After the September snowfall on the east side of the Rockies ruined our fall colors, we decided to get in a little autumn by going west. So we chose Apgar Lookout to enjoy the reds, yellows and oranges of the underbrush on the way up and the snow-covered mountain views at the top.

We left Great Falls at 6 a.m. and planned to meet Madelon at the trailhead at 9:30.

The day was very sunny but wintry as we drove through Browning and East Glacier with piles of snow lining the streets, but once we crossed Marias Pass, the snow dissipated and gave way to autumn splendor along the Middle Fork of the Flathead River.

The west side, however, was unusually windy and cloudier than predicted; the path muddy from the rain of the day before. As we made our way to the top, we marveled at the views into the Great Bear wilderness, of Grant Peak Great Northern, and Columbia mountains. On the way up, Mary S had more breathing trouble than normal for her; her inhaler had no positive effect either, so we were a bit worried about her. But she persevered, and we made it to the top in good time.

We were passed by several parties and met several coming down, including our own Camille with her husband, also out to see a bit of fall before the snow settles in for good. Most were from the Flathead area, but one couple was from Ohio and some women from Helena.

When we crested the last rise, spotted the lookout tower and peered into the Lake McDonald valley, we were awed by the grandeur of Glacier National Park's beauty. The snow on the mountains accentuated the clouds and held our attention despite the gusts of 30-40 mph. requiring all our layers to keep warm, including gloves and hats.

We ate our lunch on top with a view of the iconic horn-shaped mountain, St. Nick, whose head was kept covered in clouds until our drive home later in the day.

We started to get cold so we headed down at a fairly good clip, just to keep warm.  We arrived at the cars by 2:15, so we said goodbye to Madelon but decided to continue our fun since we had driven all the way to the west side. 

So on we drove the single track road from Apgar trailhead, encountering numerous cars along the way, necessitating much backing and good driving on Mary S's part.  Then we took the backroads through West Glacier to the South Boundary trail to hike the half mile to the historic Belton Bridge, the original entry into the west side of Glacier park.  

The hike hugs the river bank, giving us even more color for the day of the turquoise water set against the autumnal hues. Some of us checked off another of Jake's hikes.

Then we hit the road for home with a quick stop to check out the ford of the Flathead to see what we thought about trying for Harrison Lake later in the fall when the larch are yellow.  We climbed down to the tracks, crossed over, bushwhacked to the river to assess how deep the water might be when we spotted a couple on the other side and convinced them to cross so we could see how deep it was.  It was deeper than it looked: above the knee on him and to the crotch on her.  We weren't sure if we wanted to attempt it or not.

Then it was on to East Glacier to eat at the Whistlestop, which turned out to be their last day. The snow had ruined the end of their season, so owner Linda said they, along with the motels, had to close early. Only one other couple was in the restaurant. We even had dessert: pecan pie and cheesecake.

We arrived home at just after 8 p.m. 

Who went: Mary S, Susan W, Katie, Madelon, Brenda

It was quite the three days staying in Polebridge in the North Fork area of the Flathead River for nine gals from the Canadian WoW group and seven from the GiG.

It started on Monday with both groups, two cars each,  meeting in West Glacier and then heading north along the gravel/dirt Camas road and then the Outside NF road to Polebridge. Upon arrival, about 50 minutes later, we briefly went into the Mercantile to survey the baked goods and souvenirs. Then we headed for two short hikes: the first a two-mile into Covey Meadows for a gorgeous view of the mountains and then a three-mile into Hidden Meadow.

The Covey hike took us downhill on a trail made in a cut path through lodge pole pines growing so close together after the Red Bench fire in '88 that not even a deer could navigate between trees. At the end of almost a mile, we broke into the open to reveal views of Kintla Peak, Numa and Rainbow, to name a few. We could even see the lookout tower on the shoulder of Numa, the place we would hike tomorrow.

In the meadow, Susan found an elk shed, so huge and lovely. We realized the value of such a beautiful horn, and then she set it back right where she found it. We ate our lunch, enjoying the few remaining flowers: butter and eggs (common toadflax) and mullein were the most common along with a few late asters and going-to-seed fireweed.

What really surprised us were all the fungi: so many different mushrooms dotted the sides of the trails and clung to every downed log.  We even saw the turkey-tail on standing trees.

