Two Medicine Pass revisited

I got up very early and set out for the ranger office to get some more backcountry camping permits. I ended up driving in following the ranger in to the park. This time I got out of my car and waited by the door in the chilly morning. I ended up getting permits to go over Gunsight Pass and go to Lake Ellen Wilson. It will be a hard first day and a very light second day.

After that I headed up to Two Medicine Pass. I hiked it with Jane, Becky and Al a couple weeks ago but we were socked in at the top and had absolutely no visibility. This morning the weather forecast was 70% chance of precipitation so I was racing the clock on the weather. The forest was ablaze with flowers including monkey flower.

From Two Medicine Pass

I kept up a steady pace to the top and beat the rain. There were some awesome views up there. I had hoped to walk the ridge to Painted Tipi peak. However, between the forecast of 45 mph winds and likely rain and being by myself I decided to put that off. It was still a great hike. I watched the rain come in and decided to make tracks out. I got some rain on the way down but the bigger issue was the water from the vegetation soaking my shoes. They are drying now. Hopefully to be good by the morning for my trip up Gunsight pass.

You can check out a map of the trip here

My photos are here or you can see the slideshow below.

Belly River Backpack

I went to the ranger office early one morning to get permits for a backpacking trip. I arrived 10 minutes before opening and no one else was there. I parked in front of the office waiting for it to open - thinking I was first in line. WRONG -- just as the office opened a guy walked in right in front of me. I sat there in disbelief. Later when I didn't get the permits that I wanted I was wondering if I should have said something but I had a great backpack so it must have been fate.

From Belly River Backpack

I left from the Chief Mountain trail head. It is just 500ft from the Canadian border and is often patrolled by mounted border patrols and sometimes border patrol on foot. I didn't see any of them but the ranger said that they often dress up in camouflage and scare hikers.

I headed down from the trail head past the Belly River Ranger station and up Cosley Lake cutoff. I could see the Stoney Mountain peaks in the distance as I traveled. I passed by the Gros Ventre Falls and then came to Crosley Lake. This lake is so beautiful. I would love to camp by it sometime.

Awhile after I left the lake I heard a crack of an animal walking on sticks. I thought it was a deer or a moose but I made noise anyway in case it was a bear. I rounded the corner, continued to hear the animal and looked over to see that it was a bear. I think it was a black bear cub. It didn't seem at all concerned about me. It didn't even look in my direction even though it had to know that I was there. I didn't even take a photo. I walked on "bearly" pausing giving it all the space it needed.

I went on to my campsite on Glenns Lake. It was about a 10 mile backpack to here. The deer in this area are quite forward. They want any sweat soaked items for the salt. I was sure to put away anything like that but I heard a story about one deer that went after hiking poles attached to a tent and almost pulled the tent down.

I went up to Mokowanis Lake after I set up camp. It was a very pretty lake with some spectacular falls behind it. I tried to go to the falls. There is not an established trail to the falls and the "social trail" was so overgrown that I worried that if I twisted an ankle or something like that nobody would find me and I had to make due with seeing them from afar. I did get a good close up view of the Stoney Mountain Peaks. I returned to camp, ate dinner and went to bed.

Around midnight a mega storm came through with massive thunder, lightening and torrential rain. The thunder seemed to go on forever as it echoed off the surrounding mountains. My little tent held up okay. The storm seemed to let up around 7am but then another storm of the same magnitude came through pinning me in the tent until 10am. I had hoped to go up to Stoney Indian Pass but knew that I wouldn't make it with a late start - not to mention the need to dry out my tent which was dry on the inside but very wet on the outside. Instead I returned to Cosley Lake and dried out my shoes and tent. Afterwards I backpacked down to my campsite at Gable Creek.

The next morning I was up early and headed out to Elizabeth Lake where I was camping for the night. I went by the beautiful Dawn Mist Falls on the way. They are so powerful that they kick up heaps of mist. It was a short day and I got there before most people moved on. I meet a couple of folks who work in the Park. They gave me lots of info about the park. It was great. I walked half way up the Ptarmigan trail and was rewarded with views of Lakes Helen and Elizabeth. There were also views of many glaciers and peaks - including the Old Sun Glacier. As if that wasn't enough I saw a Bald Eagle spiraling up the updrafts and Trumpter Swans on Lake Elizabeth.

