Sue's Group: Some Riding, Some Hiking, Fighting Heat and Smoke
 Lake MacDonald to Sperry Chalet Blog August 12-15th, 2021 Leader: Sue Anderson AKA (Michels) Randi Graves, Gail Holzheimer, Cathy Kuntz, Maria Mathews, Sheila Rice, Doreen Scherr August 12th: After months of planning , meetings and sharing of trail and packing tips with each other, our group of 7 GIG ladies headed for West Glacier, leaving Great Falls at 10:00 am and arriving in West Glacier mid afternoon. We stopped enroute at the beautiful Isaac Walton Inn at 1:15 pm to have our lunch outside at their picnic tables facing the colorful sleeping cars up on the ridge across the railroad tracks, reminiscing about previous overnight adventures with GIG at the Inn. Cathy had a conversation with a man staying at the Inn who claimed “ they don’t have COVID” in Tennessee. Really??? Ha! Sheila, met us in West Glacier around 2:30 pm at the West Glacier Motel which is situated right adjacent to the bridge that crosses over the middle fork of the Flathead River. We checked into the motel at the office managing the West Glacier Village, situated ¼ mile up the road from the motel next to the Glacier Village RV park. After unloading the cars and settling into our individual rooms, some of the gals walked around and explored the West Glacier shops, grocery store, and enjoyed a few snacks or a waffle ice cream cone!! Sheila made arrangements with the Glacier Raft company to leave her car in their back parking lot while we were on our Sperry adventure, and would ride into the park with the rest of our group the following morning. At our appointed reservation time, 5:30 pm , we drove to the Belton Chalet Chalet on Highway 2, for a special dinner. Our group was seated in a small private dining room adjacent to the main dining area ! We enjoyed a delicious dinner and had great service from our waiter who is from Florida, Puerto Rico. He challenges himself to hike all the Glacier peaks during his off hours and loves exploring the park . He assured us that we would be able to find a parking spot at Lake MacDonald the next morning at “O dark 30” prior to the hikers hitting the trail at day break. We returned to the motel to finalize details of morning departures , sort, and package up items to give to the gals riding up via horseback with the pack animal. We would each retire to our individual rooms and attempt to sleep with windows open and fans running in the hot summer temperatures. It seemed like a short night in the motel with the noise of early morning travelers driving by to access the park prior to the required ticketed entry. After packing the cars, we headed for Lake MacDonald at 5:30 am , ready for our big adventure. Both of our drivers found parking spots near to the Sperry trail head!! The hiking group ( Sue, Doreen, Cathy and Sheila) headed up the trail at 6:10 am just before day break ! The horse back riders, ( (Gail, Randi and Maria) enjoyed a bit of time at Lake Mac Donald before heading to the corral at 8:00 am to saddle up. The hikers expressed a bit of nervousness knowing that the Lake MacDonald Sperry trail is known to be strenuous, requiring hikers to carry sufficient drinking water and would be impacted by the 90 degree temps and poor air quality and smoke from fires as forecasted in West Glacier. The trail climbs 6.7 miles with 3300 feet of elevation gain. The chalet can only be reached by trail as a hiker or on horseback – were we ready for the challenge?? Much of the tree canopy had been burned out in the wildfire of 2017 that destroyed the National historic Sperry Chalet dormitory. After a 2 year reconstruction project, the Sperry dormitory has been restored and returned to service in 2020! The anticipation of seeing the chalet near the tree line seemed to energize us as we headed up the trail of cedar and hemlock trees, remnants of fireweed, and various berries in the cooler morning temps. Luckily we caught some glimpses of the lake on the way up the trail. Well, let’s just say that hiking up from the lake is not for the fainthearted- we all made it up the trail once we got our “groove on” , by taking frequent rest breaks, sips of water, using water cooling scarves and in one situation dipping of a shirt and hat in the stream water to help cool off. At one point, after being asked what are you thinking, Kuntz said “I wish I were home”!! Leave it to Kuntz to lighten the party with some humor….