SUNDAY, AUG. 13
We rendezvoused at the A&W at Pincher Creek to drive in convey over the Chief Mountain highway to St. Mary, where Ross, Doug and Carl camped at St. Mary campground in the park, and Teresa and Cristina camped at a private campground in the village. Some went all the way to Browning searching for a better grocery store than the dinky "supermarket" at St. Mary. We had to wait a couple of days to purchase some Moose Drool ale as the Blackfeet were having a celebration and had temporarily banned sale of spirits.MONDAY, AUG. 14 Gunsight Lake/Florence Falls--22km, 545m
Our first destination was Gunsight Lake, at the foot of Gunsight Pass and the Continental Divide. We took the free transit shuttle to Jackson Glacier overlook and dropped 150m down to the St. Mary River, pausing at a spectacular gorge on a creek. On this trail we saw the first of many ill-equipped or inconsiderate hikers, who we dubbed the "hip hop halfwit," for the amazingly loud boom box he was playing. Otherwise, this long trail was quite quiet, offering great views of the Jackson and Blackfoot Glaciers and peaks, as well as huckleberry and thimbleberry browsing. We enjoyed lunch at the lake before turning back, with the only light showers of the whole trip. We made a side trip to the impressive Florence Falls before trudging back up the 150m to the road.
Ross, Cristina, Teresa, Doug pause at creek gorge
Doug on bouncy suspension bridge
Jackson Glacier
Fireweed in subalpine meadows near Gunsight Lake
Gunsight Lake
Teresa, Cristina at Florence Falls
Blackfoot Mountain above St. Mary River wetland
Teresa soaks feet in cool water below falls
White berries (photo by Teresa)
TUESDAY, AUG. 15 Otokomi Lake--16 km, 545m
Taking the shuttle to Rising Sun, we were treated to a moose sighting right at the bus stop, then headed up through burned out forest to Otokomi Lake, a subalpine lake at the foot of high peaks. (There have been a lot of forest fires in the park in this new century. I suspect it would be easier to show on a map the unburned areas of the park than the burned areas.)
Otokomi Lake
Carl on trail through burned out forest
Ruby Creek below Otokomi Lake
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 16 Piegan Pass/Cataract Mountain--18 km, 666m
From the Siyeh Bend bus stop we hiked to Piegan Pass, where we had lunch with great views, aside from the smoke. (On the way back we could see a small forest fire directly above the road.) Three attempted to bag Cataract Mountain above the pass. Carl and Ross summited. This very pointy peak (barely entry level SC5) has a sheer 600m wall on the north face, with a serious overhang. The geology was most unique, with mudstone boulders, then limestone, with rocks looking like giant "licorice all-sorts." We enjoyed our first of four historic eateries, that evening, at Johnson's of St. Mary, an old log building filled with frontier artifacts. On top of the family-style serving with "Good Soup" and mashed potatoes, we enjoyed trout and walleye, and gigantic wedges of huckleberry ice cream pie. The ladies spotted some deer during the hike.
Cataract Mountain
Doug, Ross, Teresa, Cristina at Piegan Pass
Ross, Carl on summit of Cataract Mountain
"Licorice All-Sorts" rocks on Cataract Mountain
The Garden Wall (continental divide)
Fire on the mountain!
The trail to Piegan Pass with Cataract Mountain above
Butterfly (photo by Teresa)
THURSDAY, AUG. 17 Highline Loop/Grinnell Glacier Overlook--22km, 545m)
Today's hike from Logan Pass visitor centre bus stop is the "icon" of this park, comparable in popularity to the Plain of Six Glaciers in Banff, for obvious reasons. The scenery and trail are spectacular--the same master engineers who built the Going to the Sun Highway , completed in 1932, carved this narrow ledge out of the cliffs above the highway, with hand cable on the wall for the faint of heart. The downside is the incredible traffic. A good part of the day was spent in letting people pass in large groups going in either direction, or passing others. We had lunch at the Grinnell Glacier Overlook junction, with a marmot sighting, before going up the steep 300m ascent to dizzying views of the glacier and iceberg-choked lake below. Many of the thousands on this trail were wearing sandals or runners and carrying nothing but small water bottles. One uninformed greenhorn was packing huge skis and boots. There was nowhere with any large patches of snow this late in the summer. Turning at the Granite Park Chalet, one of two remaining back country lodges built in the early days by the Great Northern Railroad, we made the long descent to the Loop bus stop on a south facing burned out slope on a hot day. It took two shuttles to get back to St. Mary.
The Highline Trail with hand hold cable for the faint of heart
Highline Trail above the Going to the Sun Highway in Logan Pass
Grinnell Glacier and lake
Teresa, Cristina, Carl, Ross at Grinnell Glacier Overlook
The trail to Grinnell Glacier Overlook
FRIDAY, AUG. 18
Enroute to our next campground at Devil Creek in Flathead National Forest just outside the park, we stopped for lunch at our second historic eatery in the Glacier Park Lodge at East Glacier. This impressive old hotel boasts gigantic fir trees from Washington and Oregon. The point was not to highlight the natural resources of the Glacier area, but rather the prowess of the railroad in bringing these massive trees to this site. Our next stop was at the obelisk on the continental divide at Marias Pass.
Admiring the timbers in the Glacier Park Lodge
The lobby in the Glacier Park Lodge, East Glacier
Tree huggers Teresa and Cristina in the Glacier Park Lodge
at the Marias Pass obelisk on the continental divide
SATURDAY, AUG. 19 Elk Lake--22 km, 788m
This was our fifth trip up this trail into the Great Bear Wilderness, and the first on a weekend, so we met 10 people on horse or foot, as opposed to only one rider on all the previous trips. The huckleberry grazing was good, and we had a scenic lunch at the lake, with the peak of Forster Mountain directly above. (We bagged this peak last year.) The only wildlife was some grouse. Despite the name of the area, we have never seen any bear sign, and in fact never saw any on any of our Glacier Park trips this year. We had dinner at our third historical property, the 1940s Snow Slip Inn, complete with memorabilia and original chrome tables. The food was excellent, especially the fries.
Teresa and Cristina headed reluctantly for home the next morning.
Great Bear Wilderness on Devil Creek trail
Lunch at Elk Lake (photo by Teresa)
Forster Mountain above Elk Lake (photo by Teresa)
Participants: Teresa, Cristina, Ross, Douglas, and Carl, coordinator and scribe.
See continuing story for the Glacier Park West segment Aug. 20-25.