Glacier National Park

 Late Spring 2015

Some of our RCI points were expiring during June. If we wanted to get some use out of the points generated by the Verde Ridge property, we would have to use them before the end of the month. We had already discussed a trip to Glacier this summer but this seemed like a possibility. Checking with RCI online we found that there actually was an RCI resort near West Glacier so we signed up for a week. After the fact, I checked with GNP and found that they were still working on clearing the Going-to-the-Sun Highway and the earliest that it would be open was mid-June. Uh-oh. Hopefully there would be things to do that would not require a trip across the park! At that point we didn’t know if we should bring snowshoes and skis or hiking gear. It wasn’t until we were almost ready to leave that GNP posted a video on Facebook showing a drive along the road to Many Glacier and there was no snow except on the high peaks. Okay, so we would take boots and trekking poles…and our sea kayak. There were some long, narrow, fjord-like lakes on the west side of the park that might be fun to paddle.

22 May, Fri – We got up earlier than usual in order to get on the road around 0700 for the 500 mile drive to West Glacier. My rule of thumb is that we average 50 mph on every long trip so it would take ten hours, putting us in at 1700 for check-in. We didn’t get going until 0720 and then realized that C.J. was lacking a rain jacket and pants. With a little use of mobile data we figured out that we could hit the REI in Spokane and take advantage of its spring sale for some new rain gear. C.J. also found a new, lightweight daypack on sale. Next we stopped in Coeur d’Alene for gas at Costco ($2.499, much cheaper than the

Glacier Wilderness Resort cabin

$2.839 at the Iss. Costco). In addition to those two stops, we had to undergo two boat inspections – one in Idaho and one in Montana [Plus there was a self-certification process for the kayak at GNP, as well.] All those delays put us close to 1830 by the time we pulled into Glacier Wilderness Resort. New owner/manager (?) Christy checked us in and then sent us on a short hike to see the waterfall just a few hundred yards upstream. We paid for our cleaning fee ($25) and for wifi ($15) which is only on during the day. Back at our nicely appointed two bedroom log cabin, C.J. whipped up a pasta, ham and pesto dinner.

23 May, Sat of Memorial Day weekend – Up around 0700 and out by 0850, we drove the eight-plus miles to the West Glacier/Apgar entrance to GNP. Our plan was to do the Avalanche Lake hike, an

C.J., Avalanche L Tr.

easy five-mile round trip with only 500 ft of elevation gain. We drove the fifteen miles or so along Lake McDonald and McDonald Creek to the trailhead…and the end of the Going-to-the-Sun highway. We weren’t prepared for the crowd of bikers who filled the parking lots on both sides of the road. They were going to bike up the now-cleared road as far as Logan Pass; some were carrying skis, intending to climb up to some good spring-skiing. There were plenty of hikers as well for the Avalanche Lake Trail, not quite a steady stream but we were rarely out of sight of one group or another. The first 0.4 mi were on the boardwalks or pavement of the Trail of the Cedars nature trail, then we started climbing alongside the gorge of Avalanche Creek. The trail was mostly in the forest but at one point a large landslide from a mountainside to the north had smashed through the trees and opened up a view.

Results of avalanche

When we reached the lake the views were excellent, but the crowd of people lounging around the outlet end of the lake detracted somewhat from the wilderness ambiance. After taking a few photos, we continued around the lake to the far end, about 0.5 mi. There we found a log on the beach near one of the inlets, a good place for a scenic lunch break without the crowds (and without the plague of chipmunks) at the other end of the lake. After some crackers and cheese and a cookie, we headed back along the same trail. There were, if anything, more people on the trail than there were at ten or eleven o’clock. Back at the trailhead C.J. and I walked the rest of the nature trail which had some interpretive signage done as haiku on watercolors. On the drive back to West Glacier we stopped several times along the cascading McDonald Creek to walk to various viewpoints (once, a footbridge) for pictures. Then we skipped McDonald Lodge to go to Apgar Village where we found an ice cream shop ($6.25) and checked in at the Visitor Center to get info about kayaking – the ranger thought Bowman was just as good as the farther-in Kintla Lake, and that the p.m. wind was down lake (from the NE) (unlike what we observed around lunchtime at Avalanche Lake). We stopped for gas in West Glacier (2.599) and then drove back to the resort. The wifi was working and C.J. was able to check the weather; I downloaded email. Later C.J. roasted a big chicken, baked a potato and prepared some veggies for dinner.

