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Adventures of the Spirit Eagle - Glacier NP - Day 7

  by Jim & Ginny Owen

Monday - August 3, Reynolds Creek to Red Eagle Lake (14.3 miles) -

Ginny: We had a mostly peaceful night except for the group of kids running up the trail shouting to scare off the bears. It was just getting dark and we were already asleep. This morning we woke up early to sunshine and blue skies. We left camp about 8:15 and started by passing several beautiful waterfalls, including St. Mary’s and Virginia Falls. There were several others along the way. St. Mary’s River is aqua, the Lake is beautiful shades of blue and green. Going-to-the-Sun Mountain was a focal point, with jagged peaks and a high glacier. We had occasional views of the lake, but not many. The trail is badly overgrown, with at least three years of tree growth in the trail. Knee high seedlings were in the middle of the trail in places, and sometimes bigger. It wouldn’t be passable by horses, that’s for sure. We stopped in an open spot around noon to dry off our gear and ourselves. Our feet are soaked from the wet ferns and weeds which are chest high. The trail is flat, but the going is very slow. Still - I’m happy. There is so much beauty.

Later: It was a long slog through the weeds, but the views across the lake were nice and the day ended with a nice swim in Red Eagle Lake followed by a long sit on the beach in the sun looking across the lake and up at the mountains we’ll be climbing the next few days. We can hear and barely see another waterfall across the water. Aside from the flies, all is peaceful. Our only wildlife today was a blue heron and a couple of rabbits, though we saw deer, elk and wolf tracks. Only saw one backpacker, going the other way, until we reached Red Eagle Creek. There are a few groups heading for the campground at the other end of the lake (there are two designated campgrounds here - we have the better one at the foot of the lake.) Two guys were here when we arrived. In the sunshine, this is a very nice place to hang out. The water is very green. St. Mary’s Lake has an interesting spit that looks like a barrier reef - just sand backed by a thin layer of bushes, maybe 25' wide. We heard traffic from the road across the lake occasionally, but mostly it was a peaceful day.

I’m a bit nervous about the next two days. This forest is really dense. Bushwhacking on overgrown trail is bad enough, off trail will be really rough. But it will be a bit like the early explorers found it. Then there’s the question of the "Norris Traverse" following the Divide itself. I’ve looked at the mountains the book called climbable. None is easy. Most involve a few thousand feet climb straight up from the valley floor, with a scree scramble at the top. Oh well, we’ll see what happens.

Jim: Got to Red Eagle Lake a little early which, again, gave us a chance to dry out the tent and our clothes and get cleaned up. We started the day with a couple of really nice waterfalls but after Virginia Falls the trail deteriorated rapidly. It was really overgrown most of the way along St Mary's Lake. There were only a couple places where the view was even worth stopping for. It was almost a relief to turn away from the lake and cross over the ridge toward Red Eagle Creek. We took a break on the bluff above the creek and watched 2 separate groups headed up the trail toward Red Eagle Lake. We caught the first group within a mile but never saw the second group again - they must have gone to the second campground.

There was just one couple at the campground when we got there - Matt and Amy live in Minnesota and this was his introduction to backpacking. She had gone to school in Bozeman and had done some backpacking before. Other groups came in later including 2 guys who were going to Oldman Lake and then back out by way of Red Eagle Lake. And then there was the family group from Oklahoma - mother, father and son. The son wanted to go to Triple Divide Pass (and maybe climb Triple Divide Peak) the next day, but I don't think they really understood what was involved - Triple Divide Pass is an 8.5 mile, 2600' climb from Red Eagle Lake. That would make a 17-mile day. Adding the peak would add at least 3 miles to the day - each way. I don't think they're really up to a 23 mile day.

We sat on the beach and read for a while before dinner. It was good to be still for a little while. We could see part of the valley that we'll be in tomorrow so I took some pictures of it and we spent some time with the map and compass. We're both really nervous about the next couple days, but if we're gonna do the CDT next year then we might as well get used to being on our own bushwhacking through the mountains like this because we'll be doing a lot of it. Dinner was early. Again we had our nightly deer visitation - also have a resident ground squirrel. But they don't seem to be bothering our gear.

Day 6 - Day 8

© Copyright 1998 Jim & Ginny Owen