhere. This blog post will be about the kinds of odd experiences we have accumulated on this Montana trip. They may be jumbled and out of order. They are definitely random. And some of them have no good end. We hope you enjoy them anyway. 

First up: Let’s talk about food. We might be a bit obsessed with it. In this rural place, food is sometimes elusive if you are particular about what you want. So cravings for things take on a life of their own. And sometimes it leads to cooking. Or a three hour drive to find jalapeño peppers; a required ingredient to make “Texas Caviar”.  It may also lead to a certain someone needing to have his eyes rinsed out with contact lens solution because he rubbed them after cutting up said jalapeños. Other times it may lead to surprising the entire KOA crew with warm homemade doughnuts from Terry’s Nana’s recipe. 


When you do not have a doughnut cutter with you, you end up making doughnut balls. Still yummy. We have been asked for an encore. 

We have tried several new things while here. Our new friends from Texas have given us elk sausage, and made a yummy chili with venison. We are enjoying a favorite from past years as the flathead cherries are now ripe. Soooo sweet. However, one of the biggest cravings that hit us was for carrot cake made by Johnson’s Restaurant. When we were here before, Glen and our friend Kim both loved it and would each surprise the other with a piece quite often. This summer we kept checking in with the Johnsons, and they never had carrot cake on the menu. Finally we asked them to make us a whole cake. They said it takes seventy-two hours to make. The final result weighed about eight pounds and was worth the wait. We kept a chunk of it for Glen to ration out over a week or so, and shared the rest with friends. 

With all that good food, we have to keep moving. We have done several hikes since the last post, but they fit the theme of not having ends. We have wanted to try some new trails, but were working our fitness levels up gradually. So we chose some trails knowing we would not be going all the way to the attraction at the end of the trails. We enjoyed them anyway and want to share some of them with you. 

The Rose Creek Trail goes to Otokomi Lake, about five miles up the trail. We climbed about three miles up before turning back. It was the steepest trail we had played on to that point, and our hips were letting us know it had been a while since they were worked in that way. But the hike was great, even without reaching the lake at the end.


A beautiful triple falls on Rose Creek.


The wildflowers were out in full force. When contrasted with last year’s burn area, they seemed even more colorful. 


After a work break of a few days, we tackled part of the Grinnel Glacier/ Grinnel Lake trail. Again, we did not go to the glacier, but we did go to the lake. As we often tell people that are looking for hike suggestions, you really cannot go too wrong even if you choose to do a smaller piece of a trail. 


The view from the lake is spectacular. Above the lake, waterfalls are cascading down from Grinnel Glacier above. 


Glen in the photo for scale…

And a final view from further away on Lake Josephine as we hiked back to the trailhead. The snowfield above the glacier is known as the salamander. Can you see it? 

Now for a real test of the recuperating bodies. We decide to up the distance and hike part of the Gunsight Pass trail. While our competitive natures try to convince us that we could do the whole hike across the pass, over the continental divide and down the other side, we stay strong and decide to pass on that almost twenty mile adventure. We have to leave something to look forward to, right? 

We decide to do an out and back hike instead, going up to Gunsight Lake, enjoying a picnic lunch, and hiking back out the way we came. We saw some fresh moose tracks, some geese and ducks, but no other wildlife this trip. With a little bit of detouring along the way, and some exploring at the lake to find a good picnic spot, it ended up being 13.9 miles. Enough to test the bodies, and also let us know that it was wise to wait on the longer distances. It was hot, but worth every step. Well, Terry could have done without the final mile which climbs about 1000 feet. She tried to tell Glen that usually when she reached 13.1 there would be a medal, a cold drink, and some food. Glen said this finish chute was just extra long, all uphill, and sometimes you can’t get the blingy medal. That parking lot finish line was a welcome sight. You can enjoy our hike without suffering the climb.


Looking at Blackfoot Mountain.


Refreshing Deadwood Falls along the way. We like streams. They are great for wetting hats and giving off cool breezes.


Proof that we were not alone on the trail. The moose is at least a size ten. 


Pretty sure this is Jackson Glacier. 


The trail.


The view looking toward Gunsight Lake.


One of the suspension bridges we crossed. Bouncy, so thankfully not being chased by bad guys like in the movies. We do not cross them with much grace. 


Our picnic spot. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches become food fit for royalty in this setting. 


We walked through fields of butterflies. Celia would not have known where to turn to catch one there were so many. The black and white ones are speedy and do not like to pose. But this beauty did not mind having a picture taken. 

We truly do appreciate the chance to explore this amazing park.

The rest of our time when we are not working or hiking, we are helping others to find great things to do here, or watching or hearing about the crazy things that occur in a campground. So far we have had a fire in the campground dump that required the fire department to come. As Glen was assisting in keeping the fire from spreading while waiting for the fire department, the owner’s Dad backed into our car. We had a man capsize one of the kayaks with his camper keys and need to have the door to his camper drilled open, had a motorhome parked off to the side of the driveway with seized up brakes for a few days waiting to figure out how to remove it, had a lady leave her purse behind and then call the police saying we would not return it, had another camper with water pouring out of it with no way to get inside and stop it….and much, much, more. There is never a dull moment, but it is always “A GREAT day at the KOA!”

