Today we are off to East Glacier to meet up with friends from Jekyll who are coming here for the month of September. I told them to spend a day or two on the east side before coming to the west side because of drive-time to get over there from here. We take Hwy 2 to get there as it is much faster than going through the park but is scenic as well.
We played leap frog with a train for a good portion of the way.
A small portion of Hwy 2 passes through the boundaries of the Park
We hook up with Dan and Earlene and head up to the Many Glaciers section of the Park. The cows are out in full force
More cows and there is a small herd of horses as well
This foal is stuck on the wrong side of the fence. It was trying to nurse through the barbed wire.
We found a break in the fence a few hundred yards down the road so the guys started "wrangling" the foal that way while we tried to anchor down the fencing so the foal could get across it.
Here's a video of the foal crossing over the fence
and the herd taking off once it rejoined them
Our good deed done, we continue on to Many Glaciers
It's a beautiful day
I had originally wanted to hike the Iceberg Lake trail or Ptarmigan Tunnel trail but they are closed due to bear activity. Our plan is to try the Grinnell Glacier trail instead.
We start out on the Grinnel Lake trail which passes by three lakes.
Swiftcurrent creek with a view of Grinnell Point
The first lake is Swiftcurrent Lake
Found this little guy hanging out at the dock, guess he missed the boat!
At the other end of the lake is the Many Glacier Hotel
Wish I had a Kayak or Paddle Board
Time to move on
The next Lake is Lake Josephine. The boat tours go out of here too.
As usual the water is crystal clear
As good a place as any for lunch
Then back on the trail. As we were leaving Lake Josephine there must have been about 60 people heading towards the dock. Excellent timing on our part
The trail meanders along the Lake. It was supposed to be near 90 back in town but it doesn't feel much cooler here.
The tour boat passes
I love the textures and colors of the rocks
Looks like we are making some headway to the end of the Lake
Slow and steady . . .
Uh oh the boat is on the return trip already
The trail changes to boardwalk
and we reach the end of Lake Josephine
Here we are on the bridge
Gary finds a resting spot
Just .9 miles left to Grinnell Lake. We opted not to do Grinnell Glacier as it is much hotter here than I had anticipated and it is a fairly steep hike up. Maybe next month when it cools off a bit and maybe by then some of the other trails will re-open
A simple bridge
almost there!
A really cool suspension bridge
It crosses over cataract creek
Here comes Dan
more boardwalks
Someone got a little Artsy Fartsy with this one
and we arrive at Grinnell Lake. You can see Grinnell Falls, and that small sliver of snow above them is part of the Salamander, a Glacier that covers around 57 acres on a ledge above Grinnell Glacier. There are people in the very cold water. I warn them that they had better shower as soon as they can as Swimmers Itch has been reported in some of Glaciers Lakes - caused by a parasite.
Apparently there is a nude beach
We made it!
I notice some really blue water off to the right as we cross back over the bridge and remember there was a trail to some hidden falls.
what's another 2/10 ths of a mile.
Along the way be have passed tons of Thimbleberries. They are similar to Raspberries but are flatter and softer but just as tasty. We leave enough for the bears and other wildlife. The leaves are called toilet paper leaves.
A final look at Grinnell Lake
I tried to get everyone to go down one of the paths that lead to the lake shore on Lake Josephine but got a resounding no. Probably just as well because one of them may have brought us out by these guys.
The only other wildlife we saw was this Merganser duck and her babies.
Back to the end of Swiftcurrent Lake and the Hotel in the distance
Back on the road and there are yet more cows around. I was surprised that we didn't see any bears with such prime beef everywhere. Turns out the Bear are afraid of cows. Actually more people are killed by cows then than bears each year.
We turn into the Hotel so see what we can find for dinner. The view back across Swiftcurrent Lake is amazing
and the Hotel is impressive
It's no wonder it is filled up a year in advance.
We go in to check it out
The dining room looks cozy
and the Hucklberry Margarita inviting
We drive past the Dam that contains Swiftcurrent Lake
After dinner we head back to Dan and Earlene's and spend the night in hopes of catching the Northern Lights but we just can't stay up that late.
