Trails

Hiking

Join ALDHA-West!

Mail Bag

Adventures of the Spirit Eagle - Glacier NP - Day 12

  by Jim & Ginny Owen

Saturday - August 8, Upper Two Medicine Lake to East Glacier Park (15.2 miles) -

Ginny: I’m clean! Halleluiah! Sitting in our room at the Whistling Swan, it is small, but the shower was hot and strong, so all is well. Today was a good day - but very hot and dry. We left camp at about 8:30 (can’t seem to do those early starts anymore) and made the five miles to the campground by about 10:15. We passed one couple who said, "There’s a cougar here." leaving unclear whether they meant they had just seen it, or if it was just generally known to be in the vicinity. We visited with the ranger at the ranger station for a few minutes (not one of the ones we met 12 days ago) then went on to the camp store for their famous "World’s best huckleberry milkshake." They were good, really thick, but very expensive. I thought Mark’s were as good. We sat looking out over the lake at a scattering of boats and fishermen. Jim had a hamburger while I ate a bagel - 10:30 was just too early for me to be ready for lunch. I felt very grungy compared to all the nice neat tourists. Only 7 days since my last shower - but a lot of miles. Then we hiked up the road to begin the climb to Scenic Point. It is a different Montana. That section of the trail is really in the rain shadow - utterly dry. We passed a lot of dead standing trees, ghostly white on the hillside, then a scattering of bristlecone pine as we switchbacked up the mountain. We passed a waterfall that was okay, but nothing compared to the dozens of others’ we’d seen. We’ve generally seen between three and six waterfalls a day - many of them big ones. The valley we climbed above was really dry, the top of the ridge even more so. There were a few scrubby alpine plants, and one lone marmot that tried to follow us home after I’d sweet talked him a few minutes. I was waiting for Jim and scared this poor marmot who was trying to pass through the rock at his back. I couldn’t leave him terrified, so I talked to him for a minute until Jim caught up. Then as we went on up the trail, I turned around to say something to Jim and noticed this funny little shape trotting up the trail behind us. The view to the east was of grassy plains, to the west the red and purple mountains of Glacier. We saw Dawson Pass where we were yesterday, and Two Medicine and Lower Two Medicine Lakes at our feet. It was a hazy day, so not good for pictures, but still it was nice. The descent was as steep as the climb, at least for a while. Eventually the vegetation changed to scrubby pines and willows, then grassy meadows, then lodgepole and aspen forest. We met a group of day hikers from the East Glacier Lodge, filtering water, and three people on horseback. One girl said, "You’ve been out for 11 days! You must be hungry. Do you want some cheese?" We turned her down. Yesterday we were offered a cheese quesadilla at dinner from a couple that was just there overnight. That we did accept - delicious! Even out here, there is trail magic.

We were out in full sun for most of the day and ended up on the edge of dehydration. Our water lasted, but just barely. The first thing we did in town was stop at the store to buy coke, orange juice, two beers and bananas. We finally saw our first and only CDT trail marker at the park boundary. Nowhere else has there been the slightest indication that the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail runs through Glacier National Park. There have been occasional metal blazes on trees, and some yellow markers that I thought were blazes but that turn out to be bear tree markers. They put some strips of barbed wire along certain trees along the trail that are good scratching trees. From time to time they pick up the strands of hair and do DNA tests on them. The yellow squares mark the test trees. Anyhow, there is no blazing like I’ve gotten used to in the east, but there also isn’t much need for it, at least this time of year. The trails are pretty obvious - except in certain overgrown meadows, and blazes aren’t much help there. In the snow it may not be quite as obvious. We saw lots of horse damage on the stretch between the park and town - really deep ruts. Evidently the ground really holds water - and the horses pass by every day. It was like trying to walk railroad tracks, hopping from rut to rut. In the park there are signs at the junctions, outside we had to rely on the guidebook. ("Turn right at the meadow with the lone aspen" - well, there are four small aspens there now, but we got the picture.) The guidebook directions were good despite the lack of blazes. They only seem to mark turns, and not always then.

I’m happy that we did what we set out to do out here, hike from one end of the park to the other, but I’m very sorry to see it end. Despite the aches and pains and smelly clothes, I am happy out here. I love the colors and textures of the rocks and mountains, the constant variety of the woods and wildflowers (mostly lupine, fleabane and paintbrush today), the constant search for wildlife or wild berries (we ate some really good huckleberries and thimbleberries along the way), the peace and beauty of sitting by a lake or pond watching the sparkles and the fish jumping, feeling cool breezes on a sun burned body, the aching aliveness of bathing in a cold lake, walking easily and lightly on smooth trail - so much happiness.

Jim: Another long - and in this case, dry - day. We had an easy 5 miles into Two Medicine where we dumped the garbage, left the broken, bear-chewed water filter with the ranger, then went over to get Coke, huckleberry milkshakes and a cheeseburger for me and a bagel for Ginny. That was a fast $15 - but worth it.

Then we got water and started the climb to Scenic Point - another 2200' climb along another goat track, although this one was a little wider than the Pitamakan-Dawson Pass route. This was also the area where Mark's friend died and was eaten by the bears. But there were no bears here today (at least none that we saw) --- just lots of tourists. It's only 3 miles to Scenic Point - but it's a tough 3 miles - all uphill. There were 2 groups up there when we got there - one headed back toward Two Medicine and the other headed toward East Glacier. We kept on toward East Glacier and caught the one group at the first stream crossing where they were pumping water. This was a very dry section - and a very dry day. I hadn't quite filled all the water bottles at Two Medicine and there came a time when I wished I hadn't neglected that little detail. We saw the only CDT marker of the entire hike - on the signpost as we left the Park. The rest of the trail was basically a gentle downhill, which contrasted greatly with the first very steep 3 miles after Scenic Point. The only problem was that about a mile of that was walking on the ruts made by the horses during the wet season - it was like walking on railroad ties with deep mud and horse piss in between (incentive to NOT miss one of those "railroad ties"). Yeah - I got pictures of that. Hope they show what I wanted them to.

Finally got to East Glacier, stopped to say hello to Mark, stopped to get some Coke, beer, and orange juice and headed for the motel to unpack, get a shower and some clean clothes and re-hydrate. Then to Serrano's for dinner and early to bed.

Day 11 - Day 13

© Copyright 1998 Jim & Ginny Owen