(not sure she was laughing at that moment). At the end of the day, I think we all claimed a sense of accomplishment having found rest and joy in our short visits on the trail with over 20 hikers (mostly coming down the trail). We met folks from Missoula, Kalispell, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, Jersey and from all over the US -each providing us with a short rest break on the trail!! The horseback riders departed the corral at 9:10 am , passing us near the end of the trail arriving at the chalet ahead of us hikers . Maria rode “Marshall”, Gail rode “Sledge” and Randi rode “Maybe”. “Maybe” was aptly named as we witnessed his performance on the trail- MAYBE he would pick up the pace with an extra kick or two or “MAYBE NOT” ! The riders all had male horses, because as explained by the wrangler, “ the female horses don’t take direction very well! “ Ha! We hikers retrieved items from the pack horse that weren’t needed on the trail going up but with the knowledge that with the policy to “ pack it in, pack it out” we would be packing these items down the trail!! Everything but Doreen’s’ sandals were delivered. What a puzzle since all concurred they had been delivered and packed up at the corral- (the good news is that her sandals were later found at the corral – they were never unpacked from the animal pack at the chalet) Doreen looked forward to giving her feet a rest at the end of our strenuous hike but was a good sport to wear her boots for the duration of our stay… We enjoyed a wonderful roast beef dinner with homemade dessert and bread, at our assigned dinner seating time of 6:45 pm (COVID social distancing) , seated with our GIG group, and served by the staff. Smoke from fires blew up the canyon that first afternoon, blocking any view of Lake MacDonald for the remainder of our stay. As we retired to our rooms, we looked forward to seeing the Perseid meteor showers in the early morning skies… Most of our group got up in the early to use the facilities with head lamps to help navigate the path, some were lucky enough to view the meteor showers and saw planet Mars as well !! Spectacular despite the smoke from the fires!! We all congregated early for breakfast and enjoyed fabulous toast with eggs any which way you wanted them, pancakes, bacon or ham !!, what a baker they have!! He is a cook by trade and learned to bake at the chalet!! Impressive to say the least. After breakfast, we collected our lunches, and took our traditional GIG “Sperry group” pictures in front of the chalet before the 4 Sperry Glacier hikers took off. (We took Pics with and without masks to help us remember the year of our journey.) The Sperry Glacier hike is 3.5 miles one way to the top of Comeau pass “up the chimney” with an additional .6 mile to the Glacier. Hikers: Sue, Doreen, Maria, Randi Chalet dwellers: Kuntz, Sheila and Gail- took a day of rest to enjoy the flora and fauna ! The hikers took off at 9:10 am on the trail playing leap frog on the way up with a Missoula group of 5 young couples, who were enjoying a weekend together sans kids. We were like the “the tortoise and hare” and in the end arrived back at the chalet about the same time after their siting of a Sow and her cub down at the creek bridge crossing . (got to watch it on an iphone) One of the young men in their group was Andy Larsen, the place kicker for the Grizz in 1995, when they won the National championship game!! They cheered us older gals on all along the trail and kept saying “ good job” to us!! One of our “Bear” chants going up the trail came from Maria’s Alaskan trip- she learned that the natives called the Grizzlies “Grandpa” – we have since adopted the name and used it on the trail … don’t know how many times but a lot, a lot , and a lot!!! In the end it worked!! Yay!! We climbed above the tree line and hiked past “gorgeous waterfalls, lakes and streams”, mountain goats…-absolutely breathtaking!! We named some of the waterfalls after the horses … Marshall Falls, Maybe Falls, and the “forgotten horse name Falls” which was later revised to “Sledge Falls” - courtesy of Gail !! We stopped at the bottom of the pass to visit with Todd Hileman, a local artist whose paintings were featured at Gallery 16 in Great Falls for years!! He had hiked up the Sperry Chalet trail from Lake MacDonald and summitted Gunsight Mountain that day and was about to begin his descent and return to the lake !!! We said our farewell to Todd and made our final ascent up the chiseled stone stairway, AKA the “Chimney” which leads you to the top of Comeau Pass and usually to breathtaking panoramic views- not so with the curtain of dense smoke in the air. We enjoyed lunch together along the creek while watching the mountain goats pick their way along the flowing stream while grazing on their chosen delicacies!! Sue placed memory stones on the cairn at the Sperry Glacier sign for her daughter, Julie Anne and for Chrissie (GIG) member. This cairn is the first of many that mark the trail to Sperry Glacier for those who choose to navigate an additional .6 mile of scrambling over the rocky terrain to the edge of the ever shrinking glacier. We made our return down the trail and back to the chalet by 4:30 pm, learning that a sow and her cub had been visiting the creek by the bridge .2 mile from the chalet- we had walked right past the area on our return but hadn’t been aware of the happening and the whistle warnings !! Luckily the couples from Missoula had a video clip to share with us of the bears ! Amazing to say the least… Temps were 78 degrees in the shade