Saturday, July 18 Bad News From Home

It was an early a.m. at the Parker tent city.





I got up at 6:10 and there were lots of people up and about already. Deb was an angel and had a coffeepot on a timer so there was hot coffee when we woke up!

It was time to say some goodbyes – the Stewarts and Johnson and others were headed back to MN, Heather to Oregon and many of us back to the park.  Bill, Kathy, Jason, Dan, Bruce and I reconvened at Montana Coffee Traders in Columbia Falls for a delicious breakfast.  I'd heard great things about this place but had never been there.  The coffee was indeed fabulous and the food was pretty good too.  Then it was time to head to West Glacier to meet up with the people from The Glacier Fund, who were coordinating the tree planting.



We met at park headquarters (where I'd never been), divided into fewer cars and headed up to the Loop, a spot on Going To The Sun Road.  The Loop trail leads to Granite Park Chalet.  That is where we were going to be planting trees.

The trees we were planting were purchased by many of us in memory of Miranda, a friend who tragically lost her battle with leukemia at the young age of 27.  Jason, her husband, was with us and had coordinated this so some of the trees could be planted when many of us were in the park.

Kathy, Rebecca and I stopped at the bathrooms before heading up and were stopped by a volunteer who wanted to ask us some questions about the park and our use of the shuttle system, etc.  One question was "are you here with friends or family?".  We, of course, answered "friends who are LIKE family".

We got shovels, pails and trees

and headed the short distance up the Loop trail to our planting site.  They had chosen this spot not knowing that Miranda's favorite mountain in the park was Heaven's Peak, a prominent landmark in this section of the park.  You can see it looming above the area where the trees were planted (and behind me in the above photo).

I had a tree to plant so I dug the hole, planted the tree

and filled it in and then we got some sticks and mulch to put around the top.  Someone took the pails to the stream  for water.

We then tied our orange "Miranda ribbons" on some of the trees.  You may have noticed the orange ribbon on some of the pictures of my backpack.  When I was looking for a new daypack before my Arizona trip last winter, Jason sent me Miranda's new pack that she had never been able to use.  I wanted to have something on it to honor and remember her and he suggested something orange, she had always wished there was more recognition of leukemia.  So just like there is everything "pink" for breast cancer, orange is the color for leukemia.  It seemed fitting to tie this gently on some of the trees, both in her honor and also so we can be sure to find them again.

Jason and his tree:

We took more pictures and then headed down the trail, and I intend to go back next week to water my tree again.  This was a very emotional experience for me, more-so than I had expected.  I kept thinking about how she should be here with all of us having a great time in this place that she loved.  I hope the tree I planted in her memory will thrive and grow and be there for many, many years to come.  I will be visiting it on every trip I take to the park.

Kathy, Bill, Val and John then went to hike Apgar Lookout.  I've hiked it before and needed to do laundry before heading to the north fork.  So I went to the laundromat in West Glacier.  I met a gypsy...a man from Germany who introduced himself as "a gypsy"...he's been traveling around the US in his VW van (brought from Germany) for a few years.  He was filling up his many, many water jugs while washing his clothes.  Nice guy...HE should have a blog.  I then met the hiking group at the trailhead and Bill and I were going to head up to the North Fork.  I got a call from home...Marc and the kids had come home to find Hayden unresponsive in her kennel.  I gave them instructions for the emergency vet and, hoping everything would be ok, we headed up the North Fork Road.  We stopped a few times to call and get updates.  At the Polebridge Mercantile I called again and by then they were at the emergency clinic.  After talking to them and to Marc, I knew it was extremely serious and I needed to be in phone range, which the North Fork isn't (not where we were headed).  So we decided to head back to West Glacier.  We picked up pizza to go on the way.  We stayed at Glacier Campground...a very nice, wooded campground...plenty of room for two tents.  I'd camp there again, definitely.

