Glacier NP – 8/24/13 – Triple Divide Pass – 14.4 Miles
Our last day in Glacier National Park. We’ve been so incredibly lucky with the
weather and today even the smoky haze had dissipated. For our last hurrah we hiked up to gaze upon
Triple Divide Peak, one of the few places on earth from which waters flow to
three different oceans. Rain that falls
on the western side of the peak makes its way to the Pacific Ocean. Rainfall on the southeastern slope eventually
drains to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. And water flowing down the northeastern slope
becomes part of the Arctic Ocean. Worth
taking a walk to see that, eh?
First we had to pack up and wave goodbye to good old St.
Mary Campground, an outstanding base for the eastern side of the Park, not to
mention the life-restoring hot showers.
Will I ever be back there again? I
think so. The more important question
is: how soon?
Yesterday we hiked on Pitamakan Pass Trail starting in the
Two Medicine area and today we started from the opposite end of the same trail,
located at Cut Bank. [Point of
confusion: Some hiking guides call this
Cut Bank Creek Trail, but the NatGeo map and, more importantly, the trail sign
itself calls this Pitamakan Pass Trail.
Keeps us on our toes.]
Marta camped in Cut Bank, a seasonal, first-come-first-served
better-bring-your-own-water campground and was waiting for us early in the
morning. And away we go on our last adventure
in this wonderful place (Jeff’s photo).
Tranquil North Fork of Cut Bank Creek
We walked through forests of tall lodgepole pine and Douglas
fir with a thick undergrowth of thimbleberry foliage just beginning to turn
brown. Elevation gain was imperceptible
as we all talked and the miles quickly churned out under our feet. Atlantic Creek joins the North Fork at a
trail junction where we turned right to continue on Triple Divide Trail
(turning left goes to Medicine Grizzly Lake).
Soon we reached Atlantic Creek Campground, where we paused for a snack,
and excellent signage kept us from wandering around the many side trails to
campsites. Less than a mile more and the
trail went….UP. No switchbacks, no
apologies, just a good steady climb.
Razoredge Mountain on the left. You can see a trace of a waterfall flowing
down. Triple Divide is the pointy peak on
the middle right.
Looking down at Medicine Grizzly Lake. Can you see the lake in the hanging cirque,
in the upper left third of the photo? It’s
just a bowl of water sitting there, unnamed.
Why wouldn’t it have a name? Are
there so many lakes that they just ran out of names? I think we should call it Hanging Bear Lake.
On and on we climbed, to my delight, walking on the narrow
edge. Marta kept up an interesting running
conversation so I didn’t have to talk much, just concentrated on my footing,
the view, and that steady breathing and trying to be ultra-attentive to all my
senses on this last day.
At the foot of Triple Divide Peak (Jeff’s photo)
At Triple Divide Pass, the base of the peak, we rested, ate,
and were entertained by a young marmot. Jeff
suspended all peak-bagging on this last day, proving that he is not obsessed
(much). Perhaps he thinks he will return
someday, too.
Marmots here are like squirrels in a county park back home
Norris Mountain in shadow on the left, Split Mountain on the right
Me barely visible on a rock outcropping going up the side of
Mount James. I think this is one of the
peaks Jeff passed on.
Brandon contemplating Split Mountain. I vote for this for the cover of an REI
catalog.
The hike back was easy, contemplative, bittersweet. Seldom do we get to know the last time we’ll
be in a certain place. An eagle on our first hike, icebergs, bighorn sheep, tunnels, and not one single bear. Truly a "trip of a lifetime." To make this day
especially memorable, I found a parking violation warning on our rental car’s
windshield (along with about 10 other cars) where we had parked with one tire “on
the vegetation.” Ahh, the beginning of
re-entry into civilization. We drove to
Great Falls, slept in a hotel, ate one more great meal, and flew back
home.
So far all of my big hiking vacations have been with
like-minded friends, but this time I really missed having Jim along. Many times I thought of telling him about
certain aspects of our adventures, and I tried, but I couldn’t adequately
describe to him the scope of what we experienced. I know that my photos only begin to capture
the vastness, the air, the sunshine and haze, the sound of the waterfalls. We took the kids to Yosemite when they were
young, so he understands the limitation of my words. One thing I’ve learned, though, is that
camping out and eating well is the way to go so…Jim and I have made reservations for Yellowstone National Park later this year…
“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” ~Dan Wilson, Semisonic
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