when we returned to the chalet!! We met up with Kuntz, Sheila and Gail who enjoyed their day relaxing, mostly inside due to the smoke. The dining room was not available to occupy due to COVID restrictions ! Kuntz visited with chalet staff during the day and filled us in on the story of the high wind storm that downed many trees around the chalet the year prior to the chalet fire in 2017. We each tackled organizing and packing up our gear prior to dinner so that we could get an early start the next morning down the Sperry trail before warm temps began to rise !! We enjoyed our last Sperry dining experience with a full turkey dinner, spicy pumpkin soup and delish chocolate cake for dessert. Yumm ! It felt a bit like glamping !! The next morning, we headed down the trail right after breakfast (8:30) as a group of 7 - and were lucky to see a buck with a fully velveted rack grazing along the trail who quite frankly ignored us ( at one point ,we were caught in between the pack train coming up the trail to resupply the chalet and the velveted buck!!) As Doreen says, “Timing is everything”…. It all worked out as we stepped to the high side of the trail and let the animals do their thing ! We stopped to rest and split into 2 groups at the bridge at Crystal Ford (about 2/3 of the way down) a great place to rest your feet and have lunch on the way down. Sue, Kuntz and Maria went on ahead and Doreen became the sweep for those who stayed a bit longer to have lunch. Gail had been counting the yellow caterpillars on the trail on the way down . Each one in their group wagered a guess as to how many total caterpillars they would count during the last 2 miles on the trail. Doreen’s guess came closet to Gail’s final number of 143 caterpillars- !! What a great way to refocus while completing those last trail miles in the heat of the day !! We were all safely off the trail by 1:25 pm !!! Doreen checked in with the corral and located her sandals that had missed being unloaded from the pack animal at the chalet- !! Yay ! Our driving groups parted ways in West glacier after a cool refreshing drink, an ice cream cone for some and maybe even a 6 pack to enjoy later with friends while reminiscing about our amazing trip to Sperry Chalet! We did it!! Who did it? Sue, Doreen, Gail, Maria, Randi, Kuntz, and Sheila  |
Deb's Group: Stormy Days Challenge Gals
 Trip dates: Aug. By Madelon: Monday August 16: met 3 hiking buddies from Great Falls in West Glacier, Deb, Roni and Paula. We had agreed to meet for Lunch at the West Glacier Cafe in West Glacier where burgers and icecream hit the spot in all 4 of us. Roni, Deb and Paula had quite a long trip behind them already plus we had not seen one another for several years AND it was gorgeous weather so it was nice to have a bit of time to start catching up. After lunch we got in our respective car/van and drove on to McDonald Lodge. There we parked my car so we had transportation back at the trailhead when we were supposed to walk out there on Thursday. I piled into the van with all my bags and stuff and on to the East side we went. Checked in at St Mary's Lodge for the night. One room, 4 gals and wine. We had dinner in the Lodge. Not sure anymore what everybody ordered but I had quesadillas and they were good. Then early to bed as we had to rise early.. Tuesday: First alarm went off at 5 AM, I believe, mine not until 5:30. After getting ready and packed and sacked, and after getting coffee and a bit of breakfast (Deb managed to eat yoghurt while driving the Going to the sun road) we arrived at Jackson Glacier Overlook trailhead at a little after 7 and where on the trail not much after that. At that time it was already raining substantially but we came prepared and were clothed in all the rainwear you could think of, including gaiters. backpacks wrapped up too. Hiked 0ver 14 miles total that day in driving rain, howling wind, low clouds, fog and some hail now and then, dangerous conditions and hardly anybody on the trail, to Sperry Chalet (missed the last sign to the Chalet at the end (as we had to look down at our feet as not to stumble on the very uneven and slick rocks and to stabilize ourselves in order not to be blown off the mountain) which added a few miles). We met two parties each of two people, I believe to remember, one coming down from camping at Lake Ellen Wilson. We met them at the lower side of Gunsight lake, a ways down the trail, and the others came from Sperry, I thought, and then two young gals who were on their way to Lake Ellen Wilson to camp there that night. We caught up with them a few times, among others in the Gunsight Pass stone shelter where they took shelter from the horrible weather and rested for a while as did we. We were quite concerned about their well being as the two outgoing parties had waned us about a sow and cub on the trail at Lake Ellen Wilson, but the young ladies said they would be careful and to me they sounded quite bear country-savvy. P.S Roni and Deb met them the