Sun Point to St. Mary's Falls Glacier National Park August 6, 2010

This was my last day in Glacier National Park in Montana!  I wanted one more hike, an opportunity to get closer to the St Mary Lake vistas I saw yesterday.  There was an 8 km hike that started at Sun Point just down the road from Rising Sun Motor Inn where I was staying.  I  packed up and checked out by 8:15 then headed on my way.  Not home, but to the trailhead!  One more hike! It started here!

For a couple of kilometers the trail followed the lake high above.  The morning light was perfect for beautiful pictures.  I could see dark clouds forming in the distance so made this a quick hike.

The trail headed down near the lake and became more tree lined and also followed a creek.  

At Baring Falls, I took a short detour to this dock.  I walked out to the end and took a few photos in each direction.  What a pretty area!

Such pretty colors!

I arrived at St Mary's Falls which was my destination. 

I climbed around on the rocks.

I wasn't ready to pack it in, so hiked another kilometer to see Virginia Falls and then returned to St Mary's Falls to catch the shuttle bus back to my car.  I had a quick bite to eat then prepared for the drive back to Calgary, Alberta, Canada.  Once again, I had the road to myself, the Boarder crossing to  myself and most of the drive from there was sparse of traffic and I sailed home easily.

It was a fun and amazing trip.  It felt like I was away forever!  It is so close and easily can be done as a longer long weekend.  It was a growing experience and a learning experience. I know I can do it on my own.   I know I am allowed to take bear spray into the United States and I am allowed to return to Canada with it.  I know that three 1.5 liter bottles of frozen water work as my ice source for four days and water source for three (under the weather conditions that I experienced).   I know I am fine being the driver on the Going-To-The-Sun-Road.  The biggest thing I learned and know is that I will go back!

From Avalanche to Rising Sun

I knew the drive back from Avalanche Lakes was going to be longer than the two hour drive there.  I could break it up with a few stops along the way where there were photo opportunities.  The first was at the entrance to the tunnel.   

This stop was a 20 minute construction delay just before Logan Pass.  We waited while traffic came from the other direction.  Shortly after this delay, we had another delay.  A bear cub ran down the hillside onto the road, stopped and just looked around.  It sat for a few seconds then got up and carried on down the hill on the other side of the road.  I thought it was probably following Mom and maybe they were the ones that caused the portion of the Highline Trail to be closed.

Getting into the St Mary area and closer to the Rising Sun, I just had to stop and enjoy this vista.  

St. Mary Lake

Where I was spending my last night!

I checked in, unpacked, cleaned up, shopped then headed for dinner and a glass of wine.  It was a long day and I knew I had another long one ahead of me, so called it a day early and was out like a light!  I didn't even relive my day which I normally do!  I did have sweet dreams though!

Avalanche Lake Glacier National Park August 5, 2010

The trail to Avalanche Lake leads away from the Trail of the Cedars, gradually changing from board walk to dirt trail, from log lined dirt trail to a narrow dirt trail to a winding tree-lined then bush lined trail.

The trail looked like it had been struck by an avalanche with thousands of downed trees and gigantic moss covered boulders just sitting along the trail.

The size of the tree trunks amazed me as did the different designs that showed on the trees that were cut.  This was my favourite.  

This one remained standing!  I almost didn't though when I had to lean way back to look up to the top!

Once out of the forest, there it was as big and as beautiful as could be!  Avalanche Lake!  Portions of it were littered with dead trees and that was not the prettiest but the rest of it sure was.  I followed the rocky and beach-like shore line to the far side.

The lake appeared to be a fisherman's dream! I would say a photographers dream too!  The whole back side of the lake was protected by a mountain range which had numerous waterfalls running down.  The sun wasn't in the right place for me to get a photo that does this place justice.

Halfway along the rocky shore, I hid a stone.  It should remind the finder to "cherish yesterday, live today, dream tomorrow." I sure dream of what my tomorrows may bring!

A few folks spent a couple of  hours at the back side of the lake, as I did.   I had my lunch.  I laid back and just daydreamed.  I thought how fortunate I was to be here.

I took the time to play!  I collected tree pieces and spelled out GLACIER.  I am sure others were wondering what I was up to.   Once I left, I looked back to see them hoovering over what I designed.   I wonder what their comments were!

