If I had to choose one word to sum up my experience at Glacier National Park it would be dynamic. The geography, vegetation, wildlife, and weather vary so much that it is nearly impossible to become discontented. Even while driving through the flats of Montana, I was hooked on the subtleties in color and texture of the fields and rocky hills leading to the towering mountain silhouettes in the background. At one point we were driving along the edge of a rain storm. It would look dark and grim with patches of rain falling on one side of the road and then a gradient cluster of various cloud formations leading to patchy blue skies on the other side. The landscape changed frequently with the sunlight peeking through steady-moving clouds - highlighting one area and then another. There was a perfect balance of stillness and movement. Time slowed down. Nothing else mattered. The daily stresses of life melted away and the only thing I could think about was the overwhelming beauty before me and the anticipation for what lay ahead.
** NOTE: Click on photos to view larger.
Day 1: Scenic Point Trail
Two Medicine Lake
The aftermath of a fungal disease, white pine blister rust, which has affected nearly half of the original white bark pine population in Glacier.
Day 2: Dawson Pass and Pitamakan Pass
This hike kicked our butts. We took a short boat ride across Two Medicine Lake to Twin Falls and then continued our way up cutbacks to Dawson Pass along the continental divide, eventually Pitamakan Pass, making our way around Rising Wolf Mountain and back to our campground - a total of 16.5 miles. It was cold and wet with intermittent rain up in the mountains. There was something extra special about experiencing this hike in such conditions. Sunshine and blue skies just wouldn't have cut it.
Twin Falls
Josh snapped this photo of me looking out where Dawson Pass meets Pitamakan Pass at the continental divide.
Jerry Dean conquered his fear of heights walking along that skinny catwalk at camera-right.
Even with his rain suit, Jake experienced symptoms of hypothermia when he got back to the campsite. He was shaking uncontrollably and had to warm up in his sleeping bag. Moral of the story: never underestimate the mountain weather.
Tiny mountaineers
Pitamakan Lake
Oldman Lake
Day 3: Many Glacier
We pulled over on the side of the road to watch helicopters dump water on the Reynolds Creek Fire. The photo above shows smoke rising in the background from the recent fire with acres of dead trees in the foreground from the 2006 Red Eagle Fire. The trees screamed as the wind blew through them - the eerie sounds of a ghost forest.
Rock formations just outside Many Glacier Hotel
Day 4: Shangri-La and Iceberg Lake Loop
This was by far one of the more adventurous hikes we went on and probably the most memorable for me. In short, our goal was to hike up above Iceberg Lake and then slide down the loose shale to the shoreline to experience the best of both views. We started off at the Swiftcurrent Pass Trailhead and made our way toward Red Rock Lake on a well-traveled path. We cut off the main trail and hiked up a creek bed and eventually found ourselves bush whacking our way through a mixture of dense trees and open fields loaded with huckleberries. We were on the beaten path now in grizzly territory, eating huckleberries like it's nobodies business, when suddenly Josh and Karina spot a grizzly and a cub also picking huckleberries about 50 feet away. Although there was a varying degree of fear and anxiety within all of us at that moment, we managed to keep our cool and continued on our way with bear spray ready in hand. Thankfully, the grizzly paid little to no attention to us. For the most part, grizzlies will avoid human contact as long as they don't feel threatened. As we made our way up to higher ground away from the bears, Karina was hyperventilating and freaking out over what just happened; meanwhile, I pulled out my camera and attempted to zoom in for a photo. Unfortunately, the mama grizzly kept showing me her backside or hiding behind the brush, but I did manage to get a side profile shot of the cub standing up. It's not a great photo, but it serves as proof.
After getting lost for what felt like at least 30 minutes, we finally gained momentum and climbed our way up to this hidden gem, which served as the ultimate lunch spot.
Shangri-La
The moment we were all waiting for... Iceberg Lake from above.
Jake jumped in the lake, while the rest of us were content with just dipping our heads and feet in the water. Josh filtered some iceberg water to drink too, which was very refreshing.
Day 5: Trail of the Cedars and Avalanche Lake / Going-to-the-Sun Road
This is a magical forest.
Hundreds of trees are knocked over along this trail from recent avalanches pummeling their way down Mt. Cannon.
After our hike to Avalanche Lake, we made a last minute decision to drive up Going-to-the-Sun Road to Logan Pass as the sun set.
Heavens Peak
Mt. Cannon
Light rays through the haze
Blue moon rising as the sun set and shadows crept up the mountain top
Mt. Reynolds
Day 6: Mt. Reynolds
We had originally planned to hike Dragon's Tail and peak Mt. Reynolds. Unfortunately, we slept in a little too late. By the time we ate and got ready for our hike, parking was full at Logan Pass and the lines for the shuttle buses were way too long. We decided to go paddle boarding on Lake McDonald to pass time and eat in Apgar Village. We eventually made our way up to Logan Pass in the late afternoon and attempted to climb Mt. Reynolds, but ran out of daylight and had to turn back. It was not a total loss for me anyway as I got some nice shots of the sun setting behind this unique keyhole-like rock formation.
Day 7: Mt. Cannon
Feeling somewhat defeated from not summiting Mt. Reynolds the day before, on our last day Josh and I woke up feeling determined to peak a mountain before the trip was over. With an elevation over 8,000 feet and a combination of class 3 and 4 pitches, we decided to climb Mt. Cannon. The total hike and climb took us about 6.5-7 hours to complete. There came a point in the climb when I decided to leave my camera pack behind to free myself from extra weight for safety, so unfortunately I only have iPhone photos from the peak of the mountain. Below are a couple photos I shot with my DSLR before ditching the pack though.
Interested in purchasing a print(s)? Email me at brandon@brandonlepasti.com and we'll talk about pricing options. Thanks for looking!