next day near Sperry Chalet. The girls were fine, and on their wat to McDonald Lodge. We had lunch along Gunsight Lake where the rain let up a bit and a snack in the stone shelter. Highlight of the day was probably seeing a big bull moose at the lower end of Gunsight Lake. Even though a curtain of rain was coming down and cameras and phones got drenched we managed to get a few pictures. We arrived at the Chalet close to 5. Check in was quick and efficient. We were as wet as drowned cats, and chilled and exhausted. Our waterproof shoes contained about a quarter inch of rainwater inside of them and our socks did not dry the entire time we spent at Sperry. There is no heat in the bedroom building so we got into dry clothes as quickly as we could get out of the wet stuff and crawled into bed with a glass of wine and some snacks to warm up and wait for dinner time which was for us at 6:45 Dinner as so-so. We were not impressed. It was some kind of turkey with mashed potatoes, a minuscule little bowl with some salad, some undefined soup, a biscuit like bread that was dry and tasteless in my opinion, and a dessert but I already forgot what that was. It was already served by the time we came in which made everything only lukewarm by he time we started eating. No heat here either except from the kitchen which helped some, but the reason for that was that we still had Stage 2 fire restrictions. Wood stove fires were not allowed. After dinner we did not linger long. Our beds were calling. Loud and clear. Masks were mandatory in the buildings and everybody tried to do the right thing. Wednesday: After breakfast which we could order and which was good ( one or two eggs, toast, pancakes, oatmeal, bacon or ham, coffee or tea, and orange juice) Paula and I hiked up over Comeau pass to the foot of Sperry Glacier. We left the Chalet at about 9, I think and hiked a total of 9 miles. The Chalet provided a lunch bag but in my eyes it was lacking shamefully (I am pretty well an omnivore and in general do not complain about food) with ultra dry bread that crumbled into individual crumbs when you took the plastic wrapping off and a few energy like bars and a juice package. I had one of my energy bars with me and we both carried water so we did good. Lots of rock negotiating, a rather fast flowing water fall crossing, and an interesting staircase to scale Comeau Pass. Better weather but cold, and with plastic bags around our dry socks in soaking wet shoes. Went great up hill, not so much downhill as our feet slid to the front of our shoes and our toes started to hurt agains the inside front. We took the plastic bags from around our feet with the risk of getting our only dry socks wet, but our shoes had dried substantially while hiking so all was good. We were back at the chalet at just after three, I think to remember. Deb and Roni had walked back up to the pass to see where we went wrong yesterday and found it. Thatbis also when they met the two young gals from Lake Ellen Wilson. For the rest Deb and Roni spent their time playing a game at the Chalet and reading a book, I think. From then to dinner time we all did what we felt like. But we all met for happy hour in the room, and enjoyed one another's company. Dinner was the similar blah as the first night with Chicken Marsallah supposedly and a rice/veggie mix, with a few cherry tomatoes on the side an a kind of veggie, maybe minestrone cold-ish soup and bread pudding for dessert. It was filling and that's where it stopped for me. Thursday: hike from Sperry Chalet to Lake McDonald Lodge. We left the chalet at 9 after breakfast which had the same choices as the day before. Only 6.6 miles. Great weather and downright toasty at the Lodge. We arrived at the car at noon sharp. Lunch at the lodge in the sun in short sleeve shirts, shorts and flip-flops. Sure different from 38 degrees at the chalet. Next we all piled into my Jeep, drove across Logan Pass to Jackson Glacier overlook trailhead and dropped off my three Great Falls bound hiking partners at their van. Goodbyes and hugs and me back over Logan Pass, stop in West Glacier for my traditional ice cream at Sweet Peaks and on to Eureka. Who went: Deb, Roni, Madelon, Paula O |
Beth and Suzie's Group
With all of our gear and much anticipation, we left Great Falls Tuesday afternoon, August 17th, and we headed to our evening stop: Suzie’s cabin at Lake Five. The western sky was dark, with rain expected. We hit that at Valier, and by Browning it was raining hard. It looked as if Glacier was getting rain, but we were out of it after we crossed the divide. Mick and Suzie had prepared a delicious dinner; George, their dog, was glad to have lots of extra attention. There was a little extra excitement as Beth discovered her bladder had a leak. No worries. Mick used his creative talents and some supplies and repaired it, leaving it to sit and dry until morning. After a time of good food and conversation, we headed to bed, knowing that 4:30 would come quickly.
