It was windy; it rained; but it was still a most wonderful hike on the CDT (Continental Divide Trail) from Rogers Pass to Alice Creek. We were so lucky to have Gail and Jo Ann willing to shuttle our car on their way to hike Lewis and Clark pass.

We parked at the top of Rogers pass to hit the trail at 8 a.m. under very cloudy skies. As we headed up the trail, we were amazed at the variety of wildflowers: Indian paintbrush, prairie smoke, larkspur, arnica, virgin's bower/clematis were the main ones with the bear grass just starting. We also spied the elusive chocolate lily, although it was starting to fade.

At the top of the pass and at Cadotte pass, we placed stones on the cairns in memory of Chrissie Jackson and Colette Engel, reminding ourselves how lucky we are to be alive and still able to do a hike like this one.

June and Katie conferred with the GPS and maps several times as the trail is a bit unclear in spots; however, the bulldozers had widened the trail as they came in to set a barrier from the wildfires two years ago, so the trail was easier than expected to follow. In addition, we saw pink flags along the route, some with writing such as "pipe here."

We saw another hiker behind us as we trekked across the ridgeline, views in all directions. We expected that he would have caught us but he must have taken a different route or turned around as we didn't see him again.

Then we came upon a hiker going in the opposite direction. He was a CDT hiker, doing the route from Canada to Mexico, not the usual route. He said he didn't have too much trouble crossing the snowfields in Glacier and the Bob.  He has camped at Caribou peak the night before.

Along the ridges, the flowers changed. We came across sections filled with bluebells, Yellowstone draba, silky and silverleaf phacelia and forget-me-nots.  Others had nothing but biscuitroot or arnica, penstomon, and stickseed. We must have counted over 50 different varieties of wildflowers.

Then it started to rain.  We pulled out our rain gear; Judy learned not to trust to the weather predictions, especially looking at a town's forecast when hiking in the mountains.Always bring rain gear on a GiG hike.Luckily, it didn't rain much, just a few sprinkles, but the wind was howling and was a bit cold. Gloves came out.

When we finally reached the top of Green Mountain, most of us were happy to know that the rest of the way was downhill after the 3,000+ feet of gain; however, the downhill coming off Green mountain is quite steep, so our progress was slowed as we watched our step.especially with the wind gusts that were probably about 50 mph.  Also, the register at the top of Green Mountain had water in it, so it was ruined and we coudln't sign it; a bit of a disappointment.

After we descended, we had a short jaunt to Lewis and Clark pass. We drank in the history as we thought about the company seeing the same scenery that were were now gazing at. In this area, the burn was more obvious since it had more trees.

As we took the last turn to follow Alice Creek, we came across one more hiker, this one part of a trail crew. He said about 20 people were in the campground, ready to get to work. He was surveying what needed to be done. Now the pink markers made sense. They were for the trail crew. We thanked him over and over for doing this often thankless volunteer work.

When we reached the parking lot, we were relieved to see Susan's car parked and ready for us. Thanks to our fellow GiG gals for the shuttle! We ended our hike at 4 p.m.

We arrive back in GF at 6 p.m.
who went: Judy, Susan W, Bonnie J, Katie, June

It was supposed to rain; it was supposed to snow; it was supposed to be cold, but four of the GiG stuck with the plans and made a go of the day (originally 19 had planned to attend).

The decision turned out to be good as we only faced a few sprinkles the entire day, mostly at the lake itself. We had a lot of putting on and taking off rain gear, but the day was mostly sunny with clouds and in the 40s-50s temp-wise, perfect hiking weather.

We arrived in Two Medicine a full 45-minutes early, so we decided to the the .6-mile roundtrip walk to Running Eagle/Trick Falls. It was impressive with water roaring over the top and through the tunnel.

Then it was on to a mostly-empty boat ride, with a tour from a gal who a first-timer as captain of the Sinopah. After working in West Glacier the year before, she decided not to return to Colorado and stay in Montana. She did an excellent tour. Then we hopped off the boat and began our day with a hike to Twin Falls. Two people reported seeing a moose but we didn't see it. However, the falls were impressive with tons of water spilling down the rocks.

Then it was on to Upper Two Med Lake. On this stretch, the clouds started coming in, settling into the cirque. We faced a light rain at the lake and lots of wind, so we didn't stay long.  On the return hike to the boat dock, no rain as soon as we got out of the cirque.  The head of Sinopah kept up protected and the storm contained in the Upper Two Med valley.This stretch of the hike overlooking the lake and out of the trees in the sun was then too hot, so we were stripping layers.

When we came to the horse ford turn, we saw some hikers who had accidentally gone that way, backtracking. Then we arrived at the Cobalt Lake/Rockwell Falls junction. Susan suggested we do the extra three miles to Rockwell Falls. Katie thought we might be pushing our luck on the rain, since the weather sites said it was really supposed to pour or even snow after three, but we all agreed that we were prepared if it did happen. We went to the Falls and then continued up the switchbacks until we got above the cascades for an overlook. We had a snack on the rocks before heading back down to the main lakeshore trail.