From Belly River Backpack

From there I walked back down to Elizabeth Lake and out to Helen Lake. The walk along Elizabeth lake was nice. It actually went along the lake shore unlike many other trails. The meadows were filled with wild flowers. Another day in paradise here in Glacier National Park.

That night there was another lightening storm which lit up my tent. Although the rain was not as bad as the previous storm it was enough to make a mess of the trails My rain pants, shoes, socks and feet were soaked in under an hour. I guess waterproof doesn't cover Montana wet trails and vegetation. I slipped and slided my way out of the Belly River and returned to East Glacier to clean and dry my gear and myself.

Check out the full size photos here or view the slide show below

Dawson Pitamaken Loop

This is a long loop to start with - 18 miles or so - going up one pass, walking a ridge to another pass and descending through that pass. However, for us it was extra long because one of the trails was closed and we had to detour. The North Shore trail was closed because of a dead carcass and bear activity. Instead we took the South Shore trail adding an extra couple of miles.

The day started out spectacularly when I saw a moose on the side of the road on the drive into Two Medicine. Then on the trail we saw a grouse with its chicks. The South shore trail wasn't too spectacular except for some pretty views of the lake. From the end of the lake we headed up past No Name lake to Dawson pass. Once at the top we had views views of Two Medicine lake and No Name Lake as well as the beautiful mountains in the Coal Creek Nyack area.

From Dawson Pitamaken Loop

We saw several goats along the ridge. They looked very different from the white coated ones that we had seen earlier. I am not sure if they were a different kind or if they had already lost their winter coat.

We took a break at the Pitamaken overlook where I spotted a small animal with big, big ears. It was a pika. I should have snapped a quick picture but I was so excited that I called everyone's attention to it. It didn't like the attention and retreated to its rocky home.

From there we walked to Pitamaken pass and where we had spectacular views of Pitamaken lake, Oldman Lake and another lake that doesn't seem to have a name.

At the end of the twenty miles I was pretty done in but it was a GREAT hike with spectacular views but don't I say that everytime?

Full size photos here or check out the slide show below

Cracker Lake

We went out to Cracker Lake today. It was my second trip. The first was the fateful trip with the very friendly moose. Today we had a very friendly moose and marmot.

From Cracker Lake and its Animals

From Cracker Lake and its Animals

See the rest of my photos here (full size) or in the slide show below.

Swiftcurrent Pass to Granite Chalet

A big day today - up and over Swiftcurrent Pass to Granite Chalet. This is a picture of what we are going over.

From Swiftcurrent Pass

It was a great day. There was just a bit of wind which helped keep us cool in the really sunny bits. The trail out passed by a couple of lakes and got a view of all the lakes at once. It was really nice. I was glad to go to Granite Chalet a second time because we had fantastic views. I was able to get photos of mountains that had been clouded in and some fantastic photos of the chalet from above.

See full size photos here or view the slideshow below.

Grinnell Glacier Hike

When hiking the Highline Trail I did a spur trail called the Grinnell Overlook. It climbs to a ridge that overlooks the Grinnell Glacier. The top of the photo below is where we hiked to last week.

From Grinnell Glacier

Today we hiked up to the bottom of the Glacier from the other side and I took the above photo.

The Grinnell Glacier was featured in the movie - the Inconvenient Truth. It is rapidly disappearing. In fact, all the glaciers of Glacier National Park will be gone in something like twelve years. It is quite sad.

However, this hike was very beautiful. You can see the full size photos here or view the small version slideshow below.

Iceberg Lake and Ptarmigan Tunnel

I met up with my new AZ hiking friends for a hike to Iceberg Lake, Ptarmigan Lake and Ptarmigan Tunnel. On the way up to Iceberg lake we saw a grizzly in the distance. We felt lucky and walked on almost walking into a light colored black bear. We backed off and it went its way and we went ours up to Iceberg Lake.

