Hiking in a Hail Storm

OK, the hail was only in the beginning. Too bad though, because the rest of the hike was in the rain. By the time we were done we were both soaked. Being the fair weather hikers we are, we have rain jackets and really nothing else to protect us. Considering it was 44 degrees when we started (43 when we finished), my biggest concern was freezing to death.

We didn't see any bears once again, but here's a look at what bear scat looks like when pummeled by rain. They eat a lot of berries!

When we got to the lake at the end of the trail, it really started to pour so we were there all of three minutes.

There was a cool suspension bridge along the trail.

Apparently it was not very strong.  Be sure to blow up the pic and read the sign on the right.

Once we got back to the truck the heater felt really good.

So after two weeks in the park, we've headed south. We'll spend the night outside of Helena, and head to Jeff and Kelly's house tomorrow. Jeff is Sue's nephew and they live just outside of Yellowstone, which is where he works.

I just talked to Kelly and she said we could stay as long as we want. Which is cool, since our next stop is Reno for Dad's birthday on the 28th. That gives us plenty of time to explore the area.

Next stop, Gardiner MT.

ds

Duck Lake, Montana

Home again, home again. At least back to our humble abode on wheels. Canada is behind us, and what great memories.

Before we left Waterton we stopped for a short hike around Red Rock Cyn. Unfortunately a few of the trails were closed for construction. We had fun though.

I was able to build a rather precarious cairn, but a big gust of wind came and knocked it over. After the pic fortunately.

Tonight we stay 25 minutes away from Many Glacier which is in Glacier park. There is a campground there but it's always full. Tomorrow we go hiking; not sure where yet. It's beautiful no matter where we go.

Scott was asking about electrical power in Apgar. We were parked for 10 nights without having any hookups, so we had to use only the water, sewer, and power we carry with us. We tend to be pretty conserving.

For power we use big 6 volt golf cart batteries. Much better than deep cycle rv batteries. Also, we have a solar panel for recharging. Plus, I have two more 6v batteries in the bed of the truck which I can use for backup as needed. Those charge whenever the truck is running (going to the trailhead, brewpub, etc.) We did use them, as the clouds were pretty thick the whole stay, keeping the solar from functioning well.

As for water, we have a 50 gal. fresh water tank plus an extra 6 gals. in the water heater tank. I'm proud to say we made it that entire time and only ran out of water the morning we left. I'm throwing down the gauntlet and challenging all trailer campers to match that!! We're talking showers, dish washing, toilet, bath sink- UNBELIEVABLE. C'mon Dori, show us what you got.

ds

Hiking around Waterton

We went for a couple of short hikes today. The first was called Bear Hump Trail. It was .75 miles and 700' of climbing.That's an average grade of 20%. I had to stop a couple of times to catch my breath. Along the way we saw some wildlife up close.

OK, the Bighorn was actually on the road, but the deer was on the trail.

The view from the top was outstanding though.

The way down was as tough as the way up.

After that we went to Bertha Falls, and again the views were spectacular.

 The idea of paying the Canadian government $5/bottle to bring my wine into their country really irks me. Particularly since we still have a couple of cases left. So instead of doing that we left our trailer in Montana and drove the truck up into the park. I just decided we could treat ourselves to a little luxury and stay in a motel for two nights. Also, we have to eat out every meal, so Susie gets a little vacation from feeding me. Peggy would be very proud of this decision.

We do have a nice view from our deck.

 I know what you're thinking Doug, and yes, I would've saved money just paying the tax and staying in the trailer, but sometimes I just have to spend money to be happy. I'm so shallow.

Tomorrow we go to Red Rock Cyn. on the way back to the states. It's supposed to be spectacular. I'll let you know.

ds

Waterton Lakes National Park, Waterton, Canada Labour Day (misspelled in honor of Canada)

We left West Glacier and headed north today. It was quite a change in scenery on the way here. We drove through Browning Mt., which is in the Blackfeet Indian Nation, to get here. While in that neck of the woods, there were no woods! It was all grassland and rolling hills.

Remember when we were kids and there was no speed limit in Montana? Well, they've changed. Fortunately they still have a high limit, but you have to wonder about the wisdom of that sometimes. Here we are, driving on a two lane state highway, with signs indicating free range cattle, which we noticed when we saw herds of cows ON THE HIGHWAY. This is the area they consider safe to drive 70 mph! Have you ever driven into a cow at 70 mph? I hope not. I've been driving a much more sane 62. I figure that gives me another 7 or 8 feet of stopping distance. JSL would be very proud of me.

We did see a herd of bison today; I'm not kidding when I say there were at least 50 of them. Unfortunately, I was driving at my sane speed and didn't get a pic to share.

Waterton is a beautiful area surrounded by majestic mountains and shored by the Waterton Lake.

The weather is not perfect, but we can't complain seeing as how we are in paradise. We are planning to hike to Crypt Lake tomorrow. National Geographic determined it to be one of the top ten most thrilling hikes in the world. How could we miss this?