There was bustling around, grabbing a mug of coffee, and loading our packs and poles into Mick and Suzie’s vehicle. Thanks to Mick for making us coffee and for the fine repair job on Beth’s bladder. It held!! Now George was quite excited as he thought he’d get to go along. Mick arranged our packs in the back, and sure enough, there was room for George! With Beth at the wheel, we followed Mick as far as Lake McDonald where we left Beth’s vehicle for when we returned. With all four of us now in Taleff’s vehicle along with our chauffeur, Mick, we headed on up Going to the Sun road. George poked his head between Beth and Carol most of the way to the trailhead. They thought it was because George liked the loving and attention he was getting, but we were reminded that it was likely because George was a bit bent out of shape that we were sitting in his space! We arrived at the Jackson Glacier trailhead about 6:30, and readied ourselves to set out on the trail. We said goodbye to Mick and extended our appreciation for his kindness and help. George just looked with longing eyes, and then disappointed eyes when he realized he wasn’t going to get to go.
Off we were. After the rain the previous day, the foliage was wet, so we were glad we were wearing our rain pants. The forest smells were fresh and inviting. No smoke, but we did have low lying clouds for the first part of the hike. As the morning progressed, clouds moved in and out, lifted and then settled back some. All of this enhanced our views with such variety. There were many photo opportunities along the way, and the cooler temperatures were very welcome! Several hikers came towards us, and they reported it had been very rainy and cool the previous day. We were grateful that we didn’t have any rain this day. A single hiker passed us; we caught up with him at Gunsight Lake, which was as far as he was going. He asked where we were headed. When it was reported we were going to the Chalet, he asked how you get reservations there. He and his son had tried, and were very disappointed to be somewhere “around #13,000 on the list”, and then he clarified that was somewhat of an exaggeration. He was from someplace south, maybe Tennessee. We were concerned that he was hiking alone as we had many signs of the presence of bears.
We headed on to Gunsight Pass, frequently commenting on the beauty, the cool temperatures, the waterfalls coming down yonder mountainsides, (We believe there were more than 21!) and the lack of wind. At the pass, it was windy and cold. The hut was occupied by other hikers, so we hunkered on the non-windy side and ate a quick lunch. Then it was down the trail to the beautiful Lake Ellen Wilson, and again there was no wind. There were many moments of sunshine as the clouds moved in the distance, sometimes hanging on those mountain peaks. There were frequent notations on the beauty and appreciation of the geology! It’s helpful to have a science teacher along to explain some things to us. Thanks, Beth! The wildlife to this point: marmots, chipmunks, pikas, and ground squirrels - but no bears (only lots of scat and bear scents).
On up we went from the lake for our second big climb of the hike. The rocks became even more of a part of our discussion as we passed through boulder fields. We were making good time, and we checked off the miles with Amber being our recorder/reporter. At the pass, we saw our first distant view of Sperry Chalet! It was a first time for Amber and Carol; Beth and Suzie had been there previously. Then it was down to the Chalet with a very interesting lesson from Beth on the classifications of pebbles, cobbles, and boulders as we passed through some amazing boulders. Arrival at the Chalet allowed us time to check in, get out of our wet boots and socks, and settle in a bit prior to our 5:30 dinner seating.
After our dinner, the other GIG group who had hiked in the previous day arrived for their dinner seating. Hearing about their hiking in the wind, rain, and cold, we were grateful for what a perfect hiking experience we had had that day. After a long day, we all settled in quite early that evening.
We awoke to clouds the next morning. After a hearty breakfast, we prepared for hiking up to Sperry Glacier, but we weren’t in a big hurry as we anticipated the clouds would soon lift. As we waited, the pack train arrived, so we watched them do their unloading and loading. We were able to pet a horse and visit briefly with the pack workers as they did their thing. We remarked how much we appreciated their work - both human and animals.