24 May, Sun – Saturday night we had agreed to hike to the Apgar Lookout not far from the west entrance. The guidebook said that the sun would be in our eyes looking toward the scenery east of

C.J., Tr to Apgar Lookout

McDonald Lake, so suggested the climb be made later. That didn’t seem like a good idea considering the fact that the whole trail was located in the 2003 Roberts Fire and there was little shade to be had. We got away from the resort by 0915 and started up the trail at 0945. Unlike the day before, this time we had an elevation gain of 1800 ft in 3.2 miles. The first mile or so of the trail climbed along Rubideux Creek through young lodgepole pines no more than 4-5 ft tall, plus some low alder liberally festooned with tent caterpillars. Once we reached the first long switchback the slide alder appeared to have been sprayed as all the leaves were dead. Three switchbacks crossed the entire face of Apgar and made for a relatively gentle but unrelenting climb. Although there had been only five cars in the small parking lot at the trailhead, we were passed by several parties both ascending and descending. We made it to the fire tower just before 1245 and the view north to the snowy mountains along the continental divide was excellent. We climbed to the small wrap-around deck of the tower for the view, somewhat obscured by the broadcast TV tower and the trees, then returned to the ground to find a place to eat with a reasonable view. Others arriving after us settled on the deck to eat. We continued to meet people who were on their way up as we descended although that couldn’t have been pleasant as the temperature had increased, particularly in the sun. Later the clouds grew enough to provide some shade. I had not carried enough water and sucked my Platypus dry before we reached the only water near the trail, not far from the trailhead. Once back at the now almost full parking lot we headed for West Glacier where I thought I could get a good mobile phone signal and contact Consumer Cellular [I have not been able to receive calls for at least the last two days]. We parked at the West Glacier Mercantile but there was one bar or none for cell reception. We looked to see what was available in the Mercantile – not much, and all priced for low supply, high demand. Back at the resort around 1600 we showered and then tried some of the Blue Moon varieties we had brought with us, along with some chips and onion dip. C.J. threw a bunch of sweaty clothes in the washer so we could start fresh on Monday (although the weather is sounding less promising with rain or thunderstorms in all the forecasts).

25 May, Mon, Memorial Day – Another beautiful morning so we got packed up and out by 0900 heading east on US 2 for the other side of the Park. We stopped at Essex to drive up the hill to see the Izaak Walton Inn, thinking that we might stop there for dinner someday. Just a short way down Rte 2 we stopped at the Goat Lick Observatory even though the parking lot entrance was gated. No goats were licking so we rolled on through increasingly magnificent scenery. We stopped again at the summit of Marias Pass where there was a replica of the Washington Monument dedicated to Theodore Roosevelt. Heading down the other side we came to East Glacier Park and turned north to get to the entrance to the Two Medicine area of Glacier. We stopped to check conditions at the small Ranger Station and then drove to the boat launch. The lake looked calm and the sky had only a few clouds so we quickly set up the kayak and paddled off. We headed for an obvious point on the south shore, and when we got close C.J. spotted two moose – a cow with a very young calf. We got some good photos as we drifted by them. We reached the west end of the lake in about 45 minutes and caught up with another kayaker who had left just before us but had missed the two moose. C.J. and I pulled our kayak up in front of the Adirondack-style shelter near the boat dock and changed shoes for a walk up

the trail about a mile to Twin Falls. I felt kind of naked without my pack and trekking poles, but I did have the bear spray

Young Moose at end of Two Med. Lake

(which we have carried on all our hikes). Meanwhile the weather was changing and we heard a couple of rumbles of thunder. There were a few other folks on the trail who had hiked along one side or the other of the lake and most were stopping at Twin Falls and then continuing another 1.3 mi to Upper Two Med Lake. Just as we got back to the shelter, two young moose appeared across the stream from us. They were too busy stripping the leaves from the willows to care that we were taking their pictures, and then watching them as we ate lunch. Eventually they moved off along the trail to Twin Falls, and we re-launched the kayak and headed downlake with some wind in our faces. Still it took us only 45 minutes again to reach the boat launch at Two Med. We got some help lifting the kayak back onto the car then we drove over to the campground to see what the sites looked like; they were all pull-through, very

Mtn Sheep in Two Med. Campground

convenient for our small trailer, and some had great views of the mountains. Best of all we encountered a small herd of mountain sheep wandering through the campground, some even eating whatever was left in a firepit. We made one more stop to hike 0.3 mi to Running Eagle Falls (once known as Trick Falls) which has an upper stream flowing over the top of the falls and a lower stream coming out of a large cave. As we left Two Med it started to rain and it rained pretty hard until we were out of East Glacier and back on US 2. At Marias Pass we stopped to drive through the USFS Summit CG – all sites suitable for small trailers, $10/night, about 5200 ft. It was really too early to stop for dinner at Izaak Walton (1700) so we returned to the resort for some drinks and snacks before a meal of homemade chicken soup. We discussed plans for the next day and decided on going to the North Fork area of Glacier and paddle Bowman Lake. We thought a dawn start would give us the best chance to see critters (but then we found out that we would have to leave at 0400 to get to the launch by 0544, dawn. We’ll see if we can get going so early.

