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2012-Glacier.htm
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<div class="banner">
<div class="title">Glacier National Park
<div class="title-date">September 2012</div></div>
</div>
<div class="regcontent">
<br/><br/>
<p class="regtext">
<span class="dropcap">N</span>early a year after the trip, my sloth was overcome by reviewing JC’s photos and remembering again the majesty of the place. As usual, click photos for high res versions. Many of the photos are JC’s.</p>
<hr/>
<p class="regtext">
<strong>Northwest Montana — </strong>
About 2 minutes out of Columbia Falls the cell reception fails and civilization falls off. A solitary road, sometimes paved, sometimes dirt, follows the Flathead River another 35 miles northward. Though it rains 150 days a year in Glacier, this section, whether due to fires or microclimates, was surprisingly dry, dusty, and burnt:</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-SJhttNH/0/X3/IMG_5332-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i2.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-SJhttNH/0/L/IMG_5332-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The western edge</p></div>
<p class="regtext">The road dust lingered in the air so long that it forced a half mile spacing between vehicles to avoid the cloud. Aside from dust, the road was surprisingly well maintained. We reached Polebridge in about an hour.</p>
<p class="regtext">Polebridge has <a href="http://www.kxlf.com/news/tiny-town-on-polebridge-comes-to-life-in-summer/">about 10 year-round residents</a>, and famously, no electrical service. Beyond the popular Mercantile, the road narrows to one lane, winding a slow 7 miles into the park proper. It ends at the foot of Bowman Lake, at which point your only emotion is -wow-. Huge mountains, bright green trees, and the most turquoise water you’ve ever seen, a color you didn’t even know existed:</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-mb8t5Tt/0/X3/IMG_5360-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i1.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-mb8t5Tt/0/L/IMG_5360-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Bowman Lake</p></div>
<p class="regtext">When visiting a big city like New York, certain spectacular and popular photos of the skyline feel unfamiliar: the brilliant hues, enhanced by post-processing, are so much crisper than the diesel-dusted slate-gray reality. I have never seen New York, in real life, approach the beauty or colorfulness of the best photos.</p>
<p class="regtext">Having seen photos of Lake Louise, I assumed the same of glacial lakes: beautiful, sure, but also enhanced by clever photography. And yet — it seems beyond belief — the reality is opposite. The most enchanting, glorious photographs of glacial lakes are less beautiful and colorful than seeing the scenes yourself with your own eyes. None of these photos capture half the brilliance and hue perceived in person.</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-SSBdHpr/0/X3/IMG_5352-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i1.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-SSBdHpr/0/L/IMG_5352-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">More Bowman Lake</p></div>
<p class="regtext">Day one was an easy, flat 7 miles along the shore of Bowman Lake. Every gap in the trees yielded water a different shade of turquoise. We heard reports of bear activity near Bowman head (our site for the night), and we passed fresh droppings near mile 5. We settled into our 3 sites, found plenty of dry wood, and cooked our standard first-night meal in bear country: prime rib over an open fire, with potatoes, spinach, and of course, Dancing Bear Wine:</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-vfCPnVG/0/X3/IMG_5385-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i1.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-vfCPnVG/0/L/IMG_5385-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Dancing Bear Wine at Bowman Head</p></div>
<p class="regtext">Sadly for Steve, the aroma probably created a perimeter of drooling bears around our camp, which he would run like a gauntlet, 7 miles alone, in the dark, through active bear country. In the mean time, we enjoyed the wine and the sunset:</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-3XNdx4x/0/X3/IMG_5406-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i2.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-3XNdx4x/0/L/IMG_5406-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The Crew minus Steve</p></div>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-kmTZzf8/0/X3/IMG_0022-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i0.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-kmTZzf8/0/L/IMG_0022-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Sunset over Bowman Lake</p></div>
<p class="regtext">Steve arrived later than we’d calculated, but not late enough to panic. He had indeed traveled the full 7 miles alone in the dark, and safely joined us before bed.</p>
<hr/>
<p class="regtext">Day two began with a leisurely breakfast of fresh eggs and sausage. We departed camp at 10:20, continuing up the valley through shoulder deep thimbleberries, some desiccated, some tangy & delicious. The scenery grew more spectacular by the hour. Mountains rose 4000′ from the valley floor, so high and so close that you couldn’t see the top without tipping back your head, nor see the full width without turning side to side. There are very few places on earth, I reckon, where the human field of view is woefully inadequate. This is one of them. I recommend clicking through to the full res versions.</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-P82VFDj/0/X3/IMG_5445-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i1.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-P82VFDj/0/L/IMG_5445-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Neck-craning mountains</p></div>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-TMKKfcB/0/X3/IMG_5451-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i2.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-TMKKfcB/0/L/IMG_5451-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Looking towards Hole In The Wall from below</p></div>
<p class="regtext">Later in the day, we will pass from right-to-left along the top of the central cliff in the photo directly above. The trail narrows to a ledge at the cleft of the mountain on the right; there will be a photo looking down it.</p>
<p class="regtext">All through the upper valley, as we passed through dense undergrowth and shoulder-high berry patches, I expected to surprise a grizzly. When the climb steepens towards Brown Pass, we found real raspberries. I saw bear habitat all around me, but, sadly for JC, no bears.</p>
<p class="regtext">At Brown Pass the forest ends and the trail turns westward several miles along a huge sloping meadow:</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-Ft5s6SL/0/X3/IMG_5480-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i1.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-Ft5s6SL/0/L/IMG_5480-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Brown Pass</p></div>
<p class="regtext">The meadow was bristling, just bristling, with huckleberries, but we didn’t know how to identify them yet. The next day we learned from a guide staying at Hole In the Wall, and the return trip was significantly slower, as you’ll soon see.</p>
<p class="regtext">As the trail wraps around a corner of the continental divide, a short section of trail is just a shelf along a headwall, with 1200′ of cliff above you and 1700′ below. At its narrowest it is probably at least 8 feet wide, