Glacier National Park................

I life time ago...or feels like it...we made a trip to Glacier National Park Montana in August 2012....we like to spend a day exploring the park and visitor centers and then a day with a hike included besides the hike at Logan Pass to Hidden Lake....Seems like every time we go..we think we are ready for cold weather...but this year our first day in the park...it was freezing...wind blowing...snowing at the top of Logan Pass....bitter cold....We did not bring proper clothing for the bone chilling weather.....we dug around in everyone's packs and came up with a couple sets of knit gloves....passed them around so everyone had at least one....dug out all the sweatshirts and jackets and layered up....man it was cold....Down jackets are gonna be packed next visit....the animal activity was scares....they were all hiding out....it still ended up being a lovely day and we saw several Grizzle bears in the Many Glacier area....we were concerned about hiking an extensive hike the next day in the same weather...so we purchased more gloves and a wind breaker and more sweatshirts....Got up the next day in Kalispell...drove to the park....the weather was pretty cold but not as much wind.....after stopping for a long time to watch grizzle bear activity we headed to the trail....We hiked the Grinnel Lake trail clear up to the Upper Grinnel Lake....very nice well used trail.....great trail that leads you by a couple of lakes on the valley floor....we saw some large big horn sheep on the way up...no bears.....lots of people....the views are spectacular...nice climb up...interesting how the trail hugs the rock cliffs...lots of variation in rocks and colors....the glacier is pretty neat...sweet spot to stop at the lake and eat lunch before heading back down...from the top you get a good wide open valley look of three of the lakes....the last section up to the Upper Grinnel Lake is quiet the haul....it appears like the trail up to the lake is in constant need of rebuilding...lots of rocks and has a pretty good incline up....the weather turned out wonderful...not to hot and not to cold....perfect fall hike....this trail is a trail you could hike more than once and it not get old....

Comments

Maple Pass Trail, North Cascade Hwy

I'm still here.....Times have been busy. Christmas time's a'coming.....Vacation happened, senior picture taking going on, the rain came, it started snowing in the Cascades, more rain, then it snowed some more, pulled out the snowshoes, the pass was shut down for the weekend, Monday rolled around, the pass was closed for the season, surprise.....,felt sorry for myself since I didn't get to snowshoe up high before the pass got shut down, more beautiful snow up high, snowshoed for the 1st time this year, the dog loved it, lots of fun, Thanksgiving happened, houseful of family and friends, lots of good coffee & sweets, visiting and Turkey trotting around town a few times, Christmas time's getting closer, was able to get out and snowshoe in the Winthrop area, more fresh snow, need to go shopping, Christmas time's a'coming......I would rather go roll around in the snow, than fight the crowds shopping for gifts, but snowballs are ha...

North Cascades Hwy 20, Snowshoeing

Since we don't take snowshoeing very serious and it's just another way to get out in the great outdoors and have some fun, we snowshoe highway 20 from the parking area up the pass quiet often. It is a busy snowmobile area, but if you just be aware of whats going on around you, it is safe. There is so much room to have fun, snow covered slopes, snowshoe up the road, or venture off the road. It is a gradual climb up the road, we never get very far before we run out of gas and are ready to head back down. I would love to some day take a snowmobile to the top of the pass...and snowshoe....I keep dreaming. This is a easy location to just get out, stretch your legs and enjoy the fresh winter air. I have always been a little bit apprehensive about snowshoeing where there is snowmobile activities, but so far we have met only super polite folks and very respectful to keep their distance of folks snowshoeing.

The Places We Can Go

Life goes on, things change, storms of life come and go. One thing that always remains the same is the feeling and quiet peace I feel from being in the mountains. This was a spur of the moment overnight trip. It was so needed and such a beautiful time. Left the house around 2:30 PM, traffic was so slow heading up Hwy 20, lots of folks heading out of Mazama. Arrived at the trail head a few minutes before 4 PM, and we were off down the trail in a few minutes. Three quarters of a mile down the trail a bee or some kind of flying ant decided to bite my nieces eye lid, talk about hysteria for a moment. I was pretty sure our trip was over, but we were able to move on with a very cold creek soaked multipurpose face mask. The sun was sinking fast and the wind was howling by the time we reached the top. Made some quick decisions on the best place to park the tents, and we set up camp. It was truly an incredible evening, hiked aroun...

Lost In The Right Direction

Search This Blog