Hungry Horse, MT (09-08-20)

 

Yeah, we actually stayed in a town called Hungry Horse. Why would someone name a town such an unusual name? Well, in 1900 two prodigal horses broke loose from a pack, just before the first snow. They were found, over a month later, skinny but alive, chest deep in a snow bank, and so this area became known as Hungry Horse.  

Nowadays its more known for the dam that holds water in the Hungry Horse Reservoir.

There is a scenic (and I use that term loosely) drive that goes all the way around the reservoir. When we talked to a ranger, she suggested that if we want to do the drive, that we plan ahead- its 105 miles of dirt/gravel road- but she assured us that (even though she had never driven it) it would be worth it- there is a beach for swimming at the other end, and scenic views along the way. With temps in the high 80s, we were sold. 

So we packed a lunch, our swimsuits and our hiking boots, in case we got adventurous, and fueled up the truck.

Most of the drive is what we could call a green toboggan run. Trees on both sides, with the occasional glimpse of the water. We were also on the lookout for wildlife, but only saw two bald eagles, very far away.

 At least we managed to find a decent overlook to stop and have lunch, before continuing along our way. We never did see a real beach, just some campsites that had access to the water.  There were tons of campsites along the way- when we were eating lunch a family stopped and was going to camp there, disappointed that they hadn’t found anything with water access (although the water looks close, it is a 30 ft drop). Being nice, I told them that we had come from the opposite direction and had seen at least 3-4 sites still available.  

They thanked me as they threw themselves back in the car to try and snag a spot before they were gone.

So, why are we really here? Because this is one of the gateways to Glacier National Park. 

I often tell the story of the last time we were in Glacier, when the title to my blogpost was “not every day can be a 10” http://soos-ontheroad.blogspot.com/2012/07/not-every-day-can-be-10-glacier-np-07.html 

Luckily for us, our one day in Glacier this time around was an 11! With the holiday weekend approaching we knew we needed to get into the park before that. As it is, the parking lots were filling up at 7 am most mornings.  We took a different approach.  We waited until noon. 

Our plan was to hike to Avalanche Lake but we had two back up plans in case we couldn’t find parking. Amazingly enough we found a spot within 10 minutes- not easy when you are parking a dually.

The hike was awesome- what we call a Twofer.  The hike itself was great, and so was the destination. 

The trail was pretty busy, but there was plenty of room for everyone. 

When we got to the lake, it was gorgeous, but we kept walking, and were rewarded with a quiet place with an awesome view, to sit and eat our lunch. 

Naturally, I had to put my feet in the water- and took them out a few minutes later, quite numb. 

It was so hot out, there were people swimming…..brrr.

The route back was still fun and interesting and it was still early enough in the day to keep going, and so we did.

Driving Going to The Sun Road (GTTSR) is not for the faint of heart. It is the most terrified I have been on a drive, and I am no stranger to being scared on roads. I have a well defined fear of falling (dying). 

 Lucky for me I have a very capable and confident driver. 

This narrow, curvy road has sheer drop offs that are just on the other side of the granite curbs.  

It also has some pull offs with some kick ass views. I did survive ( don’t ask how many times I told Paul to slow down) and we made it to Logan Pass- the main parking lot for Glacier National Park.  

We weren’t sure we would find a spot but it was worth the risk. Part of the reason parking has been so crazy here is that half the park is closed. Nothing on the east side is open, including the roads in, so everyone is on this side of the park. 

Our luck held and we found a spot in just a few minutes.  One of the trails here, Hidden Lake, was our back up plan to Avalanche Lake. It took a back seat because we weren’t sure we could get parking, and there is a grizzly bear that has been frequenting the trail ( we have brand new bear spray with us) so sometimes the trail is closed. This day it was open, so we started up the path.

Unfortunately, it was a little late in the day and we had hiked a few too many miles, to make it to the lake.  But the views that we did see along the trail, made it worth it.

The trip down GTTSR  was much less stressful, since there were very few people on their way up.

The campground we are staying in is one that has its great points, and also has its bad points.  There is essentially no wifi, which makes things difficult, since we have very little signal here. We had our first campfire of the summer, which was a plus, and also there was free live music in the meadow one night, and we really enjoyed that.

With Labor Day weekend upon us, we were on the move, headed across Montana. 