Until next time,

Glen and Terry

Hide and Seek

“Hide and Seek”

Childhood games of hide and seek were full of adrenaline, planning, suspense, and giggles. We had our share of hiding and seeking this week, in a variety of situations. Sometimes we were the hiders, but mostly we were seeking this week. What were we seeking? That very much depended on the day.

We succumbed to the evils of television withdrawal, and decided to add a portable satellite dish to our tiny house on wheels. We already have a Directv account at home, so as long as we don’t want local channels or nbc, abc, cbs, and don’t mind programming for eastern time while we are on mountain time, it only adds a small fee to our monthly bill. Sounds easy, right? Well…not so much. We headed over the mountains to an rv dealer in Kalispell to pick up the dish. But they were out of receivers that would work with the dish. “No problem,” we say. We try Best Buy. Nope. How about AT&T since they are now partners with Directv? Nope. Where else can we pick up a receiver? We ask Directv and they take forever before suggesting the very place we just left, or Cabela’s. Really. Well, it is Montana. We try Cabela’s. Nope. They suggest another rv dealer. We try them. Tons of Dish network receivers, no Directv. They suggest the name of a man named Chris who installs them. We call. He suggests a satellite company in another town. We call. Yes, he says. We drive there. Not the correct model. I can order one, he says. Okay. We leave name and number. Head back to then campground after an entire day of seeking only half successful.

At this point, we decide to ask the campground if they have any extra receivers around since the big cabins have Directv dishes. They do. Yay! Wrong model. Boo! We decide to order one directly and have it shipped with two day shipping so we do not have to wait as long as we would with the Satellite company. After ordering on Thursday, we discover two day shipping means it will arrive on Tuesday by 4:30. What? I guess that is shipping company time. We settle in to wait.

After many hours on the phone, having our homeservice “upgraded” for our trouble (which actually caused them to accidentally shut off the receiver in the den at home), we are finally able to watch tv in the camper and everything is fixed at home as  well. Seeking round one done.

While we were heading into the park to hike the next day, we found some hiding animals. We shared a couple of these on Facebook, but want to share them here as well.

These two bears were hidden in the underbrush or wildflowers on the road into Many Glacier. We decided to take photos and not tag them or race them to the goal. 🙂 That way we all win the game.

Our second turn at seeking something came when Glen decided to find another disc golf course. This one was listed as being at Whitefish Mountain Resort, and was partially on ski slopes, and partially in the woods. We drive up a beautiful winding mountain road into a ski resort and try to find someone to ask about where the course is. First stop, the baselodge  where there is a shop for people wanting to use a zipline. A young man with a large mustache tells us he does not know about any course on the mountain, but there is one north of town on the lake. He gives us some sketchy directions about going five miles toward the lake and there will be a random parking lot on the left. Uh huh.

We decide to strike out further up the ski mountain in hopes of finding someone who knows of the first course. Next stop…a clothing store in the ski village. Older lady. She does know of the first course but says it no longer exists because it was too difficult to keep the underbrush in check. But she refers us to the mountain bike rental store to chat with some of the young guys there. Here we get confirmation of the second course near the lake and some slightly better directions that appear to confirm mustache man’s ideas.

Off we go into the unknown. Small, winding lakeside road with mansions and camps interspersed along the shore. Eventually we find a parking lot that is the only possibility that fits with the directions. No signs, no cars, no people.  Glen decides to head into the woods adjacent to the parking lot to look for signs of a course, while Terry chooses to wait in the car with the doors locked.

After a few minutes of bushwhacking, Glen actually finds signs of a course.  Well, sort of.  As you can see by the pictures, Montana disc golf isn’t for the faint of heart.  Tucked into the woods was a course that some local disc golf fanatics cobbled together.  The baskets were made from fence posts that were about 8 inches in diameter, propped up by circular piles of rocks, and made visible by the painted coffe cans that were stacked around the posts.  The boxes had logs pointing out the direction of the hole while rocks on the ground had the hole number painted or scratched on them.

Glen went back to the car to tell Terry the happy news: there was a course, and they could play some golf!  The undergrowth was a bit thick, but  well-worn paths showed that the course actually got quite a lot of play.  Play continued until Glen thought that a GPS might be required to continue, then we bushwhacked back to the car.  No lost discs and a personal best score on that course; the perfect recipe for disc golf success.




With that adventure behind us, we took on some hikes. We are still exploring some trails we have never been on in our attempt to build strength before tackling some tougher things. We tried a two trail day, with a short 2 mile round trip hike to Apikuni Falls and a 5 mile trip to Red Rock Falls on the Swiftcurrent Pass trail. It was a super day, as we got to test our climbing muscles on the way to Apikuni Falls, and we saw the two bear from above, and three moose.


Apikuni Falls

View into the Many Glacier section of the park from the Apikuni Falls trail.


Wildflower meadow on the Apikuni Falls trail.