After we returned to our vehicles, we headed three miles down the road the Hidden Meadow trailhead. This hike is similar, in the trees until it breaks out into a meadow. However, this meadow has a small lake and marsh. We saw some merganser ducks, but no swans or wolf prints, which usually are there. We did see many indents in the tules and rushes, indicating that elk, moose and deer probably bed down there at night.

Along the side of the trail, we also saw many boulders removed, exposing the holes from which they came. We knew griz were in the area.  We also came upon a place where the griz had rototilled an entire 10 x10 spot. However, we didn't see any bear scat. We surmised that they were very polite bears who didn’t poop on the trail.

Then it was time to split up.  For the WoW group, along with Susan and Anita, they all wanted to go see Kintla Lake, which required a very long, but short distance-wise, drive on a very rough and narrow road, while the rest of us went to the Merc to chill. Some had a beer; others a huckleberry bear claw, some both, as we waited for the 5:30 check-in time of the hostel where we were staying.

The gals who went to Kintla said it was very beautiful, but the drive was hairy. Many large vehicles were approaching from the opposite direction, requiring us to drive backwards for a wide spot in the road. Other times, the other truck got by with only inches to spare.

The other gals checked into the hostel, bringing in whatever gear they could as well as arranging food in the refrigerator and getting the low-down on procedures from Oliver, our host.

The others got in around seven and got right to work making dinner: homemade soup, chips and dips, cheese and crackers as well as many, many yummy desserts.

Then it was time for a "get-to-know-you" activity and then bed. No one was up for any other games as we had our big hike day ahead of us.

The next day brought many low-lying clouds and rain, but we bundled up, put on our rain gear and headed to Bowman lake. One group (all the Canadians plus Katie, Susan and Sara) planned to climb Numa ridge to the lookout while Gail, Maria, Anita and Jo Ann opted for the walk around the north shore of the lake.

The Numa group took off at 7:30, while the lake hikers left Polebridge at 9.  

When we arrived at the Bowman Lake, it was drizzling rain so we put on our rain gear and headed down the trail. We stopped for lunch when the rain stopped, about half way. Along the way, we observed Bead Lily berries which are colored a striking, deep porcelain blue; bright red Bunchberries; dusty blue Oregon Grape berries; and Red Clover, which is actually a light purple color. At the end of our 7 mile hike, we took photos of the lake and paused on a bench to enjoy the scenery. Then, we headed back to Polebridge with a stop at the Mercantile for huckleberry bear claws and other pastries before returning to the hostel. At the hostel, Oliver, the owner, generously answered our questions about the facility and his world travels.  Oliver also helped us start the oven to prepared the lasagnas for dinner. 

The Numa group hit the trail at 8:40 after a quick picture at the lake. The weather was only threatening showers at this point, so we had a nice hour of walking before the rain hit and the clouds lowered to zero visibility. We all started questioning our sanity for doing such a hard hike if we wouldn't have a payoff at the end with views. But we soldiered on.  We wondered if the other group would bag the whole thing, since they started later after the rain. At least the Numa group had a bit of hiking before getting wet.

Loural mentioned that on many hikes with clouds, she "blew" the clouds away, so some of us challenged her to do the same for this hike. And it seemed to work. About an hour from the top, the clouds lifted and gave us peeks of the peaks and into the Bowman Lake valley. We also caught a glimpse or two of Polebridge and the North Fork Flathead River.

Another distraction on the way up were all the fungi, from huge white-colored ones, to orange to velvety brown to small orange mushrooms aligned on a log, and huckleberries. We were surprised to see so many this late in the year among the leaves changing to red.

Susan led the way to the top; and with a handshake, welcomed each of us to the lookout.  After looking around, we enjoyed our lunch on top amid mist and clouds that continued to reveal sights every once in a while.
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Then it was down, down, down. We formed two groups, as one was eager to get down to alleviate sore knees while the other was enjoying the views that were starting to open up into the valley across the lake. Rainbow mountain even showed off a bit.

By the time we reached the lake and flat ground again as predicted at 5 p.m., both Sharon and Sara were hurting, nothing that a huckleberry bearclaw from the Merc wouldn’t fix.  As we all gathered to admire the gorgeous vista of Bowman Lake and the surrounding mountains, Katie suggested we drop our packs and head to the other side of the lake to see the view from the bridge over the outlet/Bowman Creek. So we did and were immediately rewarded with the sun hitting the shoulder of Numa Peak, shining a light on the look from where we had just been.