I still had a long drive ahead of me back to St Mary so packed up my pack and hit the rocky shore back.  I preferred that over the bush and tree lined trail as it meant I was by the water the whole time.   I was glad to complete this hike when I did, because by the time I was finishing there were about hundred hikers just heading in.   I now know why this hike is popular and they were just about to find out too!

Trail of the Cedars Glacier National Park August 5, 2010

I was told the drive from Many Glaciers Hotel to the trailhead for Avalanche Lake would take three hours when in fact, it took me only two.  I was well ahead of the crowd coming from my direction and the construction delays didn't start yet.  Avalanche Lake and Trail of the Cedars share the same trailhead.  I did the Trail of the Cedars first.   On what was already a hot day, it was cool and refreshing to be in this forest.

The trail was a board walk through, around, beside and along the largest cedar trees ever.  The aesthetics were tops as the trees, board walks and benches all blended together pleasingly.  

Part way along the trail, a bridged crossed over the canyon and it was just after this where the trail veered off to head up to Avalanche Lake.

I saved the balance of the Trail of the Cedars for the return trip from the Lake. Once again the last portion wound around trees.   The sun peeking through created nice picture opportunities.

This root formation was bizarre!  

As was this view when I looked way up!

This was a short trail, very picturesque and was a nice break from the sun and the heat of the day.

Many Glacier Hotel (One Night Stay)

When I booked this vacation, I left it so late that I had to settle for every night at a different place.  This night would be spent at the Many Glaciers Hotel which is only a mile down the road from the Swift Current Motor Inn and also from the trailhead for the hike I just completed.  I was thankful for that!  

After I checked in and cleaned up, I went for a stroll around the property.  This is the setting. I had a delicious big meal in the dining room.  I enjoyed the meal and the wine sitting by a window over looking the lake.

It was a beautiful evening!  I picked up a bottle of Moose Drool and savoured it just sitting and looking at the view.  

As the beer and the evening went on, the view got prettier!

I was told that the mornings are beautiful!  After a good night sleep,  I was up and out the door early to see what everyone raved about.  This was what it looked like at 6:15am.  I think this is the best panorama shot I have taken to date.

It was well worth it to get out early! It was peaceful and quiet and colorful!

I hit the road at 6:45am to drive the Going-To-The-Sun-Road while it was quiet so I could reach the other side at a respectable time.  I shared the road with two other vehicles heading in the same direction as me. Lots were going the other way.  We had another warm, bright day ahead!  

Ptarmigan Tunnel Glacier National Park August 4, 2010

This is the junction where we began our trek to the Ptarmigan Tunnel.  It was steeper then the trail to Iceberg Lake yet it was still winding and narrow and lush and loaded with colorful wildflowers.  We hiked at a slower pace and kept in a tight knit group, announcing our presence continuously.  We met four other folks returning who had been through the tunnel and said it was spectacular!  We were ready for more spectacular! 

About two kilometers into the hike, movement off to the far left caught my eye.  There was a grizzly mom with her cub following behind.  WOW!  My heart skipped a beat and I stopped in my tracks.  They were far enough away that we felt safe staying where we were and watching.

Then from behind a bush came another cub!  WOW!  I zoomed in as far as I could to get this shot.  We figured this was the mom and two cubs that the Ranger ran into just a few days ago.   We watched them in amazement.  The Mom spent her time eating while the cubs bounced around and played.

Mom then headed further along the side of the meadow away from us.  We stayed and watched to see where she was going and to watch her babies follow her.  The space between them grew then she stopped and turned around waiting for them.

Then from behind another bush came a third cub.  WOW!  OMG!  We were all speechless!  We stared in awe!  They stuck together and bounced along to catch up.  They looked so playful and furry and were having fun.

Mom lead her cubs further down the trial and we watched as she led them onto the trail which is shown at the bottom of the photo.  The trees were very sparse and we had a great view.  We could see further down the trail that a lone hiker was coming along and was probably unaware about an encounter that was soon to happen. We blew whistles, waved our poles and hollered as loud as we could.  We then saw the hiker wave poles and retreat back quite a piece back along the trail.  We then noticed the hiker up along the ridge beneath the mountain following along pass the bears down on the trail.  We watched the hiker and waiter to hear their story.  What a story she had to tell!  She was thankful for our warning.  She said she could hear us plain as day.  She ended being only a few feet away and said the bears knew she was there but seemed oblivious to her being there.  She felt they would probably move on across the path and head down the mountain and that we would be safe if we carried on.  We had already waited there an hour and felt it wasn't worth it to take the chance.

