September 27, 2011 Iceberg Lake

We got up early and headed toward Many Glacier Road. The sun was shining but we could see really dark clouds coming over the mountains as we drove into Swiftcurrent Valley.

There are several great hikes in this area. I decided the 10 mile round trip hike to Iceberg Lake was the one we would attempt because the 1200' elevation gain was half the amount of the gain to Ptarmigan Tunnel. Another option was hiking to Grinnell Glacier and we have seen glaciers up close on trips to Alaska and Norway. So as soon as we get to the trailhead for Iceberg Lake, we see this sign...

...and Chrissy hikes right in hoping to see the bear.

As we hike west into the mountains, the sun is still shining down the valley from the east. This is one of the most beautiful valleys I have ever seen. The strange light only makes it more breathtaking. But the dark clouds are closing in quickly...

...it isn't raining on us so we continue to hike further into the valley.

I spotted a bighorn sheep on the rocks above us and Chrissy spotted a moose in the willow below us. Then we saw this herd of bighorn sheep grazing above us. Not long after that the rain and the wind really started to pick up. We continued past the Ptarmigan Falls and on to Iceberg Lake. Due to the rain, I didn't take many pictures.

The clouds were really low blocking our view of the mountains all along the trail. Iceberg Lake surrounded by 3000' mountains was as beautiful as all the guidebooks promised. There were icebergs still floating in the lake.

Even though we both thought how amazing this would be on a nice day, it was still worth the hike through the rain today. We hiked around the lake for a few minutes.

The color of the water was this shade of blue that seemed unreal, like a color not normally seen in nature.

We also had a plan. Once we decided to make this trip, we thought Glacier National Park would be the perfect place to leave the ashes of our dog, Glacier. Then we decided that my favorite hiking partner and Glacier's friend Fluffy should be left here too. So we had a little ceremony and spread their ashes together along the lakeshore.

Iceberg Lake...a beautiful final resting spot.

I took this picture once we got back to the car. It rained with the wind in our face the entire hike back to the car. We were soaked and cold and it would be easy to say how miserable the whole day was except that would be a lie. It felt great to spend the day in such an awe inspiring place. On the way back we ran into at least a dozen other hikers who were on their way to the lake. The most impressive were a couple from Pennsylvania that had to be in the mid 60's. The wife explained that their days of hiking to Iceberg Lake were behind them and they were turning around at Ptarmigan Falls. FYI - a six mile roundtrip hike that they began on a windy rainy 50 degree day. Another couple told us about a moose below the trail. He was resting when we walked by but his huge rack was visible above the brush. It was easily one of the biggest moose we've ever seen. We ate lunch at the Leaning Tree Cafe and then we dried our boots and packs in our cabin. While doing laundry at the St. Mary KOA, we saw this...

...a rainbow. Now the day didn't suddenly improve, it turns out that it has been sunny all day just east of the mountains. The storm just stalled over the mountains. We spent the late afternoon driving along the Going To The Sun Road which was actually going toward the dark clouds.

So that is how we ended our day...enjoying a drive through the very scenic Glacier NP and having our views obscured by clouds...still had a great day.

September 26, 2011 The Bear's Hump & Waterfalls

I woke up early to hike up the Bear's Hump trail. I thought it would be a good way to start my day. You know, get the blood pumping. A short but strenuous hike to great spot to take pictures of Upper Waterton Lake. The trailhead is right behind the visitor center so I figured this would be an easy hike even the elevation gain was listed as only 550 feet. No problem. Well fuck me. The trail pretty much goes straight up with rocks and tree roots lining it the whole way. To prevent erosion the Parks Canada crews had to put wood beams into the trail which meant at some points it was like hiking up an uneven staircase. Now I might be a overweight flatlander, who am I kidding, that's exactly what I am but I did manage to hike to the Bear's Hump where I was greeted with the promised incredible views and what seemed like 80 MPH winds. I had to leave my backpack down on the trail out of the wind. I had plans on eating my breakfast up there but I could hardly walk across the rock into that wind. All joking aside, it was definitely worth the hike up there for the views.

The view to the east was just rolling prairies...

...all other views were mountains.

I braved the wind as I looked over the edge to get a picture of Waterton below me. The hike down was much quicker but tough on my knees. I stopped at a bagel shop to get Chrissy some hot tea, she has been fighting a cold. When the shop owners detected my American accent (I guess I didn't end my sentences with "EH"), they started asking me what is wrong with the United States lately. The best answer I could give them was ignorance. Yes I described the country I love as ignorant. It was the most polite way to describe my feelings about my homeland.

Now Yogi Bear, yes that is his name, and I didn't talk politics but we did share a few moments as I missed my dogs and he loved to be petted.

We said goodbye to Waterton Lakes' mountains and headed back to the rolling praries...

...and to the United States on the Chief Mountain Highway...

...and for the next five days we will be in Glacier National Park.