With our picture taking, we were about 40 minutes behind schedule to meet the other gals, so we skedaddled to the cars and back to Polebridge. When we arrived the Numa group found that the lake hiking group had dinner waiting lasagna, Caesar salad, bread and the many leftovers from the night before.  Everyone raved about the Rice Krispie treats with caramel sauce and the Eat More Bars.  Both the young couple staying in the Goat Chalet and Oliver joined us as we had plenty of extra.

After dinner and clean up, some played a rousing game of Left, Right, Center, with Susan and Maria each winning a game. We were sorry to learn that Sara’s knees were still bothering her, so she put her feet up early.

Oliver told us that showers were likely the next day, so we really didn’t plan a hike. The Canadians opted to go to Columbia Falls to pick up parts and possibly shop. We said goodbye to Oliver, giving him a thank-you card and getting pictures in front of the North Fork Hostel. His cat, a tuxedo tom also named Oliver, made a surprise appearance too.

Then it was one last stop at the Merc to pick up pastries to go for family and friends. Then the two cars from the States ventured into Apgar and did some shopping, getting some end-of-season deals on earrings, T-shirts, scarves. Gail’s’ car headed back to GF while Susan’s car with Anita and Katie did do some hiking and sightseeing once Katie and Susan discovered that Anita hadn’t seen much of the westside of Glacier Park. We hiked Rocky Point from the campground with some bushwhacking thrown in for good measure, then to Trail of the Cedars/Avalanche Gorge, and Sacred Dancing Waters.  Finally, we stopped at Lake McDonald, visited the lodge and walked to the boat dock. We arrived home around 7 p.m.
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Side Note: Maria entered the 100-Miler club on this trip!
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Who went: Susan, Anita, Maria, Sara, Gail, Jo Ann, Katie; From Canada: Sharon, Dina, Doreen, LaVern, Laura, Linda, Lorna, Joan, Loural

Some of us had more bushwhacking than we planned; others wanted a bit more, but we all made it to the top of the "Crago" Cliff, so named because it is by Mary Crago Nicholls' family cabin.

The day started at 7 a.m. after a late start due to Kuntzie oversleeping. Happy Camper Susan called her to wake this retiree who never has to get up early anymore--except for GiG hikes. So all seven of us crammed into Judy's car to await Kuntzie before the trip to Augusta, where we would meet with Viki and newbie Shelley N.

In Augusta, we looked around the Mannix Mercantile General Store while we lined up to use the sole bathroom in the place.  A few of us purchased some items too.

Then it was off to our trailhead, just across from the Sun Canyon Lodge.

Our hike was divided into three two-mile sections: First up was a hike along the river, up and back to see the better of two pictograph sites on our day. We marveled at the ancient drawings and hand prints, one of a shield and another of an animal eating or perhaps drinking from the river; it had it's head down anyway.

Then before we retraced our steps to the car, we arrived at a side trail that would lead us to the top of a cliff, where we would have views of Gibson Dam on the way up and then of the canyon ad surrounding plains once we arrived at the top.

This section was the most challenging, requiring route finding as well as bushwhacking through mostly scrub junipers and knickknick along with a few pines and fir trees. Judy, Kuntzie and Viki did most of the route finding. They did an excellent job as we didn't have to backtrack even once.

Once we were on top, we marveled at the gorgeous views of the turquoise Sun River, so different from what the river looks like in Great Falls, after all of the irrigation run off. And we marveled at how we were protected from the wind that blew us a bit on the way up. Luckily, it was a warm wind, so it didn't bother too much.

We ate a snack on top, but saved our hunger for later when we would eat at the Buckhorn Bar in Augusta.

After our snack, we walked the ridge the entire distance until we reached a bit of rock climbing that would lead us to a trail. We had a very easy path down to the road by the ranger station. As we walked the road, several gals pointed out the marker for the Mercy Flight that went down on its way back from a training in Glacier Park. The four medical personnel on board all perished. They had taken a sightseeing detour on the way home, one person videotaping the bighorn sheep in Hannan Gulch. Read more here. 

Kuntzie and Mary S pulled the weeds from around the marker as we all pondered the fate of the local people who had died.

Then we continued down the road until it split leading into the Wagner Basin area, which we took, except for Shelley and Jo Ann, who felt a bit tired after bushwhacking up the cliff.  The rest of us headed into the basin to view the skull tree, while Shelley and Jo Ann went back to the cars and brought Judy's van around to the trailhead to await our return.

