Well, we survived the night at hidden lake, and are off towards Glacier National Park. The drive to Glacier is another two hours north, and the reason we decided to stay near Lake Placid. Of course before we head into Glacier we have to make a small detour to Whitefish Montana to drop off my revolver and my airsoft gun for shipping to Seattle. Canada, having heavely regualted firearms, will not allow me to bring mine into the country.
Our destination in Whitefish was a gun shop called Grizzly Custom Guns. From the title we assumed it was an actual walk in business, as it turns out after driving off up into the hills, past several no trespassing signs, the business is a garage. Skeptical at first we quickly realized that Grizzly Custom Guns was in fact a gentleman named Lew, who machines custom rifles in his private shop next to his house. He turned out to be a great guy, able to ship my guns, and only charged me shipping cost! He even gave us a jump when the battery died trying to leave. So as a plug for Lew, if anyone ever wants a great hand built rifle from a quality craftsman, look not further than Grizzly Custom Guns, Whitefish Montana.
Nearing noon we drove into Whitefish proper looking for a place to grab a bite to eat. As we drove down the main street through town we suddenly caught the sweet wafting smell of smoked meats, and chicken. Overwhelming our senses we flipped a U-turn and pulled into the parking lot off a little restaurant called The Shak. It turns out we made the right decision, the Shak, was a small mom and pop southern style fried chicken joint, who smoked their own meats, and made all of their side dishes. It was incredible, Zach had the smoked pork sandwich, and I the smoked beef brisket sandwich. Both slathered in their home made spicy BBQ sauce.
Waterton Lakes-Glacier International Peace Park. What a mouthful! The park is actually split into two sections, Glacier National Park on our side and Waterton Lakes National Park on the Canadian side. As a sign of peace between our two countries Waterton Lakes-Glacier International Peace Park became the first park of its kind in the world, and has nothing blocking wildlife between the two parks. The days we would be in the park are of course on the American side, the larger portion of the park.
We arrived in the mid afternoon, made camp, and eagerly got in the car to do some laundry (the first since Mesa Verde) and take a shower (the first since Jackson Wy.) I wish we had taken a picture of the shower, to show that this trip isn't all beauty and comfort. The thing was practically falling apart, rusted, dripping who knows what, and was so good. All that mattered was hot water, and that it had. The reason the facility was run down was that it was located outside of the park in a small town behind the gas station. We showered, laundered and headed back to the park to drive the main drag and survey the plan for the next few days.
I had never seen a dead body before...
...the motorcyclist had lost control, fell off his bike, and was run over by a car coming the other way. We arrived on the scene only minutes later. Not able to do anything to help we continued on. A sobering experience.
Day 24
Waking up early, before Zach, I walked the quarter mile to the Fish Creek Campground Amphitheater where a church service was being held. This being the first church service we had come across during the trip, I was ready for some good old fashion churchin. I planned to arrive roughly five minutes before it was going to start, and figured I would be able to find a seat near the front, enjoy some worship and a simple sermon. I could not have been more wrong, walking into the amphitheater I was greeted by a host of empty seats, and three gentleman. Chris, the worship leader. Fred, the story filled old-timer who seemed to be a member of the National Park ministry team. And Ralph, pastor. As it turns out I was the only one who showed up to church, and it was great. We ended up forming more of a small group study circle, lead by Ralph who looked to be about my age. I spent about an hour fellowshipping and enjoying my morning. God always provides support, and after the events of yesterday, Fred, Chris and Ralph were just that. Thanks guys.
After church Zach and I had a quick breakfast, you guessed it, oatmeal, and headed off on the Going-to-the-sun-road. The road was constructed into the edge a cliff climbing over 3000ft towards Logan Pass in 1933, and was an incredible drive. The climb started in the dense forest growing against the edge of The McDonald Creek. We could tell how north we were from the lush undergrowth and moss growing in the forest, it was just screaming to be explored. We continued up a steep ascent that quickly became narrow and framed by shear rock, the occasional turnout did little to relieve traffic, nor did the construction bringing it down to one lane. We didn't mind the traffic in the least, as the view was spectacular, and there was so much water coming down the mountain we literally were driving through waterfalls at points.
The drive to Many Glacier took us three hours, and required us to leave the park and reenter on the east side. Our destination was a ten mile round trip hike up to Iceberg Lake, and The Wall. Excitedly leaving the car, Zach in the lead, he got us on the trail. Along the way we passed within twenty feet of a bull moose with a full rack, and some beautiful lakes. The lakes where what tipped us off to something wrong. Zach took us the wrong way! Two miles the wrong way. Which brings our total hiking today up to 14mi after backtracking and getting back on track for Iceberg Lake.
