Glacier National Park - Day 2

Sep 4th, 2010
Hike to Grinnell Glacier
It was a Saturday. The weather forecast for Sunday said "Cloudy with a 70% chance of precipitation". So we had to do our 9-mile hike to the glacier today. The hike starts from the boat dock behind Many Glacier Hotel.

The Many Glacier Hotel : The Hotel itself is beautiful. A National historic landmark, this swiss-style hotel is the largest in the park. The tall picture windows look out at Swiftcurrent Lake and is one of the liveliest places to spend evenings, while in the park. They have an amazing photo gallery in the corridor connecting the lobby with the Ptarmigan dining room with pictures of the glaciers over 100 years. This is a must-see and is one of those places that has you discussing climate change to great detail.

Boat Ride#1: This short ride of just about 10 mins takes you across swiftcurrent lake. You leave the Many Glacier hotel behind you and ahead , is some breathtaking scenery to be soaked up.
Boat Ride #2: After a short 1/4mile hike between the docks, another boat takes you across the josephine lake to the trail head to the Grinnell Glacier. The entire boat ride can be avoided altogether, and one could just hike along the lakes to get to the trail head. It only adds abotu 2 miles and takes around the same time. But the Ranger-led hikes begin on the boat and i highly recommend taking one of these.

Ranger led hike to Grinnel Glacier:
So why are these ranger led hikes better?

1. They are very informative - especially when so many glaciers are melting away ( there are only 26 remaining of the 150), it helps you appreciate the geology better even if there isn't as much ice as you would have expected

2. I was initally apprehensive about the pace - thought it might be slow and drawn out. But it was not bad at all. We did make a few "information stops" - but overall the pace was decent.

3. You meet a lot of different people in the group

4. In case of a Grizzly enounter - you wont be alone ( Yes, this IS prime G-Habitat, and there are signs for it all over the place.)

Our Ranger was Rick Mulligan. Sunil addressed him as "Agent Rick" - it was hilarious. That was a marathon session of "24" talking.

This picture of  "Agent Rick" was taken while he explaining to us how the layers of rock folded over at the continental divide and that beautiful formation behind him came to be. Guess what it was called - "The Grinnel Formation". There is also a reason why i remember most of the nuggest of info he gave us - and i'll shortly explain why.

On the Boat:

From the boat across Josephine lake ( the second one), we could see "Mt Gould" ( the highest peak in the picture), and "Angels Wing" ( the one in front of it). Grinnell glacier was nestled between the two. the Other patch of ice to the right , in the shape of a lizard was called the "Salamander Glacier" - Even till as late as 1930 - Grinnell and Salamander were connected and Grinnell was visible from the boat. It wasn't anymore. By 2020, Salamander is expected to disappear.


The Grinnel Glacier Hike:

The hike starts off with about  a 1/4 of a mile around the lake and over a footbridge. As soon as we hit the foothill, there was a bunch of switchbacks. Within 30 mins, we felt like we were half way up the hill. Incicentally, there was a Grizzly encounter in this stretch a few days back. It was fueling up by a stream that went across the trail, intercepting a group of hikers. So Rick had us talking loudly and clapping hands - making loud "human sounds" to avoid "surprising a bear" - which apparently is the worst thing to do. Few more things to note - Never look directly at it (eye contact is a bad thing) and never show it your back. Here is a picture of lake Josephine and the footbridge after the first set of switchbacks.

The "Each one Teach" Shuffle Game:
We continued out hike after this point in a single file aling the cliff - it was not very wide. "Agent Rick" had to make sure none of the hikers in his group of 36 was left behind , so he had us play the "Each one Teach" game. Rick was right in the beginning leading the hike. When he came across a spot that had a story he would tell it to the person right behind the group, have him memorize it, stay put and share it with everyone in the group will the last person walked by. This now put him right at the end of the group. Rick had a LOT of information to give and there was considerable churn. Here is a picture of Kash telling us about a "White Bark Pine" and how it's seeds are great bear fare.