When we finished the Apikuni Falls trail, we transitioned to the Swifturrent Pass Trail on our way to Red Rock Falls. We hiked past Fishercap Lake and heard there was a moose there, so we took the side trail to the lake to see if it might still be there. Not only was there a moose…there were three: two cows and a baby!


This is where we got to play another game of hide and seek. Except this time, we were hiding. One of the adult moose decided to exit the water and head toward the hiking trail. We (and several other hikers) left the trail and hid behind some trees waiting for the moose to decide where it wanted to go. We had no desire to be found! After a few minutes, we were able to backtrack to the lakeshore and then connect to another trail to rejoin our original hike. It was quite an adrenaline rush for a minute or two!

The trail to Red Rock Falls was gentle, and we enjoyed our hike there. We did encounter rain before we got done, and were glad to have packed our rain jackets. Some hikers were not so prepared, but they still seemed to be having a good time. Luckily it was not cold.



Later in the week, we hiked to Grinnell Lake. At seven and a half miles, it is our longest hike to date. We are still holding together well. Knees and achilles are cooperating. We had never hiked this trail either, so we were happy to give it a try. We are becoming much more valuable resources when people ask us about hikes to take!

Here are some views from the Grinnell Lake trail.


Another part of Montana life is a “bear jam”; a traffic jam caused by someone spotting a bear and everyone stopping to take photos, etc.  This week we encountered something we had never seen before.

This is…..a wildflower jam!  The meadows were so pretty, that tons of people were stopped and out in the field taking photos.

Lastly, we had a fireworks display in the campground. It was postponed from the fourth due to bad weather. Here is the view from our campsite. It echoed and boomed off the mountains creating a spectacular event. We are sure there were some dogs hiding out during this!



With all the world news lately, we may just hide out, too. Until we return to Maine, you can find us seeking out new fun.

Glen and Terry

“Wet” and “Wild”

 

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“Wet” and “Wild”

We have had a fun week here in Glacier National Park. Our theme this week seems to be “wet” (waterfall hikes) and “wild” (wildlfe and wildflowers). The photo above is St. Mary falls.

We have been trying to get out and get some exercise each day, even when we are working. We figure maybe then we will be able to take these creaky bodies on some longer hikes by the end of the summer. So, one morning we decided to visit St. Mary falls and Virginia falls. It was only a little over three miles round trip, so we had time to hike, and then get ready for work later in the day. That beautiful double rainbow in the falls was one of our rewards. image.jpeg

We were having a grand hike enjoying our waterfall fun, met our two lady bosses on the trail, and were heading back when we had the experience of seeing a bear near the trail. While caution was in order, we were with several other people who had stopped to photograph the big guy, and he (or she) was calmly walking and foraging. We kept slowly walking away, but at the same time, Glen was snapping photos as we moved along the trail. We have a nice telephoto lens, so we are not as close as it looks.

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We continued along our way, warned any hikers we saw that were going in that direction, and finished up a wonderful hike. This trail was through a section of the park that burned last summer. While it changes the complexion of the area, it had a different kind of beauty and opened up views that we otherwise would  not have seen.

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Next, we headed to the Two Medicine section of the park to hike a section of the Pitamaken Pass trail. We knew we were not up to the whole thing yet, but also knew the lower section should have some pretty wildflowers and we would also get some mountain views. We went out and back about five miles. As expected, we got some pretty things to look at.

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One section of trail had a huge mass of fur all over it. Looked like bear fur to us. We wondered if maybe one was rubbing on the big trees beside the trail to shed a winter coat. We are not sure if you will be able to see it in the photo, but mixed into the pine needles is a great deal of fur.

image.jpegWe think we even found a ptarmigan on our way out! Although Glen insists on pronouncing it Pa-tarmigan….like an eighth grader.

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Those five miles were followed by a gentle six mile hike the next day. In the spirit of trying something new, Glen took Terry on a trail she had never gone on before. He had run on it a few times the last time we were here. We also discovered (actually this is a common occurrence and pet-peeve about hiking trail signs) that the distance of one part of the trail (a loop) was listed as nine tenths of a mile shorter than it actually was. We hike with gps watches so we can tell how far we have gone and how much we can expect to have left before trail intersections, etc.

This trail was also through meadows and the wildflowers right now are out in force. We can’t pick a favorite. And we also can’t name most of them….although we are improving. There are currently blooming….beargrass, clover, thistle, lupine, buttercups, asters, Queen Anne’s lace, wood roses, primroses, some lilies…..and many more. Here are a few for you.

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We hiked through some great meadows, and some pretty aspen groves.image.jpeg

Terry did her Julie Andrews impression in one of the meadows, but twirling around with hiking poles just does not make quite the same impression. Our  current wildlife count is: three bear, five mountain goats, seven big-horned sheep, a ptarmigan (we think), a big woodpecker, many deer and various squirrels and chipmunks. Not bad for two weeks!