The trail to the lake was a steady climb of 1200ft over the five miles, making for a pleasant day hike. Along the way we surprisingly did not see any wildlife, aside from squirrels, Zach hauling the telephoto lens (4lbs) all the way for no reason, as it is only good for wildlife. Arriving at the lake was similar to our hike up to Lake Solitude in the Tetons. The lake had ice and snow chunks floating, and snow up to the shore. The real stunning thing about this lake was the wall. The Wall is a 3000ft glacial cliff dropping off straight to the lake. It was quite a sight. Even the wide angle lens was unable to capture the entire wall, he would have needed a fish eye lens for this one.
Driving back out of the Many Glacier portion of the park we suddenly found ourselves caught up in not one but two bear jams. A cars everywhere! To our left was a momma grizzly with two cubs, and to our right a black bear. We attempted to get a a shot of the grizzly, as she was much closer than the last one we encountered, but she was quickly off into the bushes, cubs in tow. We then tried our luck with the black bear, who apparently enjoyed the attention and stayed near the road posing for some better photos. So many bears. Apparently Many Glacier has the highest density of grizzly bears in the world.
Tired and hungry we stopped at the first food we could find, a little place called "The Two Sisters Cafe" we were greeted warmly, given a couple of beers to drink while we waited for a table and enjoyed a fantastic meal. This Cafe I would highly recommend, it's a hidden gem of a place, great people, atmosphere and best of all good grub!
Dusk is a great time to see wildlife, and this being one of the first days we were driving near dusk, even though it's almost 10:00pm, we got another animal checked off the list. As we drove back through Logan Pass we rounded a corner, and nearly hit a family of pure white mountain goats wandering across the road, oblivious to traffic. Zach was quick enough on the draw to grab his camera and snap some quality shots in the seconds before they disappeared over the cliff. Satisfied with the day we made it back to camp just in time to pass out for the night.
Day 25
We decided to hike trails near Logans Pass today, keeping us somewhat close to home. Of course it is still an hour drive up the steep pass, and through the traffic and construction, but is much closer than the Many Glacier area from yesterday. We settled on doing the 6mi round trip hike to hidden lake out from the Logan Pass visitors center. What we did not expect were the thousands of snow play tourists climbing all over the glacier we would have to traverse ourselves. I guess snow players are everywhere, not just all over highway 18.
The hike over the glacier was actually quite pleasant, after getting passed all the tourists, and despite the rain. One guy even took one of the trail markers and used it as a ski. Bah! People. The hike crested on a dry ridge overlooking stepping valleys, the first held hidden lake and the river flowing from it. The second valley was the main part of the park, and the hidden lake river cascaded 460ft to the McDonald Creek area. It was mesmerizing.
Standing on the overlook platform we were suddenly surrounded by a large number of mountain goats who seemed to be totally acclimated to people. They contrast of their white fur against the green trees was awesome! Then something happened. Turning around we saw him. Standing tall, white as snow, regal. The elusive Unicorn. One horn pointed to the sky, it was magical. Even with the missing horn, this goat seemed to be the leader, walking with authority.
Due to ice, and a steep decent we decided not to climb all the way down to Hidden Lake, and headed back to the visitors center to find another hike. Our hike back was a blast, sliding leaping and bounding down the glacier was fantastic, only taking us about twenty minutes to go the mile and a half back.
Not wanting to go any further away from camp we drove back down Logan Pass, and stopped at the trailhead for Avalanche Lake. A five mile hike through the dense cedar forests. This hike was incredible, everything I could ask for in a hike. Dense trees, green undergrowth, altitude gain, a rushing river and a lake at the end. Aside from the lake we mistakenly walked to yesterday, this was our first unfrozen lake hike. And what a lake this was. Avalanche Lake is, like most glacial lakes in a deep basin surrounded by towering mountains, and fed by thousands of feet of waterfalls. The water was cold, the sun shining, and the geese feeding. It was tranquil, despite more people being there then we are used to.
Having done 9mi today, and 14mi yesterday we were content to head back to camp. We even tried our hand at spaghetti tonight. And it turned out quite good, just had to add a little garlic salt and Tapatio. The camp host even came by to welcome us to. The campground. A little late. We packed up most of the camp tonight because we are leaving for Canada bright and early tomorrow. Canada here we come! Let's hope we can get past customs.
MILEAGE:
Driving-
This trip:427
Total: 3157
Walking-
This trip: 23
Total:160.5
The top picture here is of Hidden Lake, the hidden lake we stayed next to instead of Placid Lake.
No comments:
Post a Comment