Across British Columbia (06-04-14)

Crossing the border into Canada was a non-event, although we did get asked a bunch of questions.  I try to cross with no produce because it seems impossible to figure out what produce is ok and what isn’t.  Once again we were asked about guns quite a few different ways, but in the end he just told us to have a nice trip.



 

Our first stop in BC was Monck Provincial Park, where friends of ours are the camp hosts.  Toni and Doug are also fulltimers, but they summer in their home country of Canada and winter in the U.S.

After a great dinner at the Laird’s, we were going to have a camp fire, but the sky kept spitting out rain, so we stayed inside.  The bonus to the rain was a spectacular double rainbow.




 

After only one night we were on the road again.  Leaving this area we eventually started nearing the Canadian Rockies.  We stopped to stretch our legs at a rest area at Eagle Pass and happened to pick one named The Last Spike.  This is where the last spike was put in place that finished the trans Canada railway, running 3000 miles, from sea to sea.

As we approached Glacier National Park in BC (NOT Waterton) the weather got colder and the sky occasionally spewed some rain, but at least it wasn’t that white stuff.  Actually the temperature dropped from the 70s to the 50s.

Our plan was to stay in one of the National Park campgrounds but apparently they don’t open until next week. This is prime avalanche area and many areas have tunnels to protect travelers from that possibility.  Several times we passed evidence of recent landslides or avalanches and in one spot the crew was still clearing the road of 

downed trees and debris.

This morning the sun was shining and this was the view out our window.  Not too shabby. Actually, since we couldn't do the National Park campground, we chose one with full hookup, laundry, and WI-FI.
The next few days we’ll be traveling the Ice Fields Parkway in the Rockies.  I have no idea what our WIFI situation will be, so I wanted to get this posted before I forget what we did!

Not Every Day Can Be a “10” (Glacier NP 07-21-12)

Someone said that to me not that long ago, and of course, it’s very true.  We had a day that certainly wasn’t a ‘10’ the other day.  We got up early to drive up Going to The Sun Rd. to Logan’s Pass, so we could snag a parking spot for our enormous truck.  We planned on doing a hike at the peak, then driving down the other side of the mountain to see the sights. 

We made it to the parking lot ok, and got a spot, but there was a “road closed” sign blocking the rest of the road.  Some people may have heard about the rock and mudslides in Glacier.  Apparently there were 12 mudslides that impacted Going to The Sun Road.  After watching video footage, it’s amazing no one was killed.  The slides had happened the day before, but we had no idea how bad they were.  Actually, the road was closed for more than 2 days. 

So, with the road closed we headed to the hiking trail, only to find out it was closed too- due to snow.  Next we tried the Visitor’s Center, but apparently the rangers live on the wrong side of the mountain and couldn’t get there to open it, so… we needed a new game plan.  We decided to go to Canada for the day.

We went home to get our passports and headed for the border. Once we were in line, waiting our turn, Paul said “uh oh….the firewood.”  The bed of our truck is PACKED with firewood.  Of course, one of the questions from the Canadian Border guard was…..do you have any firewood?  Once we answered in the affirmative, he said-no problem, we can dump it off to the side and go on our way.  Paul said “nope” it isn’t worth dumping, we’ll just turn around and go home.

So the nice border guard called the American side to let them know that a huge F450 was headed back because of the firewood in the truck.  We get back to the American side and what we got was a lecture about carrying firewood, and an order to dump it all.  As irritated as we were, arguing with a border guard was not an option, so we unhappily dumped the firewood and went home. 

Now, on to the fun stuff…

Take Two of taking the shuttle over Going to The Sun Road.  On the way over in the morning, it would have been more appropriate to call it Going Into The Clouds Road.

 
I actually think this road is more awesome when there are clouds.

The clouds just wrap themselves around the mountain peaks and are constantly creeping and swirling.

We’ve done two more really great hikes- one was up a peak (2500 ft elevation gain) to Scenic Point for a 360 degree view:

On the way down we ran into some big horn sheep, almost literally.  These guys were really close to us.

 

For our last day, we decided to hike to an actual glacier.  Grinnell Glacier, to be exact, although we couldn’t get all the way there because the trail was closed due to snow.

