Out of Our Rut: Glacier Part 3

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Continuing on with our stay on the east side of Glacier National Park. We have been doing a lot of hiking and we needed a slower day to recuperate. We didn’t want to be completely lazy though so Chris suggested that we head back to Beaver Pond Trail and bring my real camera gear in the hopes that the moose we saw two days earlier might be there. If we just go up the trail to the pond and then turn around, the hike would be 2.5 to 3 miles or so and only about 300 feet of elevation. My DSLR, long telephoto lens and tripod weighs in between 8 and 9 pounds. It’s not the type of gear I typically bring on this much of a hike, but we head out with our fingers crossed that we will find a moose again, then it will be worth the effort.

Pretty Flowers Along Beaver Pond Trail

It didn’t take long to go uphill to the pond. As we came around the last turn out of the wooded area, we see a bull moose! This time it is in the water but on the side of the pond closest to the trail. This puts the distance between us and the moose to be around 100 feet or so. He is definitely keeping a very close eye on us and occasionally it seems nervous with our presence. I setup the tripod and find a couple of vantage points to take some pictures. Every time I reposition, he stops his feeding to watch what we are up to. In the back of my mind, I would go thru what my retreat strategy would be if he decided to approach. Fortunately I didn’t need to determine how well it worked! We stayed there for 45 minutes and shot a some video of him wading and eating and watching that I edited into a short clip. This is now our sixth consecutive Glacier hike with big wildlife.

Subsequently, upon looking at the close-up pictures, I could see what appears to be fairly deep wounds on his upper hind quarters. They have the appearance of chunks of flesh removed by a wolf. We now suspect this guy was hanging out here in the pond trying to heal in the relative safety of the water. It turned out it was well worth the effort to bring the proper gear.

Note Wounds on Rear Hindquarters

The next day, we decide to head to the other popular hiking area that is south of St Mary. Two Medicine is about a 40 mile drive and it’s right down US-89. Being a weekday, the construction crews were out in force. We had one single lane stretch where we had to wait 20 minutes for the pilot car to come back to escort us thru. Being in the Jeep instead of the motorhome made a big difference going thru all the twists and turns of the road. There are several overlooks on the road back into Two Medicine and the views are pretty amazing as you look down on Lower Two Medicine Lake. Oh and if you’re curious as to the reason for the name of the area. The Blackfeet used to have two medicine lodges on either side of the creek that runs thru the area.

Beautiful View of Lower Two Medicine Lake

On the way in, we make a quick stop at Running Eagle Falls. There is a virtual geocache located at the falls plus we wanted to see the falls since they sounded nice. It’s a short hike to the falls along a little nature trail. Afterwards, we continue the drive past the campground to a parking area near most of the trailheads. It’s a very busy place but we find a spot to park and gear up for the hike. The plan is to hike a couple different trails that will take us around Two Medicine Lake. The weather forecast was for a relatively nice day. And it started out that way as the pictures near the beginning of the hike attest to.

Running Eagle Falls

Mountain Reflection on Two Medicine Lake

Swampy Area Along Trail but No Moose!

Our route would take us on the south side of the lake although not at all near the shoreline. Most of this section of the trail is quite wooded. But occasionally there would be an opening in the trees that would provide a nice view of some mountain and we noticed the clouds were rolling in. There was a long suspension bridge that was a little challenging to walk across as it sways side to side. As we approached the western end of the lake, we start to get some unexpected sprinkles. By the time we come out of the woods to do a section of the trail thru tall grasses, it was raining pretty hard and the waist high grass only got us that much wetter. From this section of the trail, it is possible to see the boat dock on this side of the lake. For those not into hiking, it is possible to take a boat ride from one end of the lake to the other. Pricing is about $14 per person for both out and back or about $7 for just the return ride. We can see a lot of people huddled under the small shelter near the boat dock.

Clouding Up

Chris Crosses Suspension Bridge

More Clouds

Hiking in the Rain

By the time we get to the trail that leads to the boat dock, the rain had stopped. We head to the dock to check it out and have our lunch. There were probably 40 people waiting for the boat back and I suspect the boat isn’t big enough to take them all. After lunch, the clouds start to clear out and we get glimpses of blue sky again. In order to continue back along the north side of the lake, you must continue west for about 3/4 mile before hitting the Loop Trail that will lead back east along the northern side. Of course, once we have come back this far, it’s only about a quarter mile more to go see Twin Falls. Since that is what the majority of the “boat people” do, we figure we are obligated to do so as well. It wasn’t very crowded at the falls since most of the people were at the dock. It’s called Twin Falls, because there are two falls. After checking them out we backtrack to the Loop Trail.