From Ptarmigan Tunnel

We spotted a ptarmigan (type of bird) on the way but no other wildlife on our way out. The trail was surrounded by wildflowers and was very beautiful. Iceberg lake had many more icebergs in it this visit. We had it to ourselves for our visit which was really nice.

We then headed up the steeper trail to Ptarmigan lake and Ptarmigan tunnel. The tunnel was blasted through the hillside to create a pass for horses. It was a hot walk up but very pretty. The biggest problem was the mosquitoes which tried to eat us alive at the lake. We made a quick dash past there.

On the way back we cooled off at a small waterfall. The water was icy cold but felt great. After we felt refreshed we headed down the trail where we met up with an old friend - the bear we saw on the way up. We back tracked up the trail but the bear just kept walking up the trail. It is much easier walking than through the woods for them.

From Ptarmigan Tunnel

Soon another group of hikers came down. We kind of got off to the side and the bear not liking the number of people there went off into the woods. As we continued down the trail we found out that the bear had walked right by a group of people checking out Ptarmigan Falls. They didn't have much room at all to move out of its way.

At the bottom we treated ourselves to some huckleberry frozen yogurt. Yum!

I am heading up to Many Glacier for a couple days to camp and hike with some of my AZ hiking friends. There is no cell or internet service there.

Photos here

Medicine Grizzly Lake

I decided to follow up on some errands first thing. For example, I found out that I passed my AZ Biology teaching exam. Yeah!!! Then I headed up for an easier hike. I went out to Medicine Grizzly Lake - 12 miles but only 500 ft elevation gain.

From Medicine Grizzly

It was a very pretty hike initially along a creek and then through flower filled meadows to a lake at the bottom of a bowl of cliffs with waterfalls streaming down them. I met a group of guys mapping the lake. However, their solar panel failed so they were mostly kayaking and fishing while batteries were obtained.

See more photos here or in the slide show below.

Highline Trail

Yesterday I planned to hike to Cobalt lake and possibly up to Two Medicine Pass. In the parking lot I met three people from Sierra Vista. They invited me to hike with them and it turned out that we were very compatible hikers in terms of speed, etc. We hiked out to Cobalt lake and then decided to head up to Two Medicine Pass. Well, the clouds closed in and we saw alot of clouds and not much else but it was a good day all around. This is a picture of us at Two Medicine Pass.

From Highline Trail

Afterwards I had a Sam Adams Light and some chips with my new hiking friends and we decided to hike the Highline Trail together. In the meantime a friend from an earlier hike turned up and decided to hike with us as well so we were very grizzly safe with five people in our party.

The Highline trail goes from Logan Pass to Granite Chalet. It is 7.6 miles with alot of up and down. We also went up to Grinnell Glacier Overlook. I am not sure how much elevation gain it was but it was very steep. At the top we saw Salamander glacier and Grinnell glacier. We also had views of Grinnell lake, Lake Josephine and Lake Sherburne. We took a break and a few photos. Then we hiked up above the overlook and got even better views.

From Highline Trail

Check out the best of my full size photos here or view the slide show below

Trip to Going to Sun Road

From Going to the Sun Road

I took three nice people from the hostel to the Going to the Sun Road. My initial idea was that they would take the shuttle and go wherever they want. However, in the end we all went up to Logan Pass and hiked Hidden Lake. Two of us hiked all the way down to the lake. The other two went to the overlook. It was great. There were lots of goats and marmots and even a deer. The lake was really beautiful. We hiked past the lake to some falls below it. At the end of the hike we all met up and went for another hike to St Mary falls and Virginia falls. It was really nice.

Check out the rest of the photos here or in the mini slide show below.

Goat Haunt Backpack

As I walked back into my campsite at Akamina (2 miles) it started pouring rain. By the time that I reached the campsite I was pretty wet but the rain had stopped. I decided to check out Forum Falls and Forum Lake to dry my pants and jacket out before I settled down. I stopped in and saw the ranger on the way. I let him know that I paid for two nights in US dollars. He hadn't even realized that I hadn't paid the evening before. Akamina is comparatively cheap - $5 per night. It is actually in a British Columbia provincial park bordering Waterton National Park. They provide fire wood and a place to store your food. It was a great little place.