We were warmly welcomed back home by this free range cow who appears to be saying "welcome back to the States motherfuckers". Apparently this wasn't one of the happy cows from the TV commercials.

We drove into Swiftcurrent Valley on Many Glacier Road in Glacier National Park. The scenery was simply stunning.

We decided to hike to Apikuni Falls. The weather was perfect. The hike took a lot longer than it should because I kept stopping to soak it all in. Once again, I thanked those that protected this area from short sighted assholes that wanted to destroy it for profit all those years ago. If it wasn't for them , I wouldn't be enjoying this amazing place here today.

Once again we found a place at the bottom of the falls to enjoy our lunch. While Chrissy soaked in the warmth of the sun, I hiked up the rocks to the falls.

I sat at the base of the fall for awhile...there is nothing more relaxing than the sound of rushing water. These few moments are the reason I came here and I enjoyed them immensely.

We drove down to St. Mary and re-entered the park on the Going To The Sun Road. Due to construction we can only drive to Logan Pass from the east side.

We stopped along the road to hike to St. Mary Falls...

... to hug a tree...

...to hike to Virginia Falls...

...and take a lot of pictures in an effort to capture that magical feeling of complete happiness.

As we hiked up the trail we kept seeing different waterfalls, not really sure if these were the Virginia Falls or not...it really doesn't matter...bliss describes it best.

At some point we had to head back to the car...which meant hiking past these waterfalls with a different light hitting them.

Finally back to the car and a quick drive up to Logan Pass where it was 10 degrees colder and very windy. Then a beautiful drive back down the Going To The Sun Road to our cabin for the next two days.

 But there is always something worth stopping for...a glimpse of Jackson Glacier...

...great scenery as the sun sets...

...or spotting a moose in St. Mary Lake...

...and ruining your one chance to get a great picture.

September 25, 2011 Waterton Lakes National Park

Waterton Lakes National Park is in Canada on the border with the United States. Glacier National Park is just below Waterton on the American side. Together these parks form the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. You can hike across the border here although since 9/11 it is strongly discouraged. Anyway we woke up early to another beautiful day for this time of year and drove along the Red Rock Canyon Parkway.

The sun was just beginning to rise over the mountains to the east as we drove west to Red Rock canyon.

I got out along the way and hiked up to get a better view of this very scenic drive.

 Red Rock Canyon was perfectly lit by the early morning sun...

...we hiked in the canyon and above it.

Unfortunately, the pictures do not include the all the things that make hiking out here so worth the effort...the sound of water cascading over the rocks...the warmth of the sun...the calls of the animals and birds...and most impressive is the sound of silence. Sometimes all I hear is my fat ass breathing hard as I hike uphill...I love it when I hear nothing at all.

After Red Rock Canyon, we hiked through the woods to Blakiston Falls.

We hiked up the the canyon to the top of the falls...

...found a nice little place on the rocks along Blakiston Creek...

...and enjoyed a Cliff bar breakfast with an incredible view.

On our way back to the car, we ran into this little guy. We are not sure if this is a grouse or a ptarmigan but Chrissy says ptarmigan because of a funny story from our first trip to Alaska. We were hiking in Denali National Park with a group. We had been warned to talk loudly and make noise because we were hiking in bear country. I was walking along the trail in front of everyone when I heard some rustling in the brush along the trail. I jumped sideways away from the noise and out walked a ptarmigan. It's been twelve years and I still haven't lived down my ptarmigan attack. So today Chrissy was telling me, "Uh-oh it's a killer ptarmigan, talk loudly and slowly back away so I can pepper spray it." Then she laughs uncontrollably.

On our hike up to Crandell Lake, we came across this skull. Anytime you are hiking in the forest or up a mountain side and you find something like this, it can be a little unnerving. But I soldiered on.

At Crandell Lake, the wind had really whipped up. As we learned, Waterton is a very windy place but so far it has been pretty calm. That was about to change.

After lunch in town, we stopped on the bluff above Waterton Lake to check out the magnificant Prince Of Wales Hotel. Of course, it was closed for the season. We knew that we were traveling here at the end of the season so we weren't surprised. Hell, we purposely travel to these places during the off season to avoid the huge crowds.

The wind was so strong here that standing still was difficult but the view of Waterton Lake was incredible...go ahead Chrissy walk closer to the edge.

A slightly askew view of the Prince Of Wales Hotel. Waterton is advertised as where the prairie meets the mountains and the views prove that...to the east is flat...to the west 6000' mountains.

Then we drove the Akimina Parkway to Cameron Lake, where we hiked along the Lakeshore Trail. These people decided to enjoy the beautiful day from their kayaks.

They continued on toward America (the south end of the lake is on the US border) but we stopped at the end of the trail because this area is off limits due to grizzly bear activity...

...Chrissy contemplating ignoring the warnings and continuing on to look for bears.

After dinner Chrissy did school work online and I walked along Waterton Lake's shoreline. I settled down on a huge rock as the sun set and the clouds rolled in...I probably would have fallen asleep there but it was damn windy.