Then we were off on our day’s hike. The clouds did lift as we proceeded. Views were amazing all day long. It was fascinating as we got up higher to see mountain peaks above the clouds. It was a perfect day with cool temperatures, much sunshine, and no rain. That morning, a gal named Stacy asked if we were going up to the Glacier as the people she had come up with weren’t going to hike that day, so she joined us. This allowed for some great photos with all 4 of us in them. At the top, were scampered and maneuvered our way over the open rock areas and around snow fields. Just an amazing experience with amazing views!! It is disappointing to know that we walked where the glacier used to be and is no more. As we calculated our time and the need to get back in time for dinner. Glorious views were offered all of the way back to the Chalet. This was the day of the goats!! All day long we encountered goats: on the trail, in the distance, up above us, and one even beat us up to the top when we went up the stairs in the crevice to get to the top! We were worried that he was going to follow us right up those stairs. Beth and Amber stayed up on top a little longer than the others of us so Beth could take more goat pictures and videos. They also reported seeing a couple of pairs of pikas.
At about 4:10, we encountered a hiker headed up who wanted to know if he was about to the top. He wasn’t, and 3 people who were in his party lagged behind him. We didn’t think they looked very prepared to go on up and then back out to Lake McDonald yet that day! It started to sprinkle as we returned to the Chalet just in time for dinner. By 6:00, it was raining. Of course, we wondered about the unprepared hikers (and not very wise). For certain, they would have been soaked and cold by the time they arrived at Lake McDonald at whatever hour that may have been.
After only about 11 miles that day and with a break in the rain, we sat on our deck (We had adjoining rooms.) to let our prime rib dinner settle as we visited, shared stories, and laughed a lot. It was a perfect day!
The next morning, we arose to rain and clouds. After breakfast, we packed and got on all of our rain gear. Another of our group of GIG gals had arrived the previous night, so we posed for photos outside the dining hall. Then, we were on our way down, hiking in the rain for about the first half of the trip. Clouds cleared, the sun shone, and we had glimpses of Lake McDonald ahead. After changing from our boots and into more comfortable clothes, we shopped in Apgar for a bit, and had something to eat at Eddie’s Cafe there. We would recommend the huckleberry cobbler and the huckleberry peach pie.
We enjoyed more conversation on our return trip to Great Falls with a brief stop in Valier. Suzie’s house was our first stop. Again, we loved on George, who was very glad to see Suzie, and we again thanked Mick for all of his support in making our trip possible. Off to Amber’s house, where we discovered that a critter had visited the bags of snack chips which had been left in the car when it was parked at Lake McDonald. We assume it was a mouse.
All in all, what a grand time for Beth, Amber, Suzie, and Carol!
There was bustling around, grabbing a mug of coffee, and loading our packs and poles into Mick and Suzie’s vehicle. Thanks to Mick for making us coffee and for the fine repair job on Beth’s bladder. It held!! Now George was quite excited as he thought he’d get to go along. Mick arranged our packs in the back, and sure enough, there was room for George! With Beth at the wheel, we followed Mick as far as Lake McDonald where we left Beth’s vehicle for when we returned. With all four of us now in Taleff’s vehicle along with our chauffeur, Mick, we headed on up Going to the Sun road. George poked his head between Beth and Carol most of the way to the trailhead. They thought it was because George liked the loving and attention he was getting, but we were reminded that it was likely because George was a bit bent out of shape that we were sitting in his space! We arrived at the Jackson Glacier trailhead about 6:30, and readied ourselves to set out on the trail. We said goodbye to Mick and extended our appreciation for his kindness and help. George just looked with longing eyes, and then disappointed eyes when he realized he wasn’t going to get to go.
Off we were. After the rain the previous day, the foliage was wet, so we were glad we were wearing our rain pants. The forest smells were fresh and inviting. No smoke, but we did have low lying clouds for the first part of the hike. As the morning progressed, clouds moved in and out, lifted and then settled back some. All of this enhanced our views with such variety. There were many photo opportunities along the way, and the cooler temperatures were very welcome! Several hikers came towards us, and they reported it had been very rainy and cool the previous day. We were grateful that we didn’t have any rain this day. A single hiker passed us; we caught up with him at Gunsight Lake, which was as far as he was going. He asked where we were headed. When it was reported we were going to the Chalet, he asked how you get reservations there. He and his son had tried, and were very disappointed to be somewhere “around #13,000 on the list”, and then he clarified that was somewhat of an exaggeration. He was from someplace south, maybe Tennessee. We were concerned that he was hiking alone as we had many signs of the presence of bears.