26 May, Tue – We woke, as planned, at 0400 and were on the road before 0500. The Camas Road was paved all the way from Apgar to the North Fork Road (outside). Surprisingly, about half of the

Bowman Lake campground and boat launch

North Fork was paved, too; maybe it was just the part through privately-owned land. At Polebridge, the tiny community that is home to the Polebridge Mercantile and Bakery, the road became not only unpaved but narrow and much rougher. [A sign at the barebones NPS ranger station at Polebridge explained that the road condition was kept that way on purpose to keep the area as wilderness-y as possible.] We had no trouble with the six miles of the Bowman Lake Road but we also felt no need to exceed the posted 20 mph speed limit. It was about 0615 when we reached the campground and boat launch, about 30 minutes after sunrise. The lake was still calm; the air wasn’t too cold but the water was frigid. I switched my lightweight pants for some fleece and added a layer of fleece under my PFD. The surrounding mountains were shrouded in fog and clouds and we could see none of the snow-frosted mountains that would appear later as the

By 0845 the clouds had lifted

clouds broke and the fog burned off. It was probably 0700 by the time we were on the water and paddling up the north side of the lake. There was one other boat on the water and a few people in the campground, nothing like the more-accessible Two Medicine. We stopped for a break after an hour (and about three miles of paddling) then continued to the end of the lake (a bit more than six miles as the crow flies) and backtracked to the backpackers’ campground. We rested for a while and had a snack then headed across the lake and down the south side. C.J. said her feet got so cold while getting into the boat that they didn’t warm up for an hour. Eventually the sun broke through and by the time we were making the last crossing back to the boat launch, we were wishing we had removed at least one layer of fleece. Back on land around noon; after unloading the boat we had some lunch in the sunshine and then hit the road for home. We stopped at the Polebridge Mercantile to get one of their famous pastries ($4.75), and thought we might go to Columbia Falls to replenish our fresh veggie and fruit supply. When we reached the Camas Road, though, we stopped to walk the

Great reflections on a calm lake

Huckleberry Nature Trail which was mostly about the 2001 Moose Fire (although there were no informational booklets to go with the numbered signs on the somewhat long and up-and-down trail). We stopped for a few more roadside exhibits, then C.J. noticed that she had four bars on her phone. Since I needed to cancel my June 1 VA dermatology appointment, we stopped alongside the road and I dealt with that. Next I called Consumer Cellular because my phone was not able to make or receive calls. We got both things straightened out but in both cases there were long waits for a customer service agent. By the time I was finished we were both ready to head directly back to the resort and crash with a cold drink and some snacks. On the way back I stopped to fill up the gas tank (still $2.599) at Conoco in case we might be heading across Marias Pass on Wed. Around 1800 it rained hard for several minutes – glad we weren’t out on the lake or on a trail.

27 May, Wed – Thinking that we would be tired and sore from 12 miles of paddling, we planned a very low-effort day. We got up sort of late, had bacon and eggs for breakfast and then did computer