Friday, July 17 - Huckleberry Lookout Hike and Party at the Parker House

A Beautiful Morning at Lake McDonald

It was an EARLY morning after a LATE night!  I had finally gone to bed at about 11:30 because I was exhausted. Jason was going to wait up for Bruce and Kathy whose flight was due in around 11:30. I slept for a half hour or so and then woke up and finally went out to check on things. Jason had heard from them that they had landed but hadn't seen them. I think I finally heard them arrive around 1:15 a.m. and there was a lot of talking and laughing in the parking lot. I finally stumbled out there and was surprised to see Melody, who had gotten a campsite at Apgar and had then gone to meet Kathy and Bruce at the airport.  I stumbled back to bed trying in vain to sleep and I think they all finally came in around 2.  I think I eventually went to sleep around 3 and was awake by 5:30 trying to quietly get ready.  We were all up and out of the room around 7 or so.  We were standing in front of the room around 7 and out of the corner of my eye I saw a tall man walk up behind me and heard "hi Tara" and it was Steve (SJ)!!!  I gave him a big, very surprised hug!  It turns out he had been wandering around Apgar the night before too, and had been standing by my car when I locked it and it beeped.  He inspected it but didn't look closely at ALL the stickers and decided it couldn't be mine.  DARN!  It would have been great to hang out with him and have him join my webcam photos.
Melody came with and the 6 of us had breakfast at Eddie's.  I don't think I've ever laughed so much before 8:00 in the morning...it definitely makes a GREAT start to the day!

Me, Kathy, Jason, Bruce, SteveHere are Bruce's gifts for Kathy (long story):

We arrived at the Huckleberry Mountain Lookout trailhead around 8:30 so we were way behind the Glacier Fund group that started at 8 (accompanied by our friends Jeremy and Dave who were probably wondering where Kathy was).  I led the way up the trail and was later accused by someone who shall remain nameless but wears tiaras at mountain passes of being "speedy gonzalez".  That's a first for me...my workouts have apparently paid off!  We made great time and caught up to them within an hour.  The other group included some people from the Glacier Fund as well as a former Chief Park Naturalist.  It was fun to hike with them and hear some different things.  We spotted a boreal toad and Jeremy climbed through the brush to catch it.



They are huge!!!!!!!!!!!  I never thought I'd see a big toad like that in Glacier.



 I never actually thought about it, but HAD I thought about it, I wouldn't have expected it :).   That was the extent of our wildlife sightings for a while.

I had been very excited for this hike and had been wanting to hike this particular trail for many years.   This is because the author of one of my all-time favorite books, Grizzly Years, worked for several years at this lookout and he writes about it in the book.  The author is Doug Peacock.  This is probably a good time to talk about my evolution from "lives in extreme fear of grizzlies" to "loves to watch grizzlies!".    Marc and I first visited Glacier in the fall of 1993 on a belated honeymoon.  We arrived on September 10th to be met with the question:"You've heard about our winter storm warning right?" Ummmm...no, we had not!   We did get quite a bit of snow but anyway, I was so terrified of bears that I was convinced they were lying in wait outside my tent to eat me if I left to use the bathroom.  So, I brought a coffee can along (sorry if this is TMI) and refused to leave when it was dark.  Of course, I now realize that a tent is no barrier that is going to withstand a grizzly, but at the time, I thought that was logical thinking.  I was so scared of them.  Then, late one afternoon, we had hiked out towards Bullhead Lake somewhere along the Swiftcurrent Pass trail.  Some people were stopped with binoculars and let us take a look.  They were watching a grizzly that was minding his own business, not interested in the people on the trail...just eating and doing his thing.  He was beautiful and magnificent and it was a life-changing experience for me...I became extremely intrigued by this powerful, beautiful animal.  I saw a book in one of the park gift shops that had some interesting photos of grizzlies but didn't buy it.  But after I got back to Minnesota I couldn't stop thinking about grizzlies and that book. I called the park and eventually talked to someone in one of the stores and tried to describe the book and someone finally figured out I was talking about Peacock's Grizzly Years.   I promptly ordered it from Amazon and read it very quickly when it arrived.  I now read it again every 2 years or so.  I learned a great deal about grizzlies from this book and it was the catalyst that inspired me to search further for information and drove my desire to go back to Glacier as soon as possible.    It affected my life in other ways but I won't go into that now.