We made one family really happy yesterday. As Terry was watching the teenage boy and mom walk by our campsite, and chuckling to herself because the boy had his sweatshirt on backward and his hood completely covering his face as he walked, he decided to pull it down so as to really see where he was walking. All of a sudden he squeals with delight, points to our car, and tugs his Mom’s arm shouting, “Maine! Maine!  I found one!” They proceed to high five one another and Mom then explains that they have been playing the license plate game and Maine was the final one they needed. She said she thought everyone from Maine must have stayed home this summer.  We were happy to help them finish the game.

Our fireworks celebration has been postponed due to dry conditions and high winds. So we are having a pretty mellow Fourth of July. At least this time we did not have an older gentleman drive his huge rv down a narrow “road” to the lake through the tenting area. That happened six years ago and we had to have the owner of the campground stand on the roof of the rv and chainsaw branches of trees down so that someone else could back that rig out of the road. That was a once in a lifetime event! (We hope)

We wish everyone back home a safe and happy Fourth of July! We leave you with a Montana sunset until next time.

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Glen and Terry

 

Full “Steam” Ahead

 

Full “Steam” Ahead

So…..since the last time we had our blog active, we no longer have a working pc. Discovering that Blogger does not cooperate nicely with ipads has been a frustrating experience this week. Needless to say, we are migrating the blog to WordPress. We are not sure what we will do with the old posts, but for now, here is a link to the prior blog. Please “bear” with us as we learn the ins and outs of this new site.
www.wanderingholyokes.blogspot.com
We promised ourselves that if we came to Glacier again this summer, that we must seek out new experiences and try for at least one new experience each week. Our first week back has been a nice mix of old and new.

The KOA has a mix of familiar faces and new friends to make. It has been awesome to catch up with old friends, and we are enjoying getting to know our new coworkers. Glen has plans for a group cookout soon and is excited to start that tradition with a new group of workampers. We still think of Dan’s cornbread, Dave and Kathy stocking our camper with chocolate chips for cobblers, Perry’s ribs, sharing homemade Sangria and the shrimp boil with Kim, Lisa, Zoe, and James…. fun times. Our mouths are watering wondering what good things will come this summer. Whatever it is we are sure it will be shared with laughter and good times.

Our first work week is complete, and we have not caused irreparable harm to the place yet. In the spirit of trying new things, both of us were forced to learn some new skills this week. One of the work assignments here is “coffee bar”. Terry had never done this before, and Glen had only done it a few times, but we were both asked to try it this week. This is a combination position of store clerk, ice-cream scooper, and coffee barista. This is a full espresso bar. So we have learned to make lattes, cappucino, americanos, cold brew iced coffee, mochas, blah, blah, blah. OMG. People are weirdly particular about coffee. And steaming milk is tricky. Be nice to your coffee makers. First we have to grind the beans, then tamp them into the scoop, place it on the machine with cups to collect the espresso shots. Make that, steam the milk, put in flavor shots, separately pour milk or foam, play with whipped cream and chocolate sauce….
Terry did try to explode the machine and ended up looking like a little kid that fell in a mud puddle. Coffee came shooting out of the espresso machine when there was a missing filter incident. It is a good thing she wore a tank top beneath the work shirt! Clothing needed to be removed and washed. Cupboards needed to be scrubbed. And the embarrassment was fun, too. Of course there was a line of people witnessing the fun. Good thing teachers know how to fake calmness and smile through most anything! The good news is two people came back later saying that she made great cappucino!
One small inconvenience that comes with living in paradise for the summer is the distance to a grocery store. We choose to turn that into a daylong excursion. We travel over the Going to the Sun Road to the west side of the park, and then a few more miles to get to a decent grocery. We usually add in a small hike, or a trip to some stores, or something to make it a play day, but we take the cooler and fill it with ice to transport our groceries back across the mountains. So, check out the scenery we get on a grocery trip.



Last time we were here, we discovered a cute organic grocery store in the ski town called Whitefish. We neglected to remember that it was closed on Sundays. Next time we will not plan our grocery trip for a Sunday. However, we did see online that there was supposed to be a disc golf course in Whitefish as well. Glen likes to play and just happened to leave his discs in the car for the journey to Montana. We decided to try to find this place.
Actually there are two disc golf courses in Whitefish, or at least there are supposed to be two. Terry tried to find driving directions from downtown Whitefish to the Smith Lake course, and the projected driving time fluctuated from 30 minutes to 5 hours. That’s Montana for you; we decided to leave that adventure for another day. The second place was called Buffalo Bob’s Disc Golf. Well, it showed up as a place to play disc golf online, but the driving directions gave the name as Buffalo Bob’s Pizza. It seemed like it was pretty close, so we decided to give it a try.
A few miles out of Whitefish, as we were dutifully obeying Montana’s 70 mile an hour speed limit Terry’s eyes were drawn to a KOA sign that flashed by. At the bottom of the sign was a welcome to Buffalo Bob’s Pizza — remember us mentioning that a few lines ago? We pulled a u turn and headed down the drive. It would take too long to completely explain how we eventually ended up on the course, but the 1 mile drive on the road included two free range llamas(or alpacas, we can never tell the difference), a little kid on a big wheel who had a death wish, a petting zoo with miniature ponies, a grumpy donkey, and a trail to the first tee that had the theme song from the movie Deliverance running through our minds Look at the pictures and tell us we’re lying.