We enjoyed the hike into the basin, saw the skulls on the trees, thinking about Mary Nicholls' niece who paints the skulls and mounts them. We also enjoyed the last few flowers of summer: goldenrod, hymenoxys and gay feather (aka blazing star).

Then it was off to Augusta for a fun meal at the Buckhorn Bar (a huge group of bikers were there so the staff turned up loud 70s-era  classic rock from artists such as Eric Clapton, Three Dog Night and the Eagles) before saying goodbye to Viki and Shelley who  live in Fairfield and Conrad respectively.

We arrived back in Great Falls around 4:30.
​Who went: Viki, Shelley, Judy, Kuntzie, Jo Ann, Gail, Susan, Mary S, Katie

The GiG met the WoW for another trip: This time to the rarely crowded Firebrand Pass area in the southern part of Glacier Park. We started out at 6 a.m., met Ann from Rudyard in Browning at 8 and then the WoW Canadians at 8:30 at the Firebrand trailhead parking area.

The day started out very foggy, misty and wet, especially since this hike is very brushy at the beginning. It had rained all night, so we also faced mud in places. The beginning of the trail is along some moose ponds, which we didn't see, but in this area, we saw quite a bit of fresh bear scat, making us think we better make noise.  We never saw any bears either, even though the huckleberries were plentiful and very delicious. They were a welcome reprieve during the uphill climb.

Even though most of us put on our rain pants or gaiters, we still got wet. The trail crew had cleared some of the brush away from the trail in the areas where the leaves can reach shoulder high and the nettles troublesome; but other sections that reached thigh level weren't cleared.  However, the color of the groundcover was so pretty, we hardly noticed. There was also a plethora of fungi: colorful mushrooms of darkbrown, rust, bright orange and yellow.

Besides huckleberries, we also enjoyed saskatoons/service berries, grouse whortleberries and thimbleberries. We saw other inedible (or mostly so) berries: bane berries, elderberries, Oregon/holly grape, red twinberries, bead lilies, false Solomon seal and twisted stalk berries!

These distractions along the trail helped Desirae in particular as she was on her first moderately strenuous hike and loved it; however, she had not tackled so much uphill before.

The clouds started to lift as we approached the pass, making us think that we might have some views on top.  The whole way, we had no wind, so even though it was damp and misty, we didn't feel cold.  Even at the pass, no wind! A first for those who have been before. In fact, last year, we had gale-force gusts of 70 mph, which knocked some gals off their feet.

This year, the only surprise at the top was the view: the clouds had lifted to the west, revealing Summit, Little Dog, the Barrier Buttes, Red Crow, and most of 8888 and Despair. Since we had no wind, we spent a whole hour on top, eating our lunch and enjoying. But it was a bit colder on top of the pass, so some of us pulled out our buffs, at which point, Brenda gave us a lesson on how to make a buff into a do-rag, our new fashion statement.

The day had gotten so nice with blue skies and puffy clouds that it was hard to head back down the mountain.  The whole way, we stopped off and on to pick more huckleberries. A few of us even saved a few for our husbands.

We arrived back at the cars, after crossing the train tracks, at 4 p.m.

The WoW group headed home after getting some ice cream as they were helping with a community picnic. The GiG went to the Glacier Park Lodge for lunch (someone wanted mixed drinks and not the beer/wine served at the other restaurants).

We arrived back in Great Falls around 7:30
​Who went: Josy, Amber, Viki, Brenda, Ann, Desirae, Katie Canadians: Lorna, LaVern, Laura, Carol, Linda, Doreen, Joan

It was a big hike and a big group. Sixteen miles and 18 gals from two countries: Canada and the United States, a true international event. Dawson-Pitamakan loop is normally 18.8 miles but we shaved off .8 by shuttling the cars and two miles by taking the boat.

We really had a great time on board the 8 a.m. tour on the Sinopah, the boat named for the most commanding mountain at the head of Two Medicine Lake, meaning Fox Kit Woman. The guide gave us information about the mountain names, the geology, the sacredness to the Blackfeet as well as the animals and how the bison may be reintroduced to the park since the tribe has a herd.

We debarked at 8:30 and were geared up by 8:40. At the pit toilet a half mile down the trail, several needed to offload some coffee or other beverage already, so most of us scattered in the bushes since waiting in line for 18 people would take too long.  Others waited until No Name Lake spur trail another two miles away.  