It was quite cold that night and the next morning. My fingers were numb by the time I finished packing up. I felt warmer after the two mile walk back to my car. I then drove to a picnic area and sorted my gear for an overnight backpack to Goat Haunt. Deer were all over Waterton townsite - even mothers and fawns and they showed no real fear of humans. There were signs about keeping your dogs away because apparently the deer have killed a few curious dogs while trying to protect their fawns.

The hike out to Goat Haunt turned out to be over nine miles. For some reason I thought it was supposed to be much less. It was pretty with views of Waterton Lake along the way. It was interesting to cross the border. There were two boundary markers with different dates. It would have been interesting to know a little more about that. At one point I came across alot of fur on the trail. There was also a skull. It was an obvious kill of a bear or cougar. I was a little nervous after that as the trail was overgrown. I was calling out quite often to let the big carnivores know that I was coming.

From Goat Haunt Backpack

At Goat Haunt I had to go through customs as it was in the USA. This was only showing my passport. I dried out my gear for an hour or so and then headed out to check out Olson Mountain, Olson Creek and Lake Janet. I was tired but it was a beautiful walk. There were lots of oddly shaped mountains. I would really like to explore that area more sometime in the future. On the way back to camp I went up a trail to Rainbow Falls. This was totally uninspiring. However there was a muddy area on the way were a deer was sucking at the mud. It turns out that they get minerals of some kind from this area.

The next morning I headed back to Waterton. It was a still beautiful morning and I got some great photos of mountains reflected in the lake. There was no immigration process here. The ranger was really nice and made sure I knew that there was a Mt Olson and Olson drainage.

From Goat Haunt Backpack

I was calling out again on the way back but at one point I rounded a turn and saw a huge brown rump. My heart stopped but I soon realised that it was a moose. This wasn't too bad but they can be dangerous too. I pondered what to do. I called out and made noise but it kind of hung out on the trail for a while. Eventually it moved off and I edged down the trail. No problems.

After I finished walking back to Waterton I drove down to East Glacier. The Chief Mountain Hwy was fantastic. I really hope I can check out the Belly River region that is along there.

Full size photos here or see slideshow below.

Waterton Lake National Park (Akamina and Lineham)

Last night I camped at Akamina which is actually a park in British Columbia. I hiked in 2 miles from the Waterton trail head. A funny thing on the way to the campground. I met a couple from Perth. The girl worked in Mullewa last year about an hour away from me. It is a small world.

I was the only one at the campground that I saw. My gear all worked well and it rained so it was a good test. The down side was that I didn't have the cash to pay for the campsite. I had to leave an IOU.

In the morning I hiked out and hiked the Lineham Ridge hike. It was 17.2 km in length and gained 950m in elevation so it wasn't a walk in the park. It started off great when a deer walked right by me as I organised my stuff. The trail was surrounded by wildflowers which helped ease the climb. On the way up I stopped at Lower Rowe lake. It was pretty. I saw three marmots peaking their heads out below a rock. I can't believe it but I got their picture.

From Lineham Ridge Trail

I was extra bear cautious calling out often. I think this scared a group of big horn sheep because I didn't see them on my way out but when I looked back I saw them. I walked back down hill to get a photo. The hike went up, up, up past the tree line through snow and scree but it was worth it. The view from the top was super.

In the morning I am backpacking out to Goat Haunt in the USA (passport needed) and checking out Olson Creek.

View photos here or watch the slideshow below

Eiffel Lake

I was up early checking out the weather to determine the best course of action. I found that it was very foggy but I could see blue sky above me. I decided to head out and hike to Eiffel lake. I drove to the trailhead at Moraine Lake. The lake was a gorgeous color.

From Eiffel Lake

I headed up the trail after taking a few photos of the lake. It was up a series of switchbacks. At the top of the switchbacks I was disappointed that I didn't have a good view of the lake but the view of the Faye Glacier was great. Also the jagged snowy peaks were beautiful. It was quite overcast. However as I approached Eiffel Lake blue sky opened up overhead. I was so lucky. I also saw more of the marmots on the way. On the way down, it started snowing a little. That was quite funny. Especially when I bumped into a couple of hikers with bare butts on the trail as they changed pants. It was really quite a busy trail for that.