The next morning we had back to whitefish as we both have to work at 3pm.
On the way back we stop in to see the Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier
The whole trees used for the support columns are impressive to say the least
Inside the Douglas Fir trunks reach two stories and beyond
Not to mention the ceiling beams
The views aren't bad either
Here is a photo of the construction. The lodge was built in 1913 by , a subsidiary of the Great Northern Railway to house visitors brought to the park by the railroad. Work began in April 1912 and was completed in 15 months. Demand was so great that work began immediately on an expansion that almost doubled capacity, completed in 1914. The final cost of the lodge and addition by 1915 was $500,000. The trees were cut before the sap rose to ensure the bark remained intact.
We took the Road to the Sun back through the Park because I wanted to get down the beach at the Wild Goose overlook of St. Mary Lake to replicate a picture the Front Desk Manager had taken of the colorful rocks in the Lake.
I scrambled down and got as far as this log jam before Gary caught up and said there had been a sighting of a Bear and Cub crossing over the lake a 1/2 mile up the road. So we gave up which I regretted because two guys caught up to us that had been there and saw no bears.. Guess we'll just have to come back.
The trail meanders along the Lake. It was supposed to be near 90 back in town but it doesn't feel much cooler here.
The tour boat passes
I love the textures and colors of the rocks
Looks like we are making some headway to the end of the Lake
Slow and steady . . .
Uh oh the boat is on the return trip already
The trail changes to boardwalk
and we reach the end of Lake Josephine
Here we are on the bridge
Just .9 miles left to Grinnell Lake. We opted not to do Grinnell Glacier as it is much hotter here than I had anticipated and it is a fairly steep hike up. Maybe next month when it cools off a bit and maybe by then some of the other trails will re-open
A simple bridge
Finally bathrooms!
A really cool suspension bridge
It crosses over cataract creek
and we arrive at Grinnell Lake. You can see Grinnell Falls, and that small sliver of snow above them is part of the Salamander, a Glacier that covers around 57 acres on a ledge above Grinnell Glacier. There are people in the very cold water. I warn them that they had better shower as soon as they can as Swimmers Itch has been reported in some of Glaciers Lakes - caused by a parasite.
Apparently there is a nude beach
We made it!
Along the way be have passed tons of Thimbleberries. They are similar to Raspberries but are flatter and softer but just as tasty. We leave enough for the bears and other wildlife. The leaves are called toilet paper leaves.
A final look at Grinnell Lake
Back to the end of Swiftcurrent Lake and the Hotel in the distance
Back on the road and there are yet more cows around. I was surprised that we didn't see any bears with such prime beef everywhere. Turns out the Bear are afraid of cows. Actually more people are killed by cows then than bears each year.
We turn into the Hotel so see what we can find for dinner. The view back across Swiftcurrent Lake is amazing
and the Hotel is impressive
We drive past the Dam that contains Swiftcurrent Lake
After dinner we head back to Dan and Earlene's and spend the night in hopes of catching the Northern Lights but we just can't stay up that late.
The next morning we had back to whitefish as we both have to work at 3pm.
On the way back we stop in to see the Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier
The whole trees used for the support columns are impressive to say the least
Inside the Douglas Fir trunks reach two stories and beyond
Not to mention the ceiling beams
Here is a photo of the construction. The lodge was built in 1913 by , a subsidiary of the Great Northern Railway to house visitors brought to the park by the railroad. Work began in April 1912 and was completed in 15 months. Demand was so great that work began immediately on an expansion that almost doubled capacity, completed in 1914. The final cost of the lodge and addition by 1915 was $500,000. The trees were cut before the sap rose to ensure the bark remained intact.
We took the Road to the Sun back through the Park because I wanted to get down the beach at the Wild Goose overlook of St. Mary Lake to replicate a picture the Front Desk Manager had taken of the colorful rocks in the Lake.
I scrambled down and got as far as this log jam before Gary caught up and said there had been a sighting of a Bear and Cub crossing over the lake a 1/2 mile up the road. So we gave up which I regretted because two guys caught up to us that had been there and saw no bears.. Guess we'll just have to come back.
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