So for me, this Huckleberry Lookout hike was a pilgrimage of sorts and I was very anxious to get to the top!  Never mind the 3400 feet of altitude gain in 6 miles...I didn't care, I was motivated and hiking with fun friends.

We made it to the lookout around noon, I think. It is a beautiful, unique ridge walk along the top of the mountain to the lookout setting and it is BEAUTIFUL up there!

The View From the Lookout Down the Trail

You can see the Canadian Rockies, the mountains of NW Glacier, and mountains in every direction. 

Looking East Into the Center of Glacier

One of the men in the Glacier Fund group went up to the lookout and introduced himself to Matthew, the "keeper of the lookout" who then came out and talked to us about what he does there.  He then invited us up into the building to look around.  It is fascinating!

He explained the wheel and the process for using it and sight lines to pinpoint the location of smoke - it's pretty complicated.

Kathy Trying It Out


What  a job Matthew has!  I am very envious.

We took some group photos (I somehow did not get one with Matthew in it...someone please send me one!) and then started back down.

Hiking With Chat Page Friends and Glacier Fund Friends at Huckleberry Lookout

I hiked with SJ and Bruce much of the way down. It was HOT...not a lot of shade on that trail.  We startled a deer at one point who kept going ahead of us on the trail and at one point, she just laid down right on the trail.  She was limping a little so had some kind of leg problem but I couldn't see any obvious injury.  Matthew had warned us that  a sow black bear with cubs was hanging around the trailhead but we never saw her.

We finished the hike, headed to the KOA to take showers and then some of us accidentally met up at the Super1 in Columbia Falls getting provisions to bring to the Parker Party. I then got sidetracked by the Sportsman store in Kalispell...I'd been looking for somewhere to resupply on Cliff Bloks and Luna Bars before my backpack trip.

The Parker party was very fun just like last year.  It was great to see people like Kristin and Larry and Rebecca and others.  Chuck from the Center For Wildlife Information/Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee was there with several bear mounts including this beautiful grizzly.

 I'm not sure how she died, I need to contact him and ask.  He also gave Counter Assault (the premier "bear spray") demonstrations.  That was great, I've never used or tested mine and it helps to see how to actually use it.

Around 9:00 one of Dave's neighbors offered to take me on a 4 wheeler up to Ashleigh Lake.  I know there is a wolf pack up there somewhere so I said yes.  Another neighbor took my friend Bill and a few others followed us up as well.  The route is through forest roads/tracks and the view of the lake is very pretty.

Ashleigh Lake, West of Kalispell

Looking For Fern Fossils

We hung out there for a while talking, looking for fossils (there are some rocks with fern fossils)and we did find wild onions.  On the way back Jeff took us on another road (track) to the edge of what he calls "the dark forest".  It was indeed very dark since it was almost entirely dark outside at that point.   But at one point you come to the edge of a REALLY dark, impenetrable looking forest. 

We turned back then (thank goodness for lights on the 4 wheelers!) but I'd love to go back up there sometime in daylight.  It's bear/wolf/cougar haven around there.

We had a lot of fun but unfortunately some of the people I had wanted to talk to and say goodbye to had already left by the time we came back, because we'd been gone so long.  Everyone sat around the big campfire talking for a while and we saw the space shuttle go over!  You can just see it in this picture as a very tiny white dot but it looked much larger.


Space Shuttle - Tiny White Dot

I finally went to bed around midnight...I was pretty exhausted after only a few hours sleep the night before.
©Tara Morrison 2009

Thursday, July 16 Shangri-La

It was clear blue sky and sunny today for a change!  Haven’t seen that since I was in Yellowstone!  When I opened my tent flap at around 6:10 or so there was a dog standing there…he wanted to play Frisbee.  Apparently it’s the camp dog.  I played with him and then walked to the bathroom, and he came with and we played Frisbee the whole time.  I went into my tent to change and heard laughter and a camera click.  He was laying down outside the tent waiting for me, it was very cute.