At the bottom I did another walk along the lakeside to try and get a nice photo of Moraine Lake. It was such a beautiful color. The only downside was the helicopter. They were upgrading one of the trails and it was flying back and forth with supplies.

Icefields Parkway

I woke to a rainy and very cloudy day. I had hoped to do several hikes as I headed south on the Icefields parkway but the weather put that in doubt. As I drove through the deep glacial valleys much of the scenery was obscured by cloud. Needless to say I as a little sad as I hadn't spent much time taking photos on the way up. I stopped and checked out the Athabasca Falls which were pretty impressive and I saw a coyote right on the road.

From Icefield Parkway

Luckily, the Columbia Icefields were not covered by cloud. I took a few photos, spoke to the information desk and headed out to hike to Wilcox Pass. It was a nice hike. The views of the glacier were good but the cloud was closing in. As I approached what I believe was the end of the trail the drizzle of rain turned into a gush. I also heard a loud crack which was either a big avalanche or thunder. I took this as a sign to head back. On the way back I spotted some big horned sheep on the hillside. They were too far away for a photo but I could check them out with my scope. There were also lots of pretty wildflowers on the way. On the way down it stopped raining and I started questioning my decision to turn around. As I got to my car it started pouring down so it turns out that I did make the right decision. I drove in the rain for quite awhile. I had to cancel my plans to hike in various other areas. On the upside, I spotted a "bear jam" - a bunch of cars pulled over to check out a bear. It was a black bear walking parallel to the road. It was pretty cool.

Check out the rest of the full size photos here or view the mini slide show below.

Jasper Hikes

I woke early and posted photos and blog write ups. I checked out the trail status and discovered that one of the trails that I was going to hike with Bev and Steve was closed. I decided to go to the Malgine area instead. I popped by Bev and Steve's chalet and let them know that I would be going it on my own.

I headed off to the Malgine area and was dismayed by the very, very slow speed limit - 60 km/h. That is less than 40 mph. On the upside I saw a caribou.

From Hikes from Jasper

The views of Medicine and Malgine lake were nice along the way. I hiked the Bald hill trail, the Moose Loop Trail, Mona Lake and Malgine Canyon. It was not as long as it sounds. I saw some very interesting marmots along the trail. Here is a picture of one that kept sticking his head out at me.

From Hikes from Jasper

I had dinner with Bev and Steve who are heading to BC in the morning. I am heading back down the Icefields Highway stopping and hiking along the way.

Photos here or in the slide show below.

Plain of Six Glaciers

From Plain of the Six Glaciers

On the way up to Jasper I did an awesome hike called Plain of Six Glaciers. As you would have guessed you see six glaciers. I didn't count them but there were many. I linked this hike with a hike to Lake Agnes. There were two tea houses on the way but they were so busy that I didn't get anything at them but they looked fun.

It was a long drive to Jasper - not in distance but in time. However, the glacier views along the way were awesome. I can't wait to check some of that out on my way back. I did see mountain goats on the way to Jasper as well. In Jasper I saw an elk right by my hostel.

Hikes from Castle Mt in Banff Canada

I have to start this blog day out with a rant. I know that Johnston Canyon is a busy place and lots of people are enjoying hiking in the area. However, a few things really spoil it for the rest of us

1- Hiking while listening to music with your friends is not fun for the rest of us trying to hear the wildlife.

2- Puffing on a cigarette while walking on the trail is unpleasant for those of us wishing to enjoy the forest smells.

3- Acting as if the trail is there for you and you alone is inconsiderate.

Now about day 1 hiking in the Castle Mountain region --

I met up with Bev and Steve in their hotel yesterday. They enjoyed greyhounds on their balcony and then we went out for a nice meal. We arranged to meet at my hostel in the AM to hike. We went up to Stanley Glacier and hike it. It is 8.4 km roundtrip with an elevation gain of 395m. It was pretty with snow covered mountains around us.

From Hikes from Castle Mt

We saw a marmot on the way which was nice. I took a tumble off the trail and have a big bruise to prove it. All and all it was very nice. Afterwards we went to Johnstone Canyon where we viewed the Upper and Lower Falls. Bev and Steve headed back to their Banff Lodge and I went up to the Ink Pots. They were nice and I talked to a few Canadian teachers up there.