This section of the trail is pretty nondescript, mostly in the trees with a few views of Pumpelly's pillar, a shard of a mountain standing out by itself. A handful of huckleberries here and there entertained us. We did happen upon a few hikers coming from No Name lake, probably campers. One gals refused to yield to us as the uphill hikers and tripped trying to go around.--and the trail was uphill as we climb around 900 feet to the lake. We didn't have time to drop to the lakes today, No Name or Old Man, Young Man, Boy or Pitamakan later on, as the Canadians had to get across the border and one car of U.S. gals were driving home too.

Once past No Name Lake, the trail really starts to climb, with steep switchbacks and often times, steep stone stairs, and oh, the flowers!  But we made it to the top by 11:30, even with stops to take pictures and enjoy the views of Two Medicine Lake, Sinopah and Rockwell Mountains, as well as Helen, Lone Walker and Rising Wolf Mountains.
 
The top of Dawson Pass blew us away, literally, as we had to layer up to keep warm while we ate lunch, but the views also blew us away. As we peaked over the edge to the other side of the pass, the mountains of the Cutbank Valley, Southern Glacier Park and St. Mary Valley came into view: St. Nick, James, Stimson (one of the six 10,000 footers), Jackson, Little Chief to name a few. We also marveled at the remains of the Lupfer Glacier and Pumpelly Glacier on Blackfoot mountain. We also enjoyed the deep greens of the Nyack valley, a bit marred by the Nyack fire from three years ago but still pretty.

After a half hour of lunch, break, photos and fun, we started to gear up. All of a sudden, we saw Amber go down to her knees, spitting and throwing up.  She had been hit with bear spray in the face.  Marillee had accidentaly elbowed her spray, attached to her front fanny pack, which knocked off the safety and depressed the lever slightly. Loural to the rescue with lots of water, rinsing Amber's eyes and face and cleaning her cap.  Somehow, Amber recovered after about 15 minutes and was able to keep hiking. In this way, she earned her trail name: Pepperjack, given by Nora.

It was a bit hard to face the trail after lunch as it rises another 400 feet in switchbacks before it curves around the edge of Flinch peak and turns into a narrow goat trail. Lorna later said if she had known about the goat trail part, she never would have gone, but everyone handled the trail easily despite the steep drop-offs on one side and the cliff on the other.  We walked about five miles high up on the goat trail, coming to two passes along the way, often called upper Pitamakan passes.  These give glances way down onto Old Man Lake and the Cutbank country.

At Pitamakan Point, just before Pitamakan Pass, we took another stop for pictures at this breathtaking place. Some even ventured all the way out on a narrow ledge to the actual point.  Others stopped at the rocks. We all took a group photo here.

Then we dropped over the pass, picking up the pace since we all felt the urge to head to the trees after being high up on the scree goat trail for so long. We did happen upon four or five other parties, all but one going the other way. The couple going in our direction were from Barcelona. Katie talked to them since she had just visited in June. Then at Pitamakan Point, we met two men from France.  Nora, who taught French, conversed with them as they took our group photo.

The way down was filled with the beauty of high mountain lakes, little jewels the color of turquoise: Pitamakan lakes, Old Man, Young Man and Boy.  Young Man was nearly dry. As we descended, we entered another flower zone with many bright yellow sulphur buckwheat, bright pink cushion buckwheat starting to seed out, lilac lupine and bright red paintbrush.

Then we dropped into the trees, noticing all of the dead whitebark pine trees from the blister rust desxribed by the boat guide hours earlier in the day.

We made lots of noise on this section as bears do tend to frequent the huckleberry bushes here.  But we only saw a couple piles of scat and spruce grouse that was not afraid of us; luckily, it wasn't in attack mode either.  The last two miles of this hike are brutal as they have many ups and downs on tired legs.  When we finally reached the bridge to the campground, we all let out a collective sigh. Then it was hit the bathrooms and load the cars to head to the newly reopened Whistlestop to eat while the Canadians headed to the border.

We enjoyed the Whistlestop food and had a nice time visiting with owner Linda. She said they are still kicking out the kinks in some of the processes--which we could tell, but it didn't take us too long to get seated, food ordered and food on the table.

Susan was staying over in East Glacier with her husband, but the rest of us headed back to Great Falls, arriving at 10:45 after a very hairy drive that involved drunks in the middle of the road, rez dogs meandering across the streets, a car driving 35-45 mph on the highway with no way to pass due oncoming traffic, a car driving into oncoming traffic to turn left, a car coming at us without headlights, two fawns about to jump across the road and us hitting a small animal of some sort.

