Going for it: our hike to Grinnell Glacier

September 12, 2013
St. Mary, Montana
St. Mary/East Glacier KOA



We knew we wanted to take our hiking to a new level while here in Glacier National Park. One of the hikes that immediately appealed to us in the Many Glacier area was going to the overlook of Grinnell Glacier, one of the fastest disappearing glaciers in the park.  (It is estimated that Grinnell will be gone by 2020. Once home to 150 glaciers, the park now has 25.) 



The good news is that by taking a boat from the Many Glacier Hotel, the Grinnell Glacier trail becomes a 7.6 round-trip hike vs. 11 miles. A typical hike for us is 3 miles, sometimes 5, and usually relatively flat so doing 7+ miles with a 1600 ft. elevation gain was going to be a challenge for us.



The only other potential challenge regarding this hike is the number of grizzly bear encounters that have taken place on this trail. I did not like reading that the famous Jack Hanna was “charged by a 150-pound grizzly bear on a stretch of the trail. Hanna, along with three other hikers, rounded a blind corner near Thunderbird Falls and encountered a grizzly with two yearling cubs. The bear was only 10 feet away before Hanna was able to repel the bear on a third burst of pepper spray.”  Okay, then. I grabbed some bells we had in the motorhome for the dogs to alert us they wanted to go potty and made sure I never lagged too far behind Vic who was carrying the bear spray.

We decided to take the earliest boat departure from the Many Glacier Hotel at 8:30 a.m., a half hour drive away. We thought we should leave the motorhome by 7:30 which meant getting up around 6:30 a.m.—early for us. The morning temperature read 41 degrees, although the high was expected to be 75.  This meant dressing in lots of layers; we even grabbed gloves and hats which we did wear on the early part of the trail. Other necessities were plenty of water, dried fruits and nuts, good hiking boots and socks, a hat, sunscreen, and a camera with an extra battery.  I also made some turkey and spinach wraps in case we felt like having lunch along the way. We also noticed that at least half of the other hikers on the trail had trekking poles to help with stability.  Not a bad idea—maybe we will spring for some in our future.

Chief Two Gun was the boat that took us on a fifteen minute ride across Swiftcurrent Lake, followed by a short (.2 mile) to Lake Josephine where you catch a second boat that takes you closer to the trailhead.  At least half of the folks on the boat were going to hike Grinnell Glacier and the rest most likely planning a much easier two-mile hike to Grinnell Lake.

A fellow hiker about to board the boat, peers through his binoculars looking for the often sighted bighorn sheep or bears on the mountainside near the dock.

Even from the much warmer setting inside of the boat, we were treated to gorgeous morning views.

Once you get off the first boat, there is a bit of an uphill climb on a .2 mile trail that connects the passage between the two lakes.

The captain of boat number two, The Morning Eagle, waits for the all the hikers from the first boat to board after crossing the trail between the two lakes.

Once you arrive to Lake Josephine, you have a good view of Salamander Glacier which was once a part of one big glacier connected to Grinnell. 



By 9:15 we were on the trail to Grinnell. The first quarter mile of the hike followed a few switchbacks that were pretty steep but our excitement carried us up this stretch without much effort. Then the trail opened up to a gradual climb along a rocky path for the next two hours. The views were so beautiful that stopping to catch your breath and take in the scene was mandatory. The view of Grinnell Lake itself with its turquoise waters was one of the most stunning aspects. I probably took twenty photos of the lake as every time we rounded another corner new vistas opened up.







About halfway up, the trail narrows to a stony path that crosses a few wet areas from trickling waterfalls with large alpine meadows on either side. I am not sure but this area might be called Thunderbird Falls (where Hanna encountered the grizzly). It was near this part of the trail that we saw eight bighorn sheep munching on plants down below us in the meadow.  They eventually walked right across the trail in front of us giving us quite a thrilling view of their magnificence.