The course was free to play, and it certainly was worth the price of admission. On the plus side, the baskets were absolutely beyond description, Terry got to throw a few discs, and we made it back alive and unharmed. In fact, the whole experience had a very “steampunk ” feel to it, from the disheveled nature of the course to the various repurposed items that made up the baskets, the benches, and the wayposts that were located around the course. It felt like a scene out of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower; we were in a place that had “moved on”.




The ride home included our first mountain goat sighting of the summer.


Today was a wildflower hike to test out our bodies before embarking on any crazy long hikes. We went 5.2 miles with a lunch at a gorgeous  waterfall halfway. A beautiful deer decided to greet us on the trail. We did see one bear today, but while we were driving out; not while hiking (and we do not have photographic evidence). So our important wildlife count (we do not count squirrels and the like) is one mountain goat, one bear, one deer, one eagle.






We will keep exploring, and saving up the stories. Until next time…..

Terry and Glen

Grinnell Glacier Hike

We were pleased when we heard that the Grinnell Glacier trail had been reopened. It was shut down previously for bear activity. This was where Jack Hanna (TV nature guy…) had to use pepper spray on a young grizzly. We had been wanting to do this hike, but thought it was not going to happen. We actually had tried once, but arrived at the boat dock to threatening weather. We waited and came back another day. It still wasn’t amazing weather, but we had purchased the boat tickets and decided to go for it.

The first part of the hike was two quick boat rides. We took the hiker shuttle boats across Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine. This allowed us to join in the ranger led hike to Grinnell Glacier. We thought that with all the bear activity here, it would be a safe way to go. The ranger’s name was Monica, and we had heard her give a talk on the geology of glacier once already this summer. She was a young, recent college graduate and we enjoyed her presentation very much.

This is a look at Lake Josephine and the boat dock where we started after we had climbed just a bit up to the ridge where we would do most of the miles. We had a large group of people on the hike, and since the abilities were very scattered, the pace was slow and “stop and go”. Whenever Monica stopped for a bit she gave information about the plants, animals, or geology of Glacier. We learned a lot, but after awhile we got tired of being with all the people. This was especially true because the lady directly ahead of us was someone that would stop dead in her tracks with no warning to look at a plant, pick a berry, etc. I almost crashed into her several times.

When the group decided to stop for a 15 minute snack break, we decided to continue on our own. It was cold, and we didn’t feel the need to stop for that long since the pace had been really slow.
Above is an attempt to show the sun breaking through the clouds. It didn’t come out as nicely as we hoped, but the sun was like a spotlight moving over the forested sections. It was pretty cool.
In this photo above, you can see where we are headed. The large snow area at the top is Salamander Glacier. Just below it, (hidden) is Grinnell Glacier. We will be going above that waterfall and almost to the rock wall below Salamander Glacier. The waterfall is Grinnell Falls.
This is a view of Grinnell Lake. It lies beneath Grinnell Falls, which flow from Grinnell Glacier. Have you noticed how everything is named Grinnell? Well, it was all named after George Bird Grinnell. He was an environmentalist that explored the area and was instrumental in getting the area named a national park.
Just in case you were tired of mountain photos, here is one of trees. Glen did try his hand at photos of many things this summer. 🙂
After we left the group at the snack break, we approached this waterfall. We knew that we had to go through it. We aren’t sure that everyone on the hike was thrilled about this, and even we had some questions: “Just how wet are we going to get?” So here is our time-lapse sequence of Terry going through the falls.
Planning the route…..
Beginning through…..but careful not to go fast enough to slip over the left edge.
Deciding that the water was COLD and going a bit faster……
Mostly through. The right half of the body is now wet. That doesn’t show up in the photos, but trust me….it was wet and cold. And knowing we have to come back through it doesn’t help.
A closer view of where we are heading. Now you can see parts of Grinnell Glacier.
And….now the area below the glacier that is melting into a small lake above the waterfall.
You can see the lake, the glacier to the left, and Salamander Glacier above. Glen says the salamander is peeing…..boys will be boys!
Anyone for a swim?
Glen posing by the beautiful view. Raingear is now on as it has started to sprinkle. We head back to the picnic area just a bit down the trail from here, eat lunch, and then head back. We met the ranger led group again just as we finished up lunch and were ready to head out.

We were able to hop on the first boat when we returned to the dock, and the only wildlife we saw was a bighorn sheep. We were glad to have done this hike, and would say it has good “bang for the buck”. It isn’t overly steep or long, and has good payoff. We know now why it is a popular hike. If you wanted safety in numbers, the ranger led hike is a great option.

We only did one more hike while we were there, so the blog updates are almost done.

Short, but sweet

We were running out of longer hikes in the park, and decided that we might want to try some of the hikes that were commonly done by people that visited our campground. We had a lot of people looking for short, easy hikes to get out and explore a bit of the park without having to be in great shape. So, we tackled two of the more popular hikes.