View of Grinnell Lake:
In a short while, in sight is a lake. It's the purest turquoise i have seen! Better than any in a tube! It's murky, but pure. It's surrounded by pine trees, is nice and serene and you can see the wind-ripples on its surface. This is the Lower Grinnell Lake. The murkiness comes from "Glacial Flour" - from the erosion of limestone by the glacier when it melted.

View of Grinnell Glacier & Falls
Soon we had reached a point where the lake moved behind us rather than ahead and the rock face with Grinnell Falls cascading down drew closer. Rigth above , in the panorama was Mt.Gould, Angel wing and glimpses of Grinnell Glacier peeking through. On the slopes of the hill nearby, were bright wildflowers. It was one of the prettiest spots on the Hike. Agent Rick said he would get married here!

We would also see a group of mountain goats crossing a stream of water. They were far far away. Thank god for good lenses! It's amazing how they balance on these rugged slopes. Something about holow vacuum pockets under their hooves.

False Ending:
Soon we reached a picnic spot. It was well after noon at this point and time for lunch. They have pit toilets here and some nice benches. We had to be quite careful while eating - there were a whole lot of fearless columbian ground squirrels trying to get a share of our lunch. Also close by was a colony of marmots. They are pretty good posers.

At this spot , there is a signage reading "Grinnell Glacier" and the picnic benches with a view give the illusion of a false ending. But the hike goes on for a 1/4 mile more. The last part is pretty strenuous and rocky. It's a bunch of switchbacks that actually gets you to a spot where you can see the glacier up close and get a better view of upper grinnell lake.

Grinnell Glacier & Upper Grinnell Lake:
When you actually reach the top of the hike, you will know.

Earlier in the century this whole part was under ice. There was no Lake and the ice was all the way upto the path pf ice you see on the right of these pics ( Salamander Glacier) At this point - it was only 100ft at its thickest and the lake is 300-400 ft deep. It was gray-ish blue, murkier than the lower lake. This was because of the higher concentration of glacial flour.

We then hikes over some of these glacial rocks to a spot where some prehistoric algae had been washed away by the glacier, rendering the rocks with circular patterns on the surface. From this spot we also had great views of the Grinnell Valley - the rounded valley floor was clear indication of glacial gradation. By 2030, this hike will just offer this view of where the glacier once was and the lake that it would have transformed to.

The Way Back:
Our way back down was much faster and we did spot some big horn sheep grazing.

Soon we would see lake Josephine again and then the boat approaching to pick up up.

It was about 4:10 when we got back on board, hiked our way back between the docks and then headed back to Many Glacier Hotel where were spent a great evening of Huckleberry icecream, Sunset-by-the-lake, Food&Drink and lots of Fun! What a Great day it was!!!!

Glacier National Park - Day 1

Sep 3rd, 2010
Going to the Sun Rd - West to East:

A drive across the park on the GTTSR is the highlight of any trip. Its 50 miles of unparalleled scenery gets even better after gaining some elevation - perhaps somewhere around the point where you drive through the west tunnel. It goes right through the national park and some of the highest mountains in the area - the continental divide. In most other parks - the roads migrate around the mountains. This road goes through. That is why it is a marvel. An engineering marvel.

Arriving at Kalispell:
We landed around Noon and our friends were there to pick us up at the airport in the huge rented Sienna ( they drove down from Spokane).

The next destination : Mackenzie River Co. in Whitefish for some Beer and Pizza.Out in Kalispell when the rest of the world was working & the beginning of a long weekend that we keenly looked forward to - reasons enough to celebrate. The pesto breadsticks and the mozzarella rollini were unbelievably yummy. The pizzas, even better.

Right after this , pit stop @ a Safeway gas station ( is there a safeway gas station in the Bay area? i haven’t seen one yet) - You can see our giant sienna in this pic.The drive to the parks west entrance takes less than 15 mins and the entrance cannot be missed( pic on top).

The Visitors Center @ Apgar: As is with all national parks. we were greeted by a nice little visitors center - The Apgar visitors center. After picking up maps,brochures,guides and vetting our plan with the friendly rangers we devoured huge scoops of Huckleberry ice cream!
Tip: When in Montana don’t miss anything huckleberry
Tip: Check on the weather forecast. It changes drastically and plans may have to be tweaked.