Our group headed to St. Mary to meet Ann and a stay the night at the River House before our hike the next day. Our accommodations were roomy and had a covered back deck which was nice. We ate dinner at the Two Sisters and then spent sometime in the evening checking out our backpacks to make sure we had everything that we needed for our trip.

We arrived at St. Mary Visitor Center early for the first shuttle to Logan Pass, which left at 7:00 AM. The Highline Trail did not have too many hikers to start but it became very busy as the day progressed.  Haystack Pass was our lunch stop and then it was off to Granite Park Chalet. "It's like an 8 mile hike through a botanical garden!" Jean exclaimed. The flowers were so abundant, vibrant and profuse! There's no way we could begin to list all that we saw. Spectacular!!  

We arrived at the Chalet in the afternoon and were given a tour of the kitchen and then settled in our rooms. Mary and Jean went for water which is a half of a mile walk so we could prepare dinner. After dinner we listened to a talk provided by the staff on the history of Granite Park Chalet, wildlife and also about the Heavens Peak fire of 1936. The only people that were left at Granite Park Chalet at the time of the fire were the staff and they were able to save the chalet by putting wet blankets on the shake roof so the fire passed over the building and was saved.

On day two, Mary and Ann hiked to Grinnell Overlook, they were rewarded with a look at Grinnell Glacier and lake. They returned for lunch and the hiked to Swiftcurrent Lookout in the afternoon with 360 degree views at the top. The rest of the group had a lazy day visiting with the other guests and enjoyed the pack train of ten mules that brought supplies to the chalet.

After breakfast we started our journey down to Swiftcurrent by going over the pass and then past Swiftcurrent Glacier. The trail descends about 2400 feet and gives a beautiful look at Bullhead Lake, Red Rock, Fishercap, Swiftcurrent and Lake Sherburne. Our hike was coming to an end as we arrived at Swiftcurrent to find our car waiting for us which had been moved by others so we could hike out the Swiftcurrent way. We ate a much needed dinner at Swiftcurrent and then headed home.

Who went: ​Mary, Ann, Jean, Jeanne and Gail

Four of us left Great Falls at 5 am arriving in St Mary parking lot at 7:50 am . We quickly connected with Mary Irene and boarded the 8:00 am shuttle for the Siyeh Bend trailhead.

We took our group picture at the trail sign before heading up along Siyeh creek towards the Siyeh junction 2.6 miles ahead. We enjoyed the spruce-fir forest along the way- a beautiful morning walking through the cool forest with multiple fields of colorful wildflowers, babbling brooks and stream crossings with some bridge crossings. Susan C. demonstrated her expert balance capability when crossing a bridge even posing on a one legged stance without her poles! After passing through Preston Park, a glacially carved valley which provided more lovely fields of wildflowers and a tricky stream crossing, we began to enjoy the commanding views of the landscape including  Mataphi Peak to the south, Piegan Mt. in the west, and pyramid shaped Mount Reynolds in the southwest.

We completed the toughest part of the hike up to Siyeh pass with multiple switchbacks reaching the top of the pass at 12:15pm. We met 2 female artists on the trail from Colorado taking photos of the area in prep for their next years show. They had driven 20 hours the night before from Colorado for an all women’s art show in Kalispell and with only three hours of sleep on board, were embracing one of the best hikes in the park!

We enjoyed the spectacular views from this vantage point while having lunch before heading down the 5.6 mile loop trail along Baring Creek to Sunrift Gorge. We had 1 trail “boo boo” along the way- Susan C. had a bee sting her just below her left eyebrow-thankfully it wasn’t a pirate maker!! And the first aid “after bite” saved the day!

Josh Shuter was our shuttle driver going both ways on the Going to the Sun road- What a fabulous driver! We finished our hike at Sunrift Gorge with feet a bit on the tired side and with high hopes that the shuttle would come sooner than later. Susie M. was first to the road and waved her arms in the air for Josh to see as he came to the shuttle station- fortunately for us, he patiently waited for all five of us to scurry up to the stop and allowed all of us to squeeze into the van! Hooray!!

Having said our farewell’s to Mary in the visitor parking lot, we headed off to St. Mary for a well earned and delicious ice cream cone before driving to Dupuyer for dinner at Buffalo Joe’s where we introduced Sara to the hot slaw salad!

Those who hiked: Mary Irene M., Sue M., Josy M., Sara J. , Susan C.