Now, people were starting to figure out that rain wasn't really happening. We came across quite a few people on the trail and even had lines on both sides of the hanging bridge, something we hadn't encountered before. The park, even Two Med, is getting busy, even on a weekday with rain threatening, before Logan Pass is open.

Speaking of threatening, Viki looked up and saw a bird on a low branch, saying "Look, a bird." Katie said, "Watch out!" it's a daddy spruce grouse protecting his nest; he will attack." And he did, getting Amber in particular. After we manged to get far enough away, we could hear screaming behind us; I guess he got the next set of hikers too.

We took another little break at Aster Falls, looked for moose in the moose/beaver ponds but didn't see any, just a brand new beaver lodge. But on our drive out of the park, we did see a herd of sheep, so we were happy on the wildlife score.

In total,  we made it a 13.5-mile day instead of the planned nine. We all felt great.

Then it was off to a great dinner at the Glacier Park Lodge. We had a very fun server too and quick service.
We arrived home around 7:30.
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Who went: Viki, Susan, Amber, Katie

We had sunny skies with a high of 68 in the Willow Creek area on Friday, June 14. There was a slight chance (20%) that showers and thunderstorms may move through in the afternoon hours. We moved our departure time up by 30 minutes so that we can be off the trail a little earlier to avoid the possible storms. We did get sprinkled on for a couple minutes, but thankfully, no thunderstorms.

This hike was 5 miles round trip with a steady climb of around 1000 feet elevation gain to the top of the uppermost falls in the series. This was a first time trek for Jo Ann, Sara, and Susan Cooper and all were rightfully impressed and awed by the sights and sounds of the water as if fell through its series of falls. Gail and June had made the hike before but were no less thrilled than the first-timers for the volume of water that spilled over the five waterfalls.
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The trail varied between tree covered, open meadows and rocky, loose ledges which provided overlooks of each waterfall. Our first task was to don our water shoes and cross Willow Creek which was running full from spring runoff. A very nice gentleman came down from his cabin to visit with us as we put our boots back on and gave us an “OK” to cross his fence and use the private footbridge on the way back. Needless to say, we took him up on the offer.

A mid-day meal of burgers at the Bunkhouse Bar capped a great day of wonder and camaraderie at Willow Creek.
Who went: Sara, June, Jo Ann, Gail, Susan C

We started out with eleven ladies for an evening hike and headed out to the Belt Creek Range Station near trail 734 to look for Calypso Orchids and we were not disappointed. The trail started with just a few Calypso flowers and as we proceeded along the switchback trail we were graced with many groups of the lavender and yellow beauties. There were many photos taken of all of the different flowers as each turn we spotted new varieties of plants that were awaiting us. We saw Utah Honeysuckle, a Chocolate Lily, Arrowleaf Balsamroot, Prairie Smoke, and many more. JoAnn's expertise in plant identification was a learning experience for all of us.
 
The temperature was quite warm and although the hike was only three miles total, it was a good climb to the meadow. Susan lead the group to the end and then back down the forest path. Some of our experienced hikes weren't expecting the amount of up hill that they encountered. We had some new hikers that had not been on too many hikes before and did very well with the heat and altitude gain.

Our group decided to stop and have a bite on the way home at Cougar Canyon and we returned home just as the sun was setting.
 
The ladies that went were: Una, Maria .Bonnie J.,Roni, Susan C., Debra Mc., Susan W, JoAnn W, Bonnie W., Heather, and Gail

Who went: Bonnie W, Mary S, Una, Susan C, Jo Ann W
An evening wildflower walk at Sawmill Gulch did not disappoint. We saw sugar bowls, yellow bell, prairie smoke, larkspur, woodland star, valerian, bluebells, shooting star, fairy bells, Jacob's ladder, fern-leaved parsley, chickweed, and others. We walked about two miles. A lovely evening.
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Our group of five headed to Helena for a hike to Mount Ascension in the Prickly Pear Land Trust area. We had our South Hills Trail Map and made use of it because there are so many trails that are social trails and trails that intersected. If you want to use your phone for navigation there is an app that has the South Hills Trail System on it. There are over 70 miles of single-track trails and old two-track roads that are in the Helena area and are managed with the cooperation of the Prickly Pear Land Trust, the Helena National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management.

The start of our hike was from the Beattie St. Trailhead and then on to Prickly Pear, Meatloaf, Easy Rider and then on to the Mt. Ascension Loop trail and our goal of the Mount Ascension summit of 5282 feet. We encountered trail runners and hikers as and well-behaved dogs along our way as we headed down different trails such as Pail Rider to return to our car. 

A stop at Basecamp to check out some gear proved fruitful with shoes, water bottles and other accessories that were enticing. We then proceeded to the Windbag for lunch, and wandered in a few shops along Last Chance Gulch and returned home.

Who went: Amber, Susan, Linda, Gail, Anita and Christi