Glacier NP – 8/19/13 – Grinnell Glacier – 11.7 Miles
Day 1 at Glacier National Park was great. Day 2 was greater. Day 3 was…well, let’s say there’s an upward trend.
By now we all agreed that Glacier NP was the best of all
national parks. I haven’t been to as
many places as my companions, but the Grand Tetons was my measuring stick (a
pretty impressive place) and by the second day Glacier had surpassed the grade.
Today's destination: Grinnell Glacier, named after George Bird Grinnell, an American conservationist and advocate for the creation of the park. Our hike started from the Swiftcurrent
Picnic Area in Many Glacier with a short level walk past Swiftcurrent Lake and
onto the North Shore Josephine Lake Trail.
When I took this photo I was focused on the dock and the beautiful water
and didn’t realize that Angel Wing and Mount Gould were right there in front of
me, a focal point for the day.
More prominent, Angel Wing with Mount Gould right behind it,
Lower Grinnell Lake below, Grinnell Waterfalls flowing into the lake. Salamander Glacier is the horizontal slash of
white in the upper right.
The group’s pace was a bit calmer and I settled into the
rhythm of the hike, making sure to stop and look around, ahead, behind, up and
down, at the surreal scenery. Behind me
Jeff deadpanned, “Man, this park sucks.”
Made me laugh out loud.
Mount Gould in the upper left, Angel Wing in the center,
zoomed in and massive (Jeff’s photo). I
was a little stunned when he said next, “I’m going to summit Angel Wing
today.”
The trail climbed above the tree line into alpine meadows and the world opened
up. I struggled for words to describe
what I was seeing. Then it struck me,
the perfect response to this wonderful place:
the Doxology! And I began to hum
and then to sing (quietly to myself) as I walked: “Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
praise Him all creatures here below, praise Him above ye heavenly hosts, praise
Father, Son and Holy Ghost.” I felt very
emotional, humbled, reverent, privileged and grateful to be in such a
magnificent place.
Not bear grass - pasque flowers gone to seed
Jeff taking photos
The long haul seemed to be over at a resting spot with
comfortable rock seating and pit latrines, but there was another .4 miles to the trail's end at Upper Grinnell Lake.
Our gang was all together as we made the last push up a surprisingly
arduous trail of steep steps. The
reward: our first look at the glaciers –
Salamander Glacier in the middle right, Gem Glacier on the upper left and a
small portion of Grinnell Glacier in the center.
Walking along the moraine to the edge of Grinnell Lake
(Jeff’s photo)
Grinnell Glacier and Upper Grinnell Lake, tiny people on the
left shore (Jeff’s photo)
Brandon at the water’s edge on the “stone beach”, which is
solid slick slanted rock the color of sand, and Grinnell Glacier
We settled on the “beach” to eat lunch, trying to chew with
our mouths closed but gaping at this wondrous ampitheater. Ken took a few minutes for some yoga
stretches.
Cathy, Ken and I practicing the resting pigeon pose – just another
day in Glacier National Park (!!)
After lunch the guys headed off to climb Angel Wing, shown
here from the side view looking much more manageable than the sheer cliff face. They left their daypacks with
Cathy and Dolores and me, which then presented us with the quandary of what we
were going to do for the hour or more they would be gone. We couldn’t leave the packs unattended
because of the hungry critters scavenging around. Dolores said she would stay with the packs
and chill while Cathy and I explored a bit, and then I would stand sentinel
later while she wandered around. So
Cathy and I walked in the direction the guys had taken to get a closer look at
Grinnell Glacier.
Cathy and I wandered across the slabs of rock toward the
glacier, knowing that somewhere the lake was draining to form Grinnell Creek
and the waterfalls that tumbled down to Lower Grinnell Lake and beyond. What we didn’t expect was how dramatic the
headwaters would be. The rushing water
was loud and our voices were muted but our wide-open eyes and O-shaped mouths
communicated well – WOW. But where did
the guys cross?
(Jeff’s photo) Ken
and Brandon crossing the headwaters on Grinnell Creek on their way to summit
Angel Wing
Salamander Glacier melt flowing into Salamander Falls flowing
into Upper Grinnell Lake flowing into Grinnell Creek – nature is always perfect.
Jeff zoomed in on Cathy and me at the headwaters of the
creek
We made our way back to Dolores. I settled in and Cathy took Dolores to show
her our discovery. For a time there was
no one else around, and I leaned back and contemplated life as I watched the water
flow down Salamander Falls. As I sat,
the sound of the waterfall amplified, became fuller, and I tried to imprint the
memory so it would last me a lifetime. Such
peace.
Cathy and Dolores returned but the guys were taking a long
time and we were beginning to regret agreeing to stay with their packs. A chill wind was picking up. Other hikers were passing through. We examined the rocks…so many variations and
striations…I should have taken a geology course. Once you start looking it’s hard to stop, as
each one is more interesting than the one before.
Dolores brought binoculars, and gazing along the ridgeline
above Salamander Glacier she said, “There are people up there!” Sure enough, in the low point of this photo
there were teeny tiny figures (Jeff’s photo).
Jeff told us later that this is one side of the feature known as the
Garden Wall and tomorrow we will be hiking on the other side of it to that same
notch where we will then look down on Grinnell Glacier. (Insert shiver of anticipation here.)
After two hours the guys appeared with tales of walking over snow
fields and seeing bighorn sheep and the spectacular view from the summit of Angel Wing. Our hike back was a bit
faster but still interesting. Even
though we were covering the same ground, everything seemed new. At one point a waterfall spills over the
trail, a bit unnerving as we crossed the narrow, slippery wet rock face. (Jeff's photo)
A dignified bighorn sheep
The view on the hike back:
Lower Grinnell Lake, Lake Josephine, Lake Sherburne
We didn’t retrace our steps entirely.
When we reached the edge of Lake Josephine,
we turned right and walked on boardwalk around the marshy southern edge to the eastern
shore.
At a picnic area we stopped to
watch this mama moose, very much at ease with an audience.
Maybe she’s a regular here.
The inevitable last mile was a walk through the forest near
the water’s edge.
At the end of the lake
we crossed back over on a bridge of land to the western shore, connecting back
with our original route, and turned right again towards Swiftcurrent Picnic
Area.
This was the view of Many Glacier
Hotel across Swiftcurrent Lake.
I swear
I heard the Munchkins of Oz singing, “You’re out of the woods, you’re out of
the dark, you’re out of the night,” as Dorothy and her friends first saw the
Emerald City!
Dinner each night was an event and tonight’s was as
over-the-top as the hike had been at Babb Bar Cattle Barn Supper Club, a steak
house with décor was big as the name, pillars of giant logs, saddles hung on
the walls, and the steaks as big as seat cushions. (Cathy and I split one and still couldn’t
finish it.) With giant beers we toasted
our great good fortune at being on such an awesome adventure. Surely if we brought our non-hiking friends
here they would be converted to the hiking life? And guess what: we get to do it again tomorrow.
“Because in the end, you won’t
remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb
that goddamn mountain.” ~Jack Kerouac