Flowers seen on the trail :
Elephant head, forget me not, Explorer’s gentian, bear grass, Indian paint brush, huckleberries, lupine, Columbine spires, potentella. Arnica, early everlasting, chives, anemone, death Camus, bergamot, chives, stonecroft, yellow serum,lyles Angelica, cow parsnips, milk vetch, fireweed, Moss champion, Pirate maker on the trail- one eyed mishap with nature, yarrow, orange mountain dandelion, everlasting, heart leaf arnica, Indian blanket, arrow leaf balsam root leaves, elk thistle, showy fleabane, valerian, silky saliva, Oregon grape, twin berry, cushion buckwheat, Yellow columbine,

Our trip had two purposes this time: shuttle a vehicle for our group that was coming out from Granite Park Chalet via the Highline into Many Glacier and while there, do a great hike! And that's what we did.

The day started at 5 a.m. to a trip to St. Mary to pick up Mary Irene and Mary S's car. We arrived around 8 a.m., got the car and picked up Mary Irene and then drove the pot-holed road into Many Glacier. There weren't too many cars headed in so we were hopeful on getting a parking space. On the way in, Katie noticed three spaces at the Grinnell Glacier/picnic area lot, but by the time we dropped off the car and a few went to the bathroom, the spots were gone by the time we went back.

In fact, so many cars were trying to park now, people were parking on the street and behind other cars. We didn't dare risk a ticket, so we returned to the Swiftcurrent lot and took one of the few remaining spots.Whew! It proves you need to arrive by 8 am. if you hope to get a parking place.

So we ended up getting in an extra mile and a half by walking the road
We got on trail around 9 a.m. The trail didn't seem too packed at first. We believed that most were taking the boat across the lake so the lake side was rather empty. We enjoyed the cool under the trees and the views at the boat dock at Swiftcurrent Lake.

As we came around Jospehine, we saw the boat head toward the far end. We hoped to keep ahead of those who took the boat and those on the Ranger-led hike. We did for a while, but many soon overtook us, including the ranger hike. We were so busy taking photos that we lagged a bit. During this time, a large bull moose shot out of the tree with a crash and crossed right in font of Amber and Josy--Josy scurried up the side of the hill. The bull was headed to Grinnell Lake and a few minutes later we enjoyed watching him swim across one end of the lake.We couldn't believe how quickly the moose made it down the hill! Note: it is very hard on this trail to find a bathroom place with the narrow trail and so many people.

When we finally reached the upper Grinnell Lake, we were hungry and relieved to get off our feet for a few minutes. We sat on a rock by the edge of the glacier water and soaked our feet while we watched crazy people jump in and get out on icebergs. One man stood on the iceberg and then lay down to create a snow angel on it--brrr.

After lunch, we continued cross country over the large rock ledges (took a bit of scrambling), formed by the glacier, and the gravel pushed into piles by the same force to view the watermelon algae turning puddles of water red and to see the remains of stromatolites, one of the best collection of them in the world. Rock after rock was covered in the remains of these ancient formations. Some of us added to our vocabulary with "stomatolite" and "insolation," which Josy informed us mean the exposure to radiation or sun's rays.

Then Josy, Amber and Katie decided to head to the Glacier (disregarding the warning sign) after Josy scouted the route over the outlet to the lake, the creek that forms the largest waterfall over the cliff. We did have to watch our step on thin ledges and rock piles as we sidestepped through the water to reach the far side so we could touch the glacier.

And we did touch the glacier, but as we were doing so, a large portion collapsed making a very large booming noise. We imagined Mary and Judy thinking we fell into a crevasse or being buried for good, but we didn't dare venture onto the Glacier. After the collapse, Josy was able to find a small piece that we could hold in our hand. It was amazing to hold this ancient ice, knowing it had formed many centuries ago. Of course, we took a pic!

At 2 p.m., Katie said it was time to head down. At the picnic area, we saw four goats, two nannies and two kids! Speaking of goats, when we arrived at the boat dock at Jospehine Lake, the boat was just arriving. When a family debarked, a child dropped his stuffed goat into the water. Josy and Amber quickly grabbed a hiking pole, waded a bit into the water and retrieved the goat with the hiking pole. Josy wrung out the water and handed the toy back to the child as he stood sad-faced on the dock. Way to save the day, Gals!

​After our break, it took us three hours to arrive at the picnic area (it took us four hours to go up). It was 5 p.m but we had to walk the extra .8 mile to the Swiftcurrent parking lot, so it was almost 5:30 by the time we completed. A stop in the restroom took longer than we thought due to many women in line.