We were all in agreement that we had an awesome experience already and we should call it a day and head back.  While all this was going on we were not paying attention to what was taking place behind us.  We turned around to begin the hike back and within 2 minutes came upon a mother moose and her calf.   WOW!   

We watched in amazement as they fed.  When the calf was done eating, it played around and then crossed the trail in front of us.  We should have left when the going was good.  Now the trail separated Mom from baby!

The baby stopped and stared at us.  It was the cutest big thing.  We stayed put until either one of them crossed the trail to the other side which finally happened about 20 minutes later.   Baby went back to Mom and they carried off further into the bush.

That was our sign to carry on.  This was the only other wildlife sighting and we just snapped a quick shot and moved on with no issues here to deal with.

Instead of the 8km extra mileage we planned to add, we only added 4km. I felt no sense at all of disappointment in not reaching the Ptarmigan Tunnel.  I hear it is a sight and its amazing and spectacular and has lots of WOW factor.  Well, so was what we just experienced!  This turned out being a perfect day and I would not have wanted it to play out any other way.  It will be a day that I will remember for ever!

Iceberg Lake Glacier National Park August 4, 2010

When I checked in the night before at the Swift Current Motor Inn, I asked if any of the trails would be opened on Wednesday.  He said they would all be open again and that the Ranger would be leading a hike to Iceberg Lake at 8:30am.  

I showed up at the Swift Current Motor Inn porch at 8:10 to join the Ranger.  I snapped this shot as I was waiting.  What a difference a day makes.  It was already very warm and the views were there.  We hit the trial at 8:40 after the Ranger gave a little talk about sticking together and making lots of noise.  It was her that encountered a grizzly and two cubs on the trail a few days prior.  There were 33 of us, the biggest group I ever hiked with.  Not my most favourite way to go at all, but there is strength in numbers.  It was a very, very busy trail.  Everyone who had been wanting to hike it the last few days and couldn't due to the closure, was out today! 

The trail was narrow and winding plus lush with loads of wildflowers everywhere.   It was a gentle climb through a forest.  Once out of the trees, the views were amazing.  We had the Ptarmigan Wall in front of us which we were headed for as Iceberg Lake was hidden at the base.

The meadows were polluted with color.  

As we got closer to the Ptarmigan Wall, you could see "the hole in the wall" on the upper right.  Supposedly when the sun sets,  how the light shines through the hole is something to see.

We rounded a corner and there in front of us was Iceberg Lake!  WOW!  With no planning of synchronizing our amazement, 33 of us voiced "WOW"  all at the same time!  Ms Ranger turned around and grinned!  She was expecting that from us!

Iceberg Lake is smaller and at the very base of the mountains.  I couldn't get a picture which included the full lake and the full mountain.  This was the best I could do at capturing it all in one photo.  

This place would be a photographer's dream!  All kinds of icebergs of different shapes and sizes were floating in the lake and each casting a reflection.   I didn't know where to look!  This iceberg was my favourite and I took many shots of it at numerous ranges.

The Ranger's plan was to spend an hour here for lunch and then head back.  That wasn't my plan or the plan of a few others who I met along the way.  We made a plan of our own which we ran by the Ranger and she was fine with it and gave us direction and advice to take along with us.   Twelve of us made the plan to dine for 30 minutes then hike back to the fork and veer off to hike to Ptarmigan Tunnel.  Before leaving, I hid a stone.  It is amazing what life holds in store when you are willing to expand your horizons.

After our 30 minutes at the Lake, we took some final shots then gathered together and head along our way noisily.  As we turned to leave, there was a thunderous roar.  A portion of the hard packed snow on the lower part of the mountain just collapsed into the lake.  WOW!  Now there will be more little icebergs floating around..

We reached the fork and turned to follow the Ptarmigan Tunnel trail.  Two decided not to come along with us.  So we were ten, still a strong, safe number!  This hike would add an additional 8km to the 14km which is the round trip distance for Iceberg Lake.   It had already been a large day and we were only going to make it even larger!