We passed by three lakes on the way there:

Swift Current Lake

Josephine Lake

And, once we gained some elevation, we got a phenomenal view of Grinnell Lake:

When we looked to our right, we could see Grinnell Glacier, Grinnell Lake, and Grinnell Falls. The glacier is the largest patch of snow, on the right hand side of the picture.

After spending 3 weeks in Yellowstone, our measly week in Glacier went by way too fast.  We did get to spend a little time with our friends Dave and Nancy, who are fulltimers, and working near Glacier for while this summer, but their schedules were hectic so we didn’t get as much time with them as we would have liked.  And, as usual, I forgot to take pictures when we were hanging out with them.

Now we are on to more adventures in Montana…….

Glacier National Park (07-16-12)

If Yellowstone is known for the wildlife and geysers, then Glacier is known for their….glaciers.

 

That doesn’t mean there isn’t any wildlife though.  This is a whole family of mountain goats- parents and 3 babies.

We’ve also seen big horn sheep, a black bear and part of a moose (the antlers) and we’ve only been here two days.

Anyway, so, what actually is a glacier ( I wasn’t sure of exactly what it is, I just know that there are lots of them up north.) A glacier is a slow moving mass, or river, of ice that accumulates over the years (doesn’t melt in the summer).  Glaciers literally carve the landscape as they move.  A canyon or valley carved by a river has a V shape, whereas a valley carved by a glacier has a U shape:

In 1850 there were 150 glaciers in this park.  In 2010, there were only 25.  It’s expected that all the glaciers will be gone by 2020.

The large area of snow in this picture is Grinnell Glacier.  We hope to get a better picture of it when we hike to it.









We’ve done two hikes since we got here, and one of the most noticeable things to me has been the “smell”.  The pine forests are so fragrant, I keep taking deep breaths to enjoy it (may have something to do with going uphill, too though) I am reminded  of Christmas all day long. And when I can’t smell the pines, the air has an incredibly fresh and clean scent to it. 

Our first hike was to St. Mary’s Falls and Virginia Falls.  After a short hike of about a mile, we arrived at St. Mary’s,  with beautiful water and several short falls.

A short distance later, we came across Virginia Falls, where we stopped to have lunch. These falls weren’t as pretty, but they were much taller.

We watched two baby birds hanging around the falls- like, in the water, just on the edge of the falls themselves (the edge is a 30 ft. drop).  Every few minutes the mother would come by and feed them some bugs she caught.  We found out they are called Dippers.  They build their nests near fast flowing water or waterfalls, and get their name because they bob or dip their heads up and down.  We were wondering why the babies were doing that!

Today’s hike was to Iceberg lake and was much more of a “calf stretcher” than yesterday’s hike.  10 miles, with 1200 feet of elevation gain. Again we hiked in the pine forest for part of the hike.  Once we were out in the open, the  views were awesome. 

Iceberg lake gets it’s name because the ice on it doesn’t melt until September.  Its not actually icebergs, and although it may look cold in the picture, it was in the 70’s and we were very happy to reach the snowy area, so we could cool off for a while.

Paul also looks like he is skiing, but nope,he is just using his trekking pole to keep his balance on the snow.

It was on the way back that we saw quite a few mountain goats and some big horn sheep.  We also stopped to look for the moose that many people on the trail reported seeing.  We did catch sight of the antlers, but by then we could hear thunder and could see the clouds coming over the mountain tops, so we gave it up and picked up our pace.  With the forecast calling for a 60 percent chance of thunderstorms, we had our raincoats with us, and almost got away without needing them.  We got rained on for the last little bit, but nothing major. 

By the way, many times, as I hike, I compose my blog posts in my head.  And let me tell you, they would be ever so much better if I could actually remember anything I was thinking about later on when I actually write it!  As it is, I usually write it at night, like tonight, after hiking all day, relaxing with a beer and eating dinner. I need to put the post together because we will be doing a lot of stuff while we are here and NO ONE reads long blog posts.

PS- I started putting “recent pictures” on the right hand side of the blog.  The difference between the ones in the post and those is that they are the original size- 4-6 megabytes, and these have been automatically shrunk. So if you like to look at big pictures, click on the link and it will take you to my Picasa page. I am running out of free storage with Picasa so when I get time, I’m going to have to look for alternatives that will work with Blogger. It’s part of the reason I stopped updating my “our trip in pictures” page.