Page 5
a return trip
On my return this year to Glacier Natl Park, I was able to do a few more walks that I didn't do last year.
One was up on Logan Pass behind the Visitor's Center, called the Hidden Lake Trail. The walk itself across what's called the Hanging Garden is spectacular, even though it's a steady climb up. But the end result, the Hidden Lake nestled at the foot of still snow-bearing mountains, was the ultimate. And in addition to the small waterfalls from melting snow, we saw lots of wildlife on this walk: mountain goats - a mom and her baby; a few big horn sheep, rams; and a couple of mule deer.
The next several pictures were taken on the Hidden Lake Trail.
Two nice hikes at Many Glacier were the Ptarmigan Falls Trail, a five-mile roundtrip jaunt and the Grinnell Lake, even shorter.
August is a good time to do the Ptarmigan Falls Trail because of all the smaller waterfalls along the path that come tumbling down the mountain side right to your feet. And it's warm enough that by the time you get to the namesake falls, you'll surely want to take off the boots and put your feet in the very cold water - for about five seconds.
The Grinnell Lake hike was fun because it involved two boat rides. From the Swiftcurrent Hotel, board the Chief Two Guns which takes you across Swiftcurrent Lake. Then you take a 1/2-mile walk to Josephine Lake. There, the boat Morning Eagle will take you across Josephine Lake where you finish the easy hike to Grinnell Lake. While on Josephine Lake, you get a decent view of Salamander Glacier, one of only 25 left in the park.
Above and Left: On the Ptarmigan Falls Trail
Right: Ptarmigan Falls
The two pictures above are of Josephine Lake enroute to Grinnell Lake. The picture above on the right shows the Salamander Glacier above Josephine Lake.
The pictures left and right are of Grinnell Lake.
Above and Right: Mushrooms grow abundantly on a trail that parallels McDonald Creek.
Below: On the same trail is this delicate almost transparent flower called Indian Pipe.
Above: a walking path along McDonald Creek
Left: My traveling pal spotted this piece of driftwood in McDonald Creek and saw a horse's face. Looks pretty clear to me, too!
It was our last night at Glacier, and I hadn't yet had my fresh Huckleberry Cobbler at Eddie's Restaurant at Apgar Village. Though it had rained all day, it seemed to be starting to clear, so after the cobbler, we went down to Lake McDonald to silently say our good-byes.
The mountains were pretty socked in with cloud coverage, so we left the park and got as far as West Glacier when we saw a rainbow ahead. Glancing behind us toward the park, we saw what looked like might be a pretty sunset starting to develop as the clouds were making way for the sun.
We decided to turn back to Lake McDonald. The view we witnessed will always be with us. Here are some parting shots.
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