We headed on to Gunsight Pass, frequently commenting on the beauty, the cool temperatures, the waterfalls coming down yonder mountainsides, (We believe there were more than 21!) and the lack of wind. At the pass, it was windy and cold. The hut was occupied by other hikers, so we hunkered on the non-windy side and ate a quick lunch. Then it was down the trail to the beautiful Lake Ellen Wilson, and again there was no wind. There were many moments of sunshine as the clouds moved in the distance, sometimes hanging on those mountain peaks. There were frequent notations on the beauty and appreciation of the geology! It’s helpful to have a science teacher along to explain some things to us. Thanks, Beth! The wildlife to this point: marmots, chipmunks, pikas, and ground squirrels - but no bears (only lots of scat and bear scents).
On up we went from the lake for our second big climb of the hike. The rocks became even more of a part of our discussion as we passed through boulder fields. We were making good time, and we checked off the miles with Amber being our recorder/reporter. At the pass, we saw our first distant view of Sperry Chalet! It was a first time for Amber and Carol; Beth and Suzie had been there previously. Then it was down to the Chalet with a very interesting lesson from Beth on the classifications of pebbles, cobbles, and boulders as we passed through some amazing boulders. Arrival at the Chalet allowed us time to check in, get out of our wet boots and socks, and settle in a bit prior to our 5:30 dinner seating.
After our dinner, the other GIG group who had hiked in the previous day arrived for their dinner seating. Hearing about their hiking in the wind, rain, and cold, we were grateful for what a perfect hiking experience we had had that day. After a long day, we all settled in quite early that evening.
We awoke to clouds the next morning. After a hearty breakfast, we prepared for hiking up to Sperry Glacier, but we weren’t in a big hurry as we anticipated the clouds would soon lift. As we waited, the pack train arrived, so we watched them do their unloading and loading. We were able to pet a horse and visit briefly with the pack workers as they did their thing. We remarked how much we appreciated their work - both human and animals.
Then we were off on our day’s hike. The clouds did lift as we proceeded. Views were amazing all day long. It was fascinating as we got up higher to see mountain peaks above the clouds. It was a perfect day with cool temperatures, much sunshine, and no rain. That morning, a gal named Stacy asked if we were going up to the Glacier as the people she had come up with weren’t going to hike that day, so she joined us. This allowed for some great photos with all 4 of us in them. At the top, were scampered and maneuvered our way over the open rock areas and around snow fields. Just an amazing experience with amazing views!! It is disappointing to know that we walked where the glacier used to be and is no more. As we calculated our time and the need to get back in time for dinner. Glorious views were offered all of the way back to the Chalet. This was the day of the goats!! All day long we encountered goats: on the trail, in the distance, up above us, and one even beat us up to the top when we went up the stairs in the crevice to get to the top! We were worried that he was going to follow us right up those stairs. Beth and Amber stayed up on top a little longer than the others of us so Beth could take more goat pictures and videos. They also reported seeing a couple of pairs of pikas.
At about 4:10, we encountered a hiker headed up who wanted to know if he was about to the top. He wasn’t, and 3 people who were in his party lagged behind him. We didn’t think they looked very prepared to go on up and then back out to Lake McDonald yet that day! It started to sprinkle as we returned to the Chalet just in time for dinner. By 6:00, it was raining. Of course, we wondered about the unprepared hikers (and not very wise). For certain, they would have been soaked and cold by the time they arrived at Lake McDonald at whatever hour that may have been.
After only about 11 miles that day and with a break in the rain, we sat on our deck (We had adjoining rooms.) to let our prime rib dinner settle as we visited, shared stories, and laughed a lot. It was a perfect day!
The next morning, we arose to rain and clouds. After breakfast, we packed and got on all of our rain gear. Another of our group of GIG gals had arrived the previous night, so we posed for photos outside the dining hall. Then, we were on our way down, hiking in the rain for about the first half of the trip. Clouds cleared, the sun shone, and we had glimpses of Lake McDonald ahead. After changing from our boots and into more comfortable clothes, we shopped in Apgar for a bit, and had something to eat at Eddie’s Cafe there. We would recommend the huckleberry cobbler and the huckleberry peach pie.
We enjoyed more conversation on our return trip to Great Falls with a brief stop in Valier. Suzie’s house was our first stop. Again, we loved on George, who was very glad to see Suzie, and we again thanked Mick for all of his support in making our trip possible. Off to Amber’s house, where we discovered that a critter had visited the bags of snack chips which had been left in the car when it was parked at Lake McDonald. We assume it was a mouse.
All in all, what a grand time for Beth, Amber, Suzie, and Carol!
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