Heading back to the hostel I saw two black bear cubs on the side of the road. I was in my car and they were pretty close. Woo Hoo is all I can say

Many Glacier Hikes

Iceberg Lake

From Many Glacier Hikes

I gave a girl named Kerrianne a ride to Many Glacier. She decided to hike Iceberg Lake in the Ranger Led hike. I wasn't ready as I was fussing around with my blisters. However, I caught up to the group and passed it on the way up. It was a stunning hike with lots of mountains and wildflowers.

From Many Glacier Hikes

From Many Glacier Hikes

We caught a glimpse of a bear on the way out but he was soon hidden by trees and out of view. Iceberg lake was really pretty. There were a herd of goats on the mountainside by the lake. I used my scope to check them out. A couple of crazy people decided to go for a swim. You would hear them scream as they hit the water. Yes there were icebergs floating in the water.

From Many Glacier Hikes

From here Kerrianne, myself and another girl named Kate decided to hike up to Ptarmigan Lake. On the way we saw a dog like figure in the snow up the mountainside. It was a coyote or wolf. I couldn't get my scope out quickly enough to check it out. It was a steep uphill climb. The people in front of us and behind us saw a moose but it seemed to hide from us.

Not to say that I am a scammer but I got tired of paying $20 to camp so I put all my gear in my backpack and hiked into the campground. Hikers w/o cars pay only $5. It turns out that other hikers have been driving in and dropping off their stuff so I was almost legit.

Grinnell Glacier
Although I had thought to go up the Swiftcurrent Pass it was cloudy in the morning and I was worried that I would have poor views. After speaking to the ranger I decided to hike to Grinnell Lake, Hidden Falls, Grinnell Glacier (as far as the trail was open) and if I have more energy go to Redrock Falls.

It as a pretty, pretty hike but I feel like I say that everytime. I walked along Swiftcurrent and Josephine Lakes. Right as I started hiking along Josephine Lake I came across a moose and her calf right on the trail. Worried that I would be charged I bushwacked as far as i could through the dense woods. This seemed to work as the moose kept eating and didn't charge me. Grinnell Lake at ground level was pretty but as I ascended on the Grinnell Glacier trail the brilliant color of the lake became apparent. It was so blue.

From Many Glacier Hikes

Unfortunately, the Grinnell Glacier trail stopped short of the Grinnell Glacier but where it stopped afforded a view of the Salmon Glacier. I sat on a nice rock up there. I took off my shoes and inspected my blisters. Just then the word went out that there was a family of bears on the hillside. Sure enough a mother grizzly and her two cubs were digging in a glacier lily patch. They then proceeded to frolic across the hillside and slide down a snow bank. You could see them with your naked eye but it was better with the scope. It was a great lunch show. Later I headed down the trail. After a break I headed out to Redrock Falls. It was pretty but not as impressive as the other falls that I have seen.

Pitamaken Pass

From Pitamakan Pass

Amy was leading a hike to Oldman lake and I decided to go up again and see what changed in a week. Funnily enough although Steve wasn't there this week, another Steve showed up to hike. We went at a stiff pace but another hiker named Cyrus caught up with us. Luckily he did because I had dropped my bear spray and he found it and returned it to me. Since bear spray cost $44 I was very happy about that.

After we hiked up to Oldman lake in record time we decided to attempt Pitamakan Pass and maybe do the Pitamakan/ Dawson Loop. There was still alot of snow on the trail in certain places and I took a slide down one place. The view from the top was awesome. We could see lots of gorgeous lakes.

From Pitamakan Pass

From Pitamakan Pass

We could also see the trail going on and it had alot of snow on it. If you slipped up there, you would go a long way down the steep scree slope. It didn't look too good to me and we decided to head back the way we came. Steve took a bit of a slide on the way down but generally it was okay.

I got a blister and it popped on the way back providing a painful last mile or so. It was a long day 17 miles or so. The whole loop Pitamakan and Dawson would only have been a mile or so more. I can't wait to try it after the snow finally melts