Our Agenda was to drive along Going-to-the-sun-rd ( i will just call it GTTSR from this point on) and to stop by at all the vistas all the way up to Logan Pass and then spend sunset at “Sun Point” ( on St Mary Lake, right after the pass). Tip: Don’t forget to pick up the park newsletter which has a whole page on the highlights and stops on GTTSR

Lake McDonald:This was our first stop. The lake was glistening. the water was clear and we could see all the stones and pebbles on the river bed. Looking ahead, we could see the reflection of the mountains in the water - the kind of sight i totally missed in Yosemite's mirror lake.

McDonald Creek overlook:It was a relatively calm creek when we went. But early season visitors get to see a thundering torrent carrying trees and boulders.Bright sunlight, cool weather , the sound of gushing water and butterflies!

Avalanche Creek & the Trail of Cedars:This is the first “shuttle stop” after the visitors center. ( You could take a park shuttle, if you dont want to drive). The trail of cedars starts off beside the creek on the right side of the road, while driving eastward. It’s a handicap accessible boardwalk. It's a nice wooded trail with a gorge about 1/4 mile in.There are parts where moisture levels are so intense that you see it dripping down the shrubbery even on a bright sunny day.

The Loop, Heavens Peak: The loop is that part where the drivers side of the road goes from mountain side to cliff side - the only switchback on the GTTSR. At this spot you’ll spot a whole bunch of cars parked with tourists clicking away at the one peak that towers over all the others - Heavens Peak.

Trapper Fire:At the same stop you can see the landscape filled with burnt trees. This was from the trapper fire of 2003 , where it burned across the road.

"Bird Woman Falls" into the Hanging Valley: Shortly after, the views get even more panoramic. It starts off with the hanging valley and the bird woman falls draining into it from the slopes of Mt.Oberlin. You’ll be able to spot two patches of snow&ice and then a the falls rigth under. The sight visually resembles a funnel.


Haystack Creek: It’s a beautiful cascading creek that flows right beside and then under GTTSR. It’s looks better from about 150 yards - where you can see both the creek and the road.

Weeping Wall: It’s that part of the road for which visitors are warned to roll the windows up but there was barely a trickle when we went.

Triple Arches: This comes right after the big bend ( we sort of missed the bend on our way - apparently not very big) . The thing about the arches is the construction stone. The architecture here validates the intention of the designers to have any human construction blend into the landscape of this dramatic road - Further adding to it, rather than take away.

Oberlin Bend: Just west of Logan pass, below cascading waterfalls of Mt.Oberlin is Oberlin Bend.I have read there are always mountain goats around here and i did see mountain goats here. A mom and a kid.

There is a boardwalk that one can take to look into the hanging valleys.

Logan Pass:This is the highest point on GTTSR. it’s located at an elevation of over 6600 ft and on the continental divide. The views from here are brilliant. Merely stepping out onto the parking lot gives that magical “top of the world” feeling. There is a visitors center here and just as i was approaching it, i found a deer frolicking in the grass.

Right behind is the lovely hike to the “hidden lake” ( on the agenda for Day 3) . Here, right under Reynolds mountain, Alpine meadows filled with wildflowers carpet the hillsides. The highline trail begins here and heads north along the west side of the continental divide.

We also had a stag roaming the parking lot, and a lazy ram ( big horn sheep) grazing.

Jackson Glacier overlook:Our next stop was at a vista that gave us views of the jackson glacier. one of the 26 viable glaciers remaining in the park out of the original 150.

Sunset at Sunpoint:Didn't get very good colors. But sunset is always feels good and we had a nice time.

Dinner at two dog flats:There were multple vegetarian options available - Soba noodles with Broccolli and walnuts in a huckleberry teriyaki sauce, tortollinis in a tomato sauce ( they say “spicy” on the menu, but it’s far from it, Hummus sandwich, Veggie burger, black bean quesedilla! - with 5 dishes to choose from , we were spoilt ;)

Tip: The Box lunches are great - but they need to be ordered before 8pm, for the next day. Make sure you do it!