Above the Two Medicine Lake, in Glacier National Park!!!
This hike is awesome, I'm now on this trail for just over an hour and now it really starts to pick-up elevation. Lake Two Medicine where the campground is, is at 5164 ft and I'm now at about 5800 ft above sea-level. I haven't had any lunch yet and getting real hungry, I did pack some food for that purpose and now would like to find a place to munch on these goodies I'm carrying with me. Lets see what nature has in store for me. At the next trail-junction I decent down to the No Name Lake I mean that is the name of the lake, here I find the perfect spot to lunch!
No Name Lake will be my lunch-spot for today...
Now I feel strengthened by the alcohol, feed by the food, and ready for more elevation gain. Back up at the last trail-junction I continue on the trail I came up on, the Dawson Pass Trail. Now more and more snow is covering the trail I follow the foot-prints of previous hikers and end up on the trail again. A young couple that is hiking back tellng me that the trail will fizzle out not too much higher from here, they knew the way and cut their way to the Pass. There are high winds and it is tricky not to get lost. I continue and again encounter more snow.
The Dawson Pass Trail is climbing higher, more snow makes it hard to follow the trail...
At some point of time the trail ends in a snow-field, on a steep mountain-side. I follow the couples footsteps further up until they end up in a little forest. In there was no more trail and I could not see through the trees to the other side to see where the foot-steps continued. So I climbed further in the snow where I then could easily follow my own prints back. I think I got to almost 6500 ft when I finally decide to turn around. I also was pretty tiered and ready for a cup of coffee. It is past four thirty now, it will take me at least an hour and a half to get back to camp for that coffee. Lets boggy!!!
Back down at the Two Medicine Lake I make an interesting discovery...
The last view of the mountain across the lake, then I'm back at the camp...
But now it's time for coffee and a PB&J sandwich, this boy is hungry again...
I'm completely exhausted my feet are hurting and I can hear the soar muscles whining... But after the delicious coffee and some snacking on Peanut-butter and Jelly Sandwich I was feeling energized enough to take a nap, after all the day is still young!!!
It's almost nine o'clock by the time I can open my eyes again, then try to move my body was a different kind of challenge but I managed to crawl out of the tent and get my sore butt to the table, just to sit down, snack on some chips with salsa and cheese and another bottle of the Trout Slayer. Life is good again and I can continue to write until about midnight when the next attack of sleep overtakes me and drags my body over to the bath-house to brush my teeth.
Writing away on the Palm Pilot until the wee-hours...
Keep on tasting the local brews... This is a good one!!!
It is kind of strange to be in this wilderness and then you go to this bathroom which is lit-up like a surgery-room in a hospital...
Wednesday June 24th another beautiful day in Glacier National Park!!!
I did sleep like a baby, really, I woke-up at around 5 because I had to pee again, after taking care of that business I went back to sleep, put a pillow over my eyes and next thing was past nine when I found myself awake again. How did that happen??? It was cold at night, before I went to bed it was 44 during the wee-hours it was 36 and now 62 and getting warmer by the minute. While I eat breakfast and slurp some hot tea, I break down camp and load-up the car. I do want to have a quick look at the visitor center at the lake before going back down to East Glacier Park.
A beautiful location for a visitor center, right at the Two Medicine Lake...
At the Visitor Center I buy a couple of mini jugs with Huckleberry Syrup to bring back as a souvenir. I also found a Topo-Map and I took a picture of the area I hiked yesterday, I've gone 12 miles and gained about 1600 ft of elevation from the Lake to where I turned around in the snow. My legs are sore this morning, stiff and tired!
It's time to go back into the town of East Glacier and go over to West Glacier...
Since the Going-to-the-Sun Road is not open yet I have to drive on US-2...
Now it's time to find a great spot along the Flathead River for lunch and feeling the water...
After that short lunch-break I'm back driving on the other side of the Continental Divide, and next thing is that I'm following one of these converted school-buss, that transports these completely wacky people with a trailer to stack the rafts on back to the town of West Glacier. By the time that buss turns off the main highway I made up my mind that I want to check-out the possibility to be one of those wacos. I park the car and inquire about a trip on the river and sign-up for the dinner trip leaving at two thirty.
Here I am, doing the least expected thing... but the thing to do here...
Off we go, 4 rafts with each 10 people plus the guide, let the fun begin...
And while 3 o'clock is happening we all having a blast...
We're all smiling because we're not sure what lies ahead of us!!!
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