I took down my tent, etc. as I was coming to the west side today and we headed to Many Glacier for the Apgar hike.  Only 8 of us did it, and one was just going to Iceberg.  The others were hanging out at the hotel, etc. 

So Bill, Ryan, Jason, Kris, Ralph, Therese, Jade and I started up the Swiftcurrent Trail.
 Deb and Carol came with a little ways and then turned back due to Deb’s knee still being pretty bad.   There seemed to be a more defined trail through the woods this time.  I led the way  for the first part of the hike up and through the woods until we reached the river.    The water actually didn’t look as high as I expected it to and we got across easier than last time.  The sensation of flying through the air over a rushing stream is very strange but exhilarating.

Getting Ready to Climb

Then the hard part…climbing, climbing, climbing.  I had forgotten how steep it is but you gain a lot of altitude in a very short amount of time.  The cliffs are a welcome change because you’re going up quickly but HAVE to go slow. 

Jade and Bill

"The Tree"

It's hard to tell here but you're walking on a very, very narrow ledge and where the tree is there is NO ledge, and it is a LONG way down

We made it through the cliffs faster than before probably because we knew what we were doing and there were fewer people. The tree growing out of the rock was still there to hang onto on the “bad” section (Jason came back in case we needed a hand but I was proud to only need the tree!). Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of photos of this section…it’s just too hard to take the camera out over and over and you’re trying to focus on safety.

Me With My Beloved Many Glacier Valley in the Background

We got to the top, no mystery scat this time(like last year)  but some fresh bear scat in a few spots, one very large.

Mt. Henckel

Grizzly Dig

Old Mining Claim Marker

We passed the mining claim marker again and reached the lunch spot at the lake.

The Lake at Shangri-La

The mosquitos promptly descended on us so out came the bug juice. We tried to identify a few interesting birds up there…I’m not sure if we ever decided what they were.

Going Up Over the Ridge

North Face of Mt. Wilbur, My Favorite Mountain

After leaving the lake we tried to plan our route better to stay clear of bushwhacking through trees and we angled up on the open spaces along a ridge to the right of Mt. Wilbur. When we got over we were only a little higher than the trail so it worked well.

Coming Up to the Ridge - Shangri-La and Many Glacier Valley in the Background

Another Bear Dig Area

Me and Mt. Wilbur

Shortly after that – the scree fields.

Jade at the Top of the Scree Field

Going Down

Beautiful Iceberg Lake

 This is for some the scariest part, where you feel like you may as well be diving off the mountain onto a sea of steep scree. But after the first few steps it isn’t so bad.

This time I was able to walk down, just sliding into each step. Poles came in handy! But give me scree over talus any day. Unfortunately I did not take photos of the difference between the two…I need to do that.

The Scree Field We Had to Descend

It doesn't look so steep at this angle

I made it down much more quickly than last year, stopped to take pictures of Ryan doing pushups on on iceberg in the lake, and then said goodbye to the group…I wanted to hike down quickly and get my drive over GTTS Road over with!

Iceberg Lake Trail and Beargrass

Looking Across the Valley to Shangri-La

I made it down in record time…I think about an hour and 20 min or less to go 5 miles. It felt great!
I briefly greeted Kurt, Heather, Deb and Carol who were hanging out on “the porch” and I headed to the road. I sweated profusely but survived and checked into the room in Apgar that I was sharing that night with Kathy, Bruce and Jason. My plan was to head into Kalispell to REI for another badly needed pair of hiking convertible pants. But when I called for directions I discovered I had only imagined there was an REI in Kalispell. Wishful thinking maybe? That threw a wrench in my plans. I turned around and went back to West Glacier to throw a load of laundry in and then went to the West Glacier restaurant for dinner. As I sat there waiting to order I realized how little I’d eaten all day.

I called home, and spent some time having ice cream and talked to Jen C., trying to get a webcam capture of me at Apgar.  Some people had a large newfoundland and we got him in the picture too.  I sat by Lake McDonald and read my book which is always really relaxing.  Jason finally arrived around 10:30 and I went to bed pretty early.  He waited up for Kathy and Bruce.
© 2009 Tara Morrison