Then it was off to dinner at Two Sisters Cafe. Katie was glad to see Big John was back for another season; he greeted her warmly with a hug. The food was good enough, the service adequate (the waitress rolled her eyes when we took a while to order), but what everyone enjoyed was the experience of this kitschy place with vanity plates and funny bumper stickers littering the walls and following the yellow brick road to the bathrooms.

Finally, it was time to drive home, first stopping in St. Mary to drop Mary off at her car. She was camping there and planning to hike Siyeh Bend to Sunrift Gorge the next day but was now questioning if two big hikes in a row was wise. Josy, who drove, was also planning to go on this hike. We teased her that she could sleep on the way.

We arrived back in town at 10:15 p.m. A great day for a hike.

Who went: Amber, Josy, Judy, Mary Irene, Katie

It was an early start to the day: Amber drove and picked up Katie (and interloper Tom) and then Brenda at Susan's house at 5:15 a.m. We arrived at St. Mary around 8 and Siyeh Bend at 8:30. Already the parking areas were full. Lucky for us, Tom dropped us off while he idled Amber's truck in the shuttle stop. Then he drove to Sunrift Gorge to start the hike in the opposite direction.

We encountered a few hikers right away and played leapfrog with them all day. Others, we actually passed. The trail was a bit more crowded than normal, but it was a Saturday in high summer. Even though it was August, the temperatures were quite cool with a very gusty wind.

We marveled at all the flowers: we counted over 90 different varieties, as we traveled through different zones as we gained elevation.  

This hike has gradual elevation gain until Preston Park, a lovely meadow area with tons of greenery and blooms. We even saw the elephant head flower, so pretty by the moose pond. No moose though. We only saw a bit of bear scat and a few old moose tracks. Then the climb starts, switchbacking though scree on the side of Mahtapi Mountain. 

Brenda started to complain about the steep climb, but she made it look, easy even as she griped a bit. 

The views were glorious too, especially looking toward Mount Reynolds at the top of Logan Pass. But we couldn't enjoy them too long on top as the gusts were approaching 60 mph.  So we ducked below some rocks that blocked the wind a bit.  While everyone enjoyed lunch, Katie took a peak over the pass to see if Tom had arrived. He had! He was talking to a couple who were going down the other side. All of us marveled that Tom had gone .8 miles farther than we had an had covered 1200 more feet of gain.  It made us feel like slackers.

After lunch, we put two rocks on the cairn in memory of our deceased GiG members: Chrissie and Colette/Coco

Then it was down, down , down facing the huge wind gusts that were throwing us off balance. We enjoyed even more flower varieties, mostly purple penstemon, yellow arnica, blue explorers' gentian, sulphur buckwheat, and bear grass. Eye candy for sure. And we had eye candy with the views of St. Mary Lake as well as Baring Creek with its red rock and huge waterfalls flowing directly off the Sexton Glacier.

Soon the gentle switchbacks got a bit steeper as we headed to the creek. We were all looking forward to resting at the cascades before our last mile along Sunrift Gorge.   However, Susan took a tumble and hurt her wrist.  She wasn't sure how to even get up because she didn't want to put her weight on her arm to get herself upright. But she managed with a bit of help. She wanted to soak her arm in cold water so we headed right for the creek.

The creek was "rototilled" by bears. All of the exposed bare ground had been overturned, making us feel a bit uneasy. And Susan had another mishap: not wanting to sit down as she was afraid to use her arms to get up, she leaned over and approached the stream on a flat rock. She put a foot on a wet portion and slipped, getting her legs and boots soaked. We had to help her get out before she tumbled down the stream a ways.

We forgot about soaking the arm and decided to get off trail quickly and get some ice from Two Dog Flats Cafe at Rising Sun for her arm.

it seemed a long mile to get out, but Susan did fine. When we arrived at Rising Sun around 4 p.m., Tom had taken the shuttle and had been waiting for over an hour. We explained what happened to Susan. Then we ate dinner and drove home.

We got home around 8 pm, worried about Susan's wrist, which had started to swell some more.
The next morning, she went to immediate care after a painful night and found out her wrist was broken. It ruined her plans to go to Granite Park Chalet. Katie and Amber felt awful that we had talked Susan into going on this hike, even though it was one she wanted to do.  She still said she was glad she finally got to hike Siyeh Bend to Sunrift Gorge.  Oh my!