View from Boat Dock as Clouds Part

One Half of Twin Falls

And the Other Half

There are some great views along this trail. Rising Wolf Mountain towers above to the left of the trail while Two Medicine Lake glistens below us in what is now a sunny day again. At one point, I spot something halfway up the side of the mountain. We stop to see what it was and realize there is a mother black bear and her cub out looking for food. Fortunately they are about half a mile away, so there really isn’t any concern for our safety. With this sighting, we now have our streak of seeing big wildlife up to a count of seven.

Nice View of Mountain with Nearly Clear Skies

With the nicer weather again, we start to see a few other hikers out on the trail heading the opposite way. We had just passed two women hiking a couple minutes earlier when I came around a slight bend on the single track and caught a glimpse of something up ahead. It dropped down into a small gully on the trail so for a few seconds I couldn’t spot anything. My initial reaction though had been mountain lion and that’s not something we would want to come across. We came to a stop and waited a couple seconds before the thing I saw came up from the gully and was proceeding on the trail towards us. It was about 150 feet ahead of us but I could see it wasn’t big enough to be a mountain lion. Then I noticed the short tail and realized it was a bobcat.

Bobcat Spots Us!

It had clearly seen us but was continuing up the trail towards us in a non-menacing manner and kept getting closer. Initially we would just walk backwards in order to keep an eye on it but it was moving faster than we were so we were forced to turn around and walk quickly away, but each time I looked back, it was still approaching. I only managed to get one photo during the event since photography wasn’t the top thing on my mind. We moved back about 300 feet and it was still there. The only saving was it didn’t look like it was stalking us but I was pretty sure it was a bad idea to simply continue forward and let it pass us as if it were just some other hiker out for a walk. We were about 7.5 miles into a 10 mile hike and I realized turning around wasn’t something I wanted to do. So I decide to make my stand. I start walking towards it while raising my feet up high and slamming them to the ground and making all sorts of other noises. At least that seemed to get the cat’s attention. It stopped and looked at me with almost a look of bewilderment. I kept approaching and it must have decided it didn’t want anything to do with this lunatic. It went uphill off the trail and I stopped to watch where it was going. It was about 25 feet off the trail so we both made lots of noise and decided to walk past it. Not more than 2 minutes later, we run into a family of five. We inform them about what had just happened and suggested they keep the younger kids a little closer as they proceed.

The rest of the hike was completely normal - just like we like them. With some beautiful views across the lake. Two Medicine Lake comes to an end, but it feeds into the much smaller Pray Lake and there isn’t a bridge until you get to the end of that little lake. We head back thru the campground and get to our car to drop off our gear before heading into the small store located near the parking lot. There was a nice fireplace at one end of the building and your standard gift shop shirts, caps and trinkets with some food choices. We don’t stay long since we still have a decent drive back to camp. It was a much more entertaining hike than most of them. And we’re now 7 for 7 in seeing wildlife on our hikes.

Looking Across Two Medicine Lake

View from End of Pray Lake

Fireplace in Camp Store

Our Two Medicine Lake Hike with Arrow at Bobcat Sighting

The next day, our bodies tell us to take the day off. We have done 9 back to back hiking days getting in about 65 miles of trail. The fact there isn’t much else to do in the Babb Montana area works out well when we just want to chill.

Pretty Entrance Sign at Campground

Since we know the parking lot at Logan Pass fills up earlier than we are willing to set the alarm for, we decide to try out the park shuttle system after our day off. We get up reasonably early and drive to the Saint Mary visitor area and get in line with a dozen other people. Having not tried the shuttle here before, it wasn’t clear what the schedule was. Plus there was a sign at the shuttle stop mentioning that because of paving projects along Going-to-the-Sun Road, the shuttle may be delayed 30 minutes. We likely only needed to wait 15 minutes before we were boarded and on our way. It was nice getting to watch the views along the road without needing to worry about driving.

It was a chilly and very windy morning at the pass. Our first hike starts out from behind the visitor center. The Hidden Lake Trail is an extremely popular walk. The lower section starts out as boardwalk with lots of steps since it is a fairly good climb. It was apparent that many of the people heading up the trail were not acclimated to the 6600 plus feet elevation. The trail was open to the overlook which is about 1.4 miles each way and a climb of nearly 600 feet. The trail continues on beyond the overlook but was closed because of bear activity. With as many people heading up the trail, bears would not have been high on my list of concerns. It was a cloudy day but there were still lots of excellent views on the way up.

A Sea of Wildflowers

Looking Back Down Boardwalk at Hidden Lake Trail

The boardwalk probably goes about half the way to the overlook and then reverts to just a normal dirt path. It seemed like many people made it to that point and decided that was enough and would head back after a brief rest. As we continue up, sections of the trail are snow covered and a bit slippery. That made it challenging since it wasn’t clear exactly where the trail was but with so many people being out, it wasn’t too difficult to determine where to go. Even though it was chilly, there was a good amount of water flowing off the surrounding hills.