First, we hiked to Avalanche Lake. This trail goes beside a creek and hikes into a lake where you can see some tall waterfalls coming down the hillside from the glacier above. It is a very busy trail. That was one of the first things we noticed and have to say it is a different kind of experience. It reminded us of Yosemite where things were just so packed with people that it didn’t feel like hiking.

With that said, it was an opportunity to see some pretty things without a long hike. It did have rolling hills and was certainly challenging for some.
This is the lake at the end of the hike. It was an overcast day, and in fact did rain on us before we got back to the car, so no brilliant blue sky or water in the photos. It was a nice place to have a picnic lunch, dip the toes, and drink in some scenery. There was a ranger there telling of the days when the glacier above would have been visible there and how he used to go ice climbing there.
A closer look at one of the waterfalls.

An even closer look at the water in Avalanche Creek.
Another popular hike in the park is to the Hidden Lake Overlook. We had tried to put this in the itinerary when we were visiting with Kyle, but parking issues prevented us from accomplishing it at that time. The hike begins at Logan Pass, and takes you through an alpine meadow to an overlook of a hidden alpine lake.
Along the way, we were treated to some mountain goat action. We also had to make our way through some snow even though it was August! We had waited and waited for the snow to melt out and didn’t have time to wait any longer. When we first arrived in June, people were heading up this with skis and snowboards to then ski/board back down.
Above is the payoff. The hidden lake. You can’t see this from the “Going to the Sun Road” or from the visitor’s center at Logan Pass. But, with a short 3 mile round trip walk, what a treat. There isn’t a lot of elevation gain, and much of it is actually on a wooden boardwalk. Along the way you pass through wildflower meadows and are surrounded by mountains. This is certainly a great hike for people of all ages and fitness levels.

Pitamaken-Dawson Loop: Or…our new favorite hike of all time!

We have a new winner! This week we tackled a hike that we have been looking at for awhile. It is a long one, and we kept debating whether we wanted to try to get a backcountry permit and take the big packs to stay overnight part of the way in, or just take day packs and make a long day of it. We finally opted to just do it as a day hike. What’s wrong with a few more miles, anyways? Glen will always vote for a longer trail if it lightens the pack.
This hike is listed as a “backpackers must-do” hike in our book, and we had heard good things from our Glacier friends. They are all right! The trail is called the Pitamaken-Dawson Loop. It is 17.6 miles.(When we started the hike we thought that it was going to be just over 15, but we missed something when we were reading the description.) It starts at lake level, circles the back side of a mountain, travels past an alpine lake, climbs the side of a mountain, crosses a ridgeline, circles the back of another mountain, more ridge, around a third mountain, and then descends into a valley and back along the lake.

This is a look up at one of the mountains. We will actually be heading behind it later.

Above, is looking down on Oldman Lake where we would have spent the night if we tried to get a backcountry permit. We have climbed up some switchbacks from there to Pitamaken Pass. When we get up there, we not only see this view of where we came from, but we see another valley on the right hand side of us with two lakes. We can also see where we are headed. In that photo, we will be going behind the mountain on the right, across the ridgeline, and behind the mountain on the left around to a valley where we descend.
This is the view from the ridge on Pitamaken Pass of the two lakes on the right side of us as we could also see Oldman Lake on the left of us.
Terry could not resist this “boot shot” from the top of Pitamaken Pass. Needless to say, Glen didn’t get anywhere near the edge — personal growth only goes so far.

After we came over Pitamaken pass we saw a whole herd of bighorns, and climbed up a slope and over a snow field to get behind that mountain you saw earlier on the right side of the photo. This was the view we were treated to on the backside, as another whole valley opened up below us.
This was our lunch spot, and it was so windy we thought we would lose our hats. Hence, hat hair in the photo. Another hiker was so kind as to take this for us as we munched our pepperoni, cheese, Triscuits, and Gatorade. You can see the view behind us, and it was equally as beautiful in front of us.
This photo shows the view in front of us at lunch.
When we finally came around Dawson Pass and could see this view, we could see our ending point…at the far end of that lake. We still had lots of miles to go to make it there, but what a phenomenal hike. We have never had a hike with so much of it above treeline, with so many different viewpoints.
It WAS a LOOONG hike. However, we are glad we did it with light packs. We also know that if we were ever to have anyone ask about overnight stays, that our advice would be to get one or two nights at Oldman Lake. Hike there, drop the gear, take light packs up and over Pitamaken and around to Dawson, then go back to Oldman Lake and out the same way. The Dawson Pass side is steep, you can see all the view from the top, and no way would we do this in reverse order. Pitamaken has nice gradual switchbacks. 🙂 We didn’t really enjoy the part where we came down from Dawson into the lake level. It was a bit hard on the knees!
If you time things correctly, you can cut about 2 miles off this hike by taking the boat across Two Medicine Lake. We didn’t time things correctly. They run boats at 3:00 and at 5:00. We reached the boat area about 3:10. So, we opted to walk out rather than wait 2 hours for a boat.
We are slowly reaching the end of our “must do” list here, and that is probably a good thing. Many trails are being closed for bear activity. We wanted to hike to Grinnell Glacier, but doubt we can now. I don’t know if you all heard the story of Jack Hanna and the grizzlies that resulted in him spraying a young griz….but it was all the rage here. Jack Hanna Article Jack Hanna actually stayed here at the KOA and he very kindly gave me an autographed copy of one of his books when he heard I was a 4th grade teacher.