This is how-

Don't panic Kristen, we'll find something to do.

I'll let you know.

ds

Whitefish, Mt. Sunday 9/4

What a lovely little town! Lots of shops and restaurants along the main drag, people everywhere, even a microbrew. Sadly, we didn’t go into the brewpub, but we had an excellent lunch at the Buffalo Café. Lots of artwork on display. I was surprised there weren’t more hats. Still, I give the town a thumbs up and highly recommend it to anyone when in the area.

 Speaking of hats, isn't Montana cowboy country? There are enough cattle around here to give Texas a run for their money. And yet, when you go into a public restroom here, none of them have the paper cowboy hats for the toilet seats. Everyone is just expected to plop it down there and share your germs. Eww!

We ended up going to town because the pass was extremely cloudy and cold. Plus we were out of chocolate. Janet knows where we’re coming from. We were going to go on another hike but it was too darn cold.

It was awesome seeing all the mountains partially hidden under the clouds though.

Tomorrow we leave West Glacier and head to Canada. Maybe have a beer with Dale in Waterton Park, which is the other half of the Glacier Waterton International Peace Park. (And you thought Dale had gone back to work. I believe this is another sabattical.) Gordon mentioned it was quite beautiful, so we are northward bound.

See you in Canada-

ds 

Does a Hiker Pee in the Woods?

If she’s hiking in the woods she will.

Today is Saturday, Sept. 3. We went for a beautiful hike to Avalanche Lake, walking beside the creek for a portion of the way. This is probably my favorite hike yet here in the park. The green trees and moss, the red and green rocks, the gorgeous creek and waterfalls.

We were surrounded by Western Cedar, Hemlock, and Cottonwood trees. Too bad Gary’s not here; he could tell us what kind of rocks we saw. They are very vivid colors.

The lake itself was rather low, as the glacier that feeds it is almost gone.

In 1850 there were 150 active glaciers in the area that was to become the park; today there are 25. By the time I breathe my last breath, they will be gone.

What does it take to be an active glacier? Three things:

1)      The ice pack must be at least 100’ thick.

2)      The surface area must be at least 25 acres.

3)      It must move under it’s own power.

Active glaciers are always moving, slowly grinding away at the rock surface beneath it. If it’s not moving it’s called an ice field. This is Jackson Glacier. You can see the rock field below the glacier. That area was once covered by ice.

Tomorrow the forecast is calling for snow at Logan Pass. We’ll drive up there one more time (early, before the crowds arrive) and hopefully get some awesome views. The smoke has cleared considerably, but the cloud cover is obscuring the mountains right now. Consequently, the scenery is different, but still beautiful.

ds  

Where does the Rain come from?

I wrote this yesterday, on Thursday-

We thought we’d do something different and go kayaking today, so I talked to the rental guy- boy was he surly. I wanted to really go for it and asked for a half day rental but he insisted I wouldn’t be out that long. He was certain I would be back in an hour, so we rented it by the hour instead.

Well, he’s giving us his “talk” prior to departure and one of his rules was, you have to go the left, but you couldn’t go past the “point”. We went to the “point” and back, which was really our only option. Took our time about it too. Guess what? We were back in an hour.  Well, it was short, but very calming and fun.

It rained again last night; I think that’s three nights in a row. It’s never much, nowhere near enough to scrub the air clean. Big fat drops though- splat splat splat on the trailer roof. It usually wakes me up with the noise of such big drops.

So I’m lying in bed and I start wondering; when all the raindrops are hanging around in the cloud, how do they decide who’s gonna let go? Do they all sit around the table playing poker and whoever loses that hand has to jump? Or maybe they’re sitting around the dinner table and grandpa gets up and announces it’s his time to go. “Well, I’ve had a good run, but I must be leaving now.” I can hear little Jimmy begging with him, “Please, don’t go!” “Now Jimmy, I’m old and fat and really must rain down tonight. Someone has to feed the thirsty pine trees you know. I’ll be evaporating out from the needles and back here before you know it.”

I may never know.

We went to the Mcdonald Lake Lodge yesterday for lunch. What a beautiful building! The Huckleberry pie was delicious.

This was posted in one of the local flyers-

If you’re being chased by a bear, what should you do?       Trip your friend!

Before the lunch at the lodge, we went for a nice hike to Fish Lake. It was 5.5 miles round trip, 1000’ of elevation gain. All the climbing was in the first 45 minutes and we were breathing pretty heavily when we finally got to some level ground. On the way back out we passed several groups going up that same climb we were now going down and they were all asking "How much further"!?

Now it's Friday, the 2nd. 

It rained good last night! I can't put our canopy out because a tree is in the way, so everything got pretty wet. Supposedly, it will be raining throughout the weekend. This should really clear the air, with an added bonus of hopefully putting out some fires.

I hope to be posting some much clearer pictures soon. It looks like we'll be in the park another week, although some of that time will be spent in the Canadian side, called Waterton.

More later-

ds