The hike after this point started to get pretty warm. By now we had shed most of our layers and felt like the day was going to surpass the 75 degree forecast.  It was hard to tell how much further we had to go as we had been hiking around three hours and it seemed like we should be close. (I admit we stopped several times to enjoy the views—and catch our breath—but I thought we would hike about 2 mph uphill. At this rate, I think we only did one mph!) The good part is that we could finally see Grinnell and the sound of the waterfall below it was growing louder and louder.



Grinnell is the thin glacier that is the longest one in this photo below. To the right of Grinnell, is the left side of Salamander Glacier.



Once we got this close to the glacier, we met some fellow hikers on their return trip and made the mistake of asking how much further the trail went. The fellow grimaced and said, “About another mile with the last half mile being quite a climb.” I would like to report that I greeted this news with enthusiasm, but by now the heat of the day was getting to me. If you look up at the photo above, you can see where the trail winds around and then disappears into an uphill climb that takes you to the glacier and another small lake below it. 
We hiked on for about another twenty minutes and then I suggested we take a break before the final push to the overlook.  As we were resting, these guys came hurtling by us with their ski gear, intent to ski the glacier—something that sounded both dangerous and environmentally irresponsible to us.  I was hoping that maybe they just wanted to pose for a photo as though they were skiing the glacier.



The photo below shows the best view we had of the glacier because we did not do the last uphill climb that would take us right to it. We were both very warm and had some concerns about the strength needed in our ankles and knees to make the descent. This hike was an excellent teacher in terms of motivating us to do more conditioning so we don’t ever have to “almost make it” again. My Leo pride took a hit, but Vic was great about celebrating our accomplishment in getting on the court rather than sitting in the stands. (Excuse the mixed metaphors with the basketball analogy, but what do you expect from a former basketball coach?)



We never did stop on the way up to eat or take the quintessential dangling boots shot, so we found a lovely spot on the way down to rest and reflect on our little adventure. The best part of our conversation was how enthused we both are to become avid hikers. 

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Checking out water, wildlife, and hikes at Many Glacier

September 9-11, 2013
St. Mary, Montana
St, Mary East Glacier KOA



Glacier National Park covers almost 16,000 square miles! You can access the east side of Glacier from the west side one of two ways: driving fifty miles on the Going to the Sun Road at 25 mph or driving around the south side of the park to Browning and then up to St. Mary, about an hour and a half drive. Since we also wanted to explore the east side of the park, and didn't want to be driving that far every day, we moved to the closest campground we could find to the Many Glacier area, the St. Mary KOA, about a half hour drive from the Many Glacier Hotel.

Our first day here, we decided to check out the Hotel, get information about taking boat to shorten one of our intended hikes to Grinnell Glacier, and find a good spot for kayaking on Swiftcurrent Lake. We also wanted to get in a 3-4 mile hike to help strengthen our legs for the Grinnell hike.

Before we even made it to the hotel, we were sidetracked by wildlife sightings along Many Glacier Road.  Fortunately, there were some pull out areas as you are not supposed to stop and create wildlife sighting traffic jams. Our first exciting sighting were two black bears on a hillside. We were about 200 ft. away from these bears.



Less than half a mile later, we saw a few bighorn sheep but this was the only one I was able to capture in focus. The sheep were about 400 ft. away, but my 42X zoom made this photo possible:



When we turned the corner and saw the Many Glacier Hotel we were both blown away by its beauty and historic charm. This Swiss style chalet opened July 4, 1915 making it nearly 100 years old. When we walked in, it immediately felt like we were transported back to a simpler time. There was even a violinist playing to a casual grouping of hotel guests in the lobby which is filled with historic memorabilia and photographs. 



This shot better captures the Swiss feeling of the setting of Many Glacier Hotel. I have heard this side of the park referred to as Little Switzerland.