Old Favorites Repeated: Ptarmigan Tunnel and the Highline Trail

This week we decided to hike two hikes that were favorites from when we were here two years ago. First, we did the Ptarmigan Tunnel trail. Glen had hiked it with Kyle last time, but it was new for Terry. The photo above is Ptarmigan Lake where we stopped to rest and enjoy some Clif bars before continuing to climb up to the tunnel.
Just past the lake we saw the biggest marmot we have ever seen. Glen says it was the “king” marmot! He was the size of a small beagle. (Watch out, Rosebud!)

Above, you can see Terry going through the tunnel. It was carved out here and was used by people and horses in the early days in the park. It still can be be accessed by horses, and we actually saw one girl on her horse on the trail the day we hiked it. There are big metal doors to close off the tunnel in the winter. Unlike most tunnels where cars or trains go through near the bottom of the mountain, this tunnel is near the top.

Here is the view you see when you go through the tunnel. It is a valley and lakes that of course is hidden the entire time you are climbing the other side of the mountain.
Glen is posing in front of the great view. We stayed for a few minutes and admired the view, saw the local marmot, and then went back through the tunnel to head down. We saw a bighorn sheep on our way down.
There were several beautiful waterfalls on the hike. In fact, there were many photographic opportunities. We saw one couple with big backpacks and asked where they were camping overnight. It turns out that the packs were full of photography equipment! We decided they were tough cookies!! Can’t even imagine hauling all that to the top of mountains.
The wildflowers are still in bloom, and the devils’ paintbrush are coming out. We like this rose colored version of that.
When we got back to the trailhead, we were greeted with a note on our car. It was actually the second time we have had this happen this summer. This one was from a couple from Aroostook County. They saw our license plates and put a note telling us their campsite number and that if we were around in the evening, they would be back and would love to visit. Previously, in Banff, we had a note on our car that just said, “Go, Black Bears!!” We did try to look that couple up, but they were not in their campsite when we went by. Small world!
After a rest day, we were ready to tackle the Highline Trail. This was one we did before on a cloudy, misty day. This time we were treated to brilliant sunshine, and it was a beautiful hike.
When we arrived this summer, the trail sign was just barely sticking out of the snow. You can see that isn’t the case now, but there are still traces around.
Mountain goats love this trail, and once again we were treated to many sightings. This one tried to chase Glen a bit, but mostly just wanted to eat!
Views were crystal clear that day and we decided to take lots of photos.
We also decided to take a side trail to Grinnell Glacier Overlook. It climbs 1000 feet in 8 tenths of a mile. (Steep!) Partway up, Terry was questioning the wisdom and wondering if the payoff was worth it. Answer….yep!
Above, you can see the view we earned as we look down on the lake that the glacier is melting into.

Glen once again showing the scale of the view. Then, we descended back down to the Highline Trail and hiked to the Granite Park Chalet. This was our lunch spot.

After the chalet, we hiked downhill to the Loop. This is a location on the Going to the Sun Road where we had left our car that morning. It was an interesting ending as we hiked down with a gentleman from Massachusetts, and we talked all the way.
This ending was different for us, as two years ago we had taken another trail after the chalet.
So, while the two trails this week were somewhat repeats, each had something new about them and we enjoyed them immensely.
Until next time,
Terry and Glen

Logan Pass, Polebridge Mercantile, and Numa Ridge Lookout Trail

Looks like we’ll be getting lots of time to explore the park and various other areas. The park here is staffed with more people than before, so there are lots of college kids looking for hours. We, on the other hand, are looking for the most time off they will let us have and still let us stay here. For now, we are going to be working three days and playing four. 🙂
The Going to the Sun Road opened up, and we decided to take a day to drive across it, see the sights, and relax. The photo above is Glen at Logan Pass. As you can see, there is still a great deal of snow around.
We caught this beauty of a photo near Lake MacDonald on the west side of the park. The water was so still that the mountain reflections were amazing.

On another day, we decided to go to the far western part of the park where we were never able to visit when we only had our motorhome for transportation. This part of the park is remote, has dirt roads, and is less well-known. There is a little town there called Polebridge, and in my research I had heard tell of amazing bakery items for sale there. We stopped in, and bought a loaf of huckleberry beer bread (that turned out later to be raisin bread….the girl was confused), and two gigantic cinnamon buns…fresh from the oven.