Hungry Horse Dam through burned trees

stuff until around 1100. I had been checking on the Museum of the Plains Indian at Browning on the east side and thought we might go there and maybe up to St. Mary or Many Glacier if the weather looked good. Radar showed rain squalls sweeping through Browning so we headed instead for Hungry Horse Dam just a few miles west of the park entrance. [On the way we stopped at the Glacier National Park Conservancy housed in the old train station in West Glacier. We found a neat Christmas decoration made of a red, metallic cottonwood leaf with a bear design ($17).] The dam was moderately interesting even though the visitor center was closed for staff training. We walked across the dam to an informational sign and the huge gantry crane, then drove into Hungry Horse where we found a helpful person in the big Forest Service ranger station. She pointed out some places to hike and kayak around the 30-mile long reservoir. We went back to the dam and a couple of miles along the reservoir road to FS 895H which took us up a rough road toward Doris Ridge where there was supposed to be a trail. We didn’t get that far but stopped for lunch three miles up the road where we had a good view of part of the reservoir and the peaks of the Great Bear Wilderness which separates Hungry Horse Res. from Glacier NP. Afterward we continued up the road another five miles until we spotted a lake on the car GPS, and a trail on the side of the road. Later we found out that the lake was either Alpha or Beta [Google Earth shows that it was Beta.] and was only a few hundred feet from the road. Since we had already put on our boots and slung our packs, we decided to follow a herd path around the lake. It was easy going at first with the trees that had fallen across the trail chain-sawed to provide access. By the time we reached the end of the lake, however, the trail had petered out. We clambered over fallen trees, walked carefully across patches of snow and fought our way through tangles of slide alder (or willow?). Eventually we found traces of the trail again as we neared the place we had started. Back at the car we descended the eight miles to Reservoir Road then drove back into Hungry Horse intending to continue on to Columbia Falls to get some groceries. But we saw that there was a Family Grocery in Hungry Horse and their reader board was showing some good sale prices so we stopped there ($13.13). If this small town had such good deals, maybe Montana wouldn’t be such an expensive place to live (both gas and food have been cheaper than back in Washington). On the way through Hungry Horse when we had first arrived several days ago we had seen a tourist trap called the Huckleberry Patch and now we had time to check it out. We got some ice cream ($6) and looked at all the things made with huckleberries that were for sale – fudge, honey, hand cream, pies, tarts, etc. – plus the usual t-shirts, hats, plaques and stuff that visitors buy. As we headed home, we ran into heavy rain but it let up before we got to the resort. Todd met us at our cabin and let us know that power was off (except in the lodge which has its own generator). He also told us that guests for the past two weeks had seen bears, sheep, goats and more in the Many Glacier area, so that may be where we are headed on Thursday depending on weather. I picked up a bundle of wood (usually $5, but free when power is out) in case it got cold. We ran our computers (no Wi-Fi, of course) until our batteries were down to almost nothing. And then around 2000 the power came back on and C.J. could prepare dinner on the electric range. We had a fire anyway while we ate dinner.

28 May, Thu – C.J. woke up pretty early so we got a reasonably quick start even though the weather

C.J., Tr to Apikuni Falls

did not not look too promising. Unlike almost every other day during our week here, the sky was overcast in the morning. We drove straight through to Many Glacier stopping only for a few minutes at a pile of rocks north of Two Med  where two marmots provided our first critter sighting of the day. We got to the St. Mary GNP visitor center just as a bus load of fourth graders arrived for a field trip. By now it was starting to rain lightly. We asked a ranger there about where the best bet would be for seeing wildlife, especially bears. He told us that Many Glacier had a reputation as a place to see moose and bears. He also suggested a short walk to Fishercap Lake, about five minutes up the Swiftcurrent Pass trail. When we got to the trailhead it was raining pretty hard so we sat in the car for
a while donning our rain pants and jackets. By the time we got out the rain had slackened to a persistent drizzle/light rain. It really was only five minutes to the little lake although the trail sign indicated 0.7 mi (or maybe it was km). No moose and

Apikuni Falls, Many Glacier

definitely no bears. We decided to go with our backup plan and hike to Apikuni Falls, about a mile and a gain of 700 ft. We met a few other people on this trail but at least it never rained hard. The falls were high and had a lot of volume. Still no wildlife, but there were some wildflowers. It looked like we were going to be skunked since our next stop was the Plains Indian Museum in Browning far from the wilderness. However, just before the entrance station we spotted a big bear cross the road. It spent some time feeding on some roadside plants, and then a baby cub appeared. Wow! Mama Bear didn’t return to the cub even when it disappeared back into the woods. Moments later we could see the black cub climbing a cottonwood and another cub, this one brown, racing him up to a high crotch in the tree. Staying in the car (unlike some clueless tourists behind us) we tried to get photos through the thick foliage. Whether our pictures came out good or not, we were really excited to have finally, on our last day in the Park, seen not one but three bears. After that even the best museum was going to be a disappointment, but the Plains Indian Museum turned out to be really well done, and the price was right - free until June. We drove directly back to the resort from Browning and got in around 1700. The weather was sunny around the resort so we loaded up our kayak and as much other stuff that we would not need so there would be less to pack in the morning.

29 May, Fri – Got started around 0840 then had to turn back to find the radio antenna that had rolled off the roof (I unscrewed it from its mount before loading the kayak.) It was on the highway and hadn’t been run over too many times. After getting gas at Conoco (still the same $2.599) we took the slow route from West Glacier through Columbia Falls and then down through Kalispell. Other than that, we used the same route that we used to get to Glacier last Friday. We stopped near Paradise at a fishing access site to use the outhouse, stopped briefly for the Idaho watercraft inspection, and got gas again in Coeur d’Alene at Costco (price now $2.579). We made one more stop for an ice cream at Red Door Café in Moses Lake which we found by using Siri, Google, and Yelp (although they all were out of date, calling the café Firefly Ice Cream Parlor) ($4.87). We got home around 1800 with the fatigue of a busy seven days catching up with us.