Adding to the historic charm are the fleet of 1930s restored tour buses that runs on propane. Visitors can take these buses (for $30 and up) to see and learn about the most notable areas of the park viewable from the road. We have never taken one of these tours, but they are a good way to see the park without having to worry about being distracted by the breathtaking views.



When I looked at the old posters in the hotel, for some reason, I burst into tears. (I am not making this up.) The violinist, the old musty smell of the lodge, and the mountain vistas gave me an inexplicable feeling of nostalgia--as though I had once taken the Great Northern Railway to visit this place. Who knows? Maybe a previous lifetime would explain my long-standing love affair with Montana. . . .



Before leaving the hotel, we purchased boat tickets for our hike to Grinnell Glacier which we would do on our last full day here. They have a special trip at 8:30 a.m. for those who want to shorten the Grinnell hike by four miles which sounded good to us as we are novice hikers who have not done the kind of conditioning we should for this seven mile round-trip hike with 1600 ft. elevation. (Thanks go out to fellow bloggers Pam and John, Lisa and Hans, and Gay and Joe for inspiring us with their hiking adventures.)

 From the hotel, we drove just a short way to a boat ramp just before you get to the Swift Current Motor Inn.  It looked like a perfect place to launch our kayaks the next day.  We then drove on to the Motor Inn where there are several trailheads.  Since it was already late in the day, we chose the 4.2 mile hike to Redrock Falls.

This mostly forested trail was relatively flat (285 ft. elevation) with a few openings leading to great views of two different lakes and the surrounding mountains. We were told that the lakes were a favorite hangout for moose, but we were not so lucky to see any.  This area is also known as a favorite place for bears as there were huckleberry and thimbleberries patches all along the trail. Vic carried the bear spray. We noticed most other hikers each carried his/her own spray, so I didn't let Vic get too far ahead of me on the trail. There were lots of stretches where it was just the two of us, so I also took to singing as an added protection.



At one point, I felt like something was following me on the trail and turned around to see this deer.  I was happy to see it was a friendly creature. 



The aspen trees were another lovely part of this hike. I imagine it won’t be too many weeks before the leaves turn their shimmering gold color.  Little touches of autumn are starting to show (like the color of this Notherrn Checkerspot butterfly--even though it always has these autumnal colors), but the 75 degree temps make it still feel like summer.



The first lake you come to on the Redrocks Fall trail, Fishercap Lake, seemed quite inviting for a swim or a picnic lunch on its sandy beach.


 
The second lake, Redrock Lake, has more dramatic views of the mountains and the sound of the falls in the distance adds to the enchantment.



Reaching the falls, it become easy to see how they got their name. What beautiful red rocks!





The next day we spent the morning doing earthly chores, then packed up our kayaking gear and headed to Swiftcurrent Lake. Other than the tour boat and one canoe, we were the only other boaters on the lake. The water was much more shallow than it looked from afar, so we paddled (vs. pedaled) a fair amount. The views were glorious, but we thought the lake extended further into the valley. I had also heard that there was a small water passage to Lake Josephine, but I tried going up it and it did not seem navigable. So, we just enjoyed paddling the whole perimeter of the lake happy to be in the presence of this awesome landscape. 






On the drive back to the campground, we saw another bear. No grizzlies, just a black bear, but the griz are definitely out there.


That night we opted to get a bite to eat at The Park Café in St. Mary. Aside from just good food, their claim to fame is their seventeen different kinds of pies baked each day. Vic is a pushover for pie, so it was easy to convince him we should go there. Even before ordering his dinner, he reserved one of their last slices of lemon meringue. It did not disappoint!  Our server said their lemon meringue was the best in the United State. Vic said his grandmother’s lemon meringue was the best, but since she passed away years ago, he had to agree with him--after tasting it, of course. Sadly. the Park Café is closing its doors forever this fall. Hopefully, the tribe that is taking over will be able to replicate their delicious cuisine. Gotta love their motto and logo: Pies for Strength.  Seems like a good omen for our challenging hike to follow.