We took these goodies along with us to Bowman Lake. We had a picnic lunch and then started out on a hike to the top of Numa Ridge. This hike was 11.4 miles round-trip, and for our hiking friends, the elevation gain was 2900 feet in 5.7 miles. For our non-hiking friends, that means: it was STEEP. The hike took us along the lake and then up a forested ridge to a place where we had amazing views in many directions. This view is from one side of the firetower at the top.
This view is from the other side and shows the lake we started at. We actually started at the end of the lake to the right in the photo. Can you see how much we climbed?
What the photo doesn’t show you is that we were in prime mosquito territory. We are still scratching! We both almost tripped on our hiking poles as we were swatting mosquitos. (Well, at least I will say we both did….I know I did!)
We didn’t see any wildlife other than those darn mosquitos, but it was a beautiful day for a hike. From the firetower we could see three glaciers, and that crystal clear lake. We only met a few other people on the trail, and enjoyed the solitude.
This was another great reflection photo from the location where we started that hike. We both decided it would be a fun lake to have a kayak and just paddle around. The lake only allows motors up to 5 horsepower, so it is a serene place. When we finished up the hike, we enjoyed one of the cinnamon buns. It was AMAZING…..and the car still has icing on the front seat! It was sticky, gooey, cinnamon heaven.
This bighorn was prancing around on the Going to the Sun Road, so we had to take his photo. I wish the sign and the road wasn’t there, but thought you might enjoy it just the same.
We are planning our next big adventure, but are not sure how it will pan out. We want to head up to the Canadian side of the park to hike “Canada’s #1 rated dayhike”. It is a hike to a place called Crypt Lake, and involves a boat ride to the trail, a hike that has a tunnel, a ladder, and narrow trail along a cliff, and a return boat ride. We may head up this weekend and see if we can snag a campsite. All the ones that take reservations are full, so we will have to try the “first-come-first-served” variety. In the worst case, we will just explore the town a bit, and come back. We will have some back up plans made and try that a bit later if need be.
Tonight we are headed to a potluck birthday party for someone we don’t even know. All the workampers here were invited, so we decided to tag along for some local fun. Gotta go make a pasta salad to take with us. Hope things back home are going well for everyone. We’ll write again soon,
Terry and Glen

First Hiking Adventure 2010

This is Iceberg Lake. As you can see, it has some thawing to do before there will be icebergs floating in it, so we need to hike this at least one more time. That is not as easy as it sounds. If you were a follower of our blog the last time we were in Glacier, you may remember that we hiked part way to the lake and met a ranger who turned us back with severe thunderstorm warnings. We listened, and just made the parking lot when the skies opened. Then when we had time to hike it again the trail was closed due to bear activity. This time, we thought we would knock this out while we could. The weather looked great, the trail was open, and we had time to do it. This is where the fates started to chuckle at us.
First, we pack all up and try to drive out of the campground. The car is stopped at the exit and as Glen tries to shift we hear horrible grinding noises and the gears won’t engage. Funny….we thought it had been sounding a bit like it did earlier in the spring when we had to have a new clutch spring. Guess it really must have been.(Or transmission)So…we leave the car off to the side and call the number for the extended service contract we were smart enough to get. It is closed on Sunday. We unpack and go back to spend the afternoon hanging around the campground. The owners find out and insist we take their car to go hike. So, two hours after our original start time we repack and take off to go hike.
The hike was fun, but the last mile was all in snow, we had to cross numerous little streams and waterfalls(thank goodness for waterproof hiking boots), and the lake was still frozen over…so no icebergs. The good news was that our fitness levels were so much better than two years ago that the 9.8 miles was easy.
We turn around after a late lunch at the lake. The clouds start to blow in. Earlier, when we were packing we made the decision that we didn’t need raingear. We just brought long sleeved lightweight fleece tops. About 1 mile on the return trip, the rain starts to fall lightly. We laugh. We think we will be okay….it is not really cold and we are not too far from the trailhead. So, Mother Nature decides to get even with some lightning and some pouring rain. We are MOVING down the trail knowing that we have to cross some open ridgeline areas. (We hiked up to the lake in 2 hours 11 minutes. We made it all the way back in 1 hour 40 minutes) Then, the rain magically stops. We think…we might even be dried out enough to catch a meal in the restaurant at the bottom of the hill. And just as we reach the tar with about 300 yards to go to the car, the skies opened up again. We were drenched. Decision….let’s go make spaghetti at the campsite.
As we are driving out of the park, we were lucky enough to see this fellow. First day in the park, one bear!! Must be because Kyle wasn’t with us. Last time it took almost all summer to see one.
As we returned to the campground and changed into warm dry clothes, we decided that we learned two lessons. Never leave for a hike without the rain gear no matter how good the weather is, and never leave the campground with the top vent on the camper left open. 🙂
So, while it may sound like a depressing day, those of you that know us well know that we were laughing our way down the trail and had a great day anyway.
Today, the car was towed to the “local” Ford dealer today for inspection and repairs. I would not recommend breaking down in rural Montana. $363 later, it is now sitting in Cut Bank Ford waiting for the mechanic to look at it tomorrow. While the towing isn’t covered, we hope the repairs will be from that extended contract. At least we weren’t only here on a limited vacation schedule. That kind of thing could ruin a vacation!
We had our first day of retraining behind the front desk today. It went mostly smoothly…and we are sure to be pros by about 8 weeks from now when it is time to return home. In the meantime we will muddle our way through.
Until next time!!
Terry