Heading Thru the Snow

Wind Sculpted Snow

Saint Mary Lake in between Mountains

Lots of Snow Melt Runoff

About a quarter mile from the overlook, we ran into a small group of mountain goats. Most of them were partway through the shedding of their winter coats and really looked like they needed groomed. There was only one baby in the group and it was exceptionally cute. They definitely were accustomed to people. Just about everyone wanted to get a selfie with them in the background and for the most part the goats were unfazed by the attention.

Cute Baby Mountain Goat

Poor Shearing Job?

The view from the overlook of Hidden Lake was wonderful. It would have been great to have continued on the trail to the edge of the lake but figured going past the bear warning signs might be ill advised. On the way back down, the goats were still along the trail and almost seemed to be following us down. I noticed a big flat rock just off the trail with a mountain in the background and thought it would be neat if a goat would pose on the rock. So I waited a couple minutes as one was heading in that direction and sure enough I got my shot. When we got back to the visitor center, we tried to find a spot out of the wind to have our lunch before our next hike.

Hidden Lake because It's Hiding

Bear Warning Signs with Hidden Lake Below

Following Us

Poses on Rock for Me

Unwilling to Get on Rock

Hidden Lake Hike (Snow Cover is Google Earth's Doing)

The Highline Trail is probably one of the more famous of the trails coming out of Logan Pass. But it isn’t for those with a fear of heights. So I was a bit surprised when Chris offered to give it a try. About a quarter mile from the trailhead, you come to the Garden Wall - a sheer cliff with a six foot wide ledge. Along this stretch of the trail, you are probably 100 feet or so above Going-to-the-Sun Road. There is a hand cable anchored into the wall next to the drop off so it gives people something to hold onto. The only problem is when you run into somebody coming the other direction. There is enough room to pass but it just seems dangerous. The thing to remember to do, even along this section of cliff, is to stop and look out over the valley below. The views are incredible.

Logan Pass Visitor Center

Continental Divide Sign

Starting on Highline Trail

Garden Wall Section - Notice Road Below and Green Hand Cable on Right

Stop Along Garden Wall and Look Out

More Views along Highline Trail

Not Very Steep Here

Once past the cliff section of the trail, the rest of the hike almost seems safe. I suppose that is all relative since the trail is still a ledge on the side of a hill that is between 45 and 60 degrees, but it isn’t the 80 to 90 degree drop at the Garden Wall! The views along this trail seem to just continue around every bend or turn. We weren’t 100 percent sure how far we planned on going before turning back but the scenery kept us going. We heard something overhead and realized somebody was flying a drone above us. We know flying a drone in a national park is a no-no and we wonder if they will get caught by a ranger. At one point, Chis spotted something moving just off the trail about 10 feet downhill. It was a bighorn sheep chowing down on some bushes. I stopped to get some pictures and it seemed to be fine with our presence. While we were standing there, we saw a small group of people heading our way with a dog. Another no-no in national parks and we were concerned about the dog and bighorn sheep in such close proximity to one another. Turns out the group was part of a search and rescue crew and the dog is part of the team. A hiker had come out this trail three days earlier having left his truck and dog in the parking lot at Logan Pass and hadn’t been seen since then. They showed us a picture of the guy and a description of what he was wearing and asked if we notice anything suspicious, get coordinates and tell a ranger.

Yes That's the Trail Going Across Hillside

Lots of Bear Grass in Bloom

Going-to-the-Sun Road Heading to West

Staredown with Bighorn Sheep

We continue along the trail now with something additional to look for. We decide to see if we can make it to Haystack Butte which would be about 3.5 miles from the trailhead. As we start the climb to get there, we are greeted by a larger section of snow. It was strange because there was a red tint to the snow possibly from some sort of pollen? We stop when we can see into the valley below. There are a few large rocks that were not snow covered and we sat down and had a snack. This seemed to be a popular stopping point. Some people continued on while others turned around at this point. We opt to turn around as well. Even though it’s the same trail, the views look so different on the return trip. There are wildflowers all over the place and see another bighorn sheep thirty feet off the trail watching us pass by.

Looking Back Where We Came From

Red Tinted Snow in Shadow of Haystack Butte

Looking at Valley Beyond Haystack Butte

Chris Starts Heading Back

Wildflowers Galore

When we got back to where we saw the first bighorn sheep, we came around a curve in the trail and there he was but now standing in the middle of the trail grazing on the grasses. We were only fifteen feet or so from it and were unsure what we should do. It started to walk the trail towards us which got us to back up several feet. Fortunately it only approached a bit closer before heading off the trail allowing us to pass. When we got back to the Garden Wall, the hand cable is on the “wrong” side for the direction we are heading. Fortunately there weren’t many other hikers heading out so Chris was able to stay safe on the inside edge of the trail. This will go down as one of the best hikes we have ever done and now makes us 8 for 8 in seeing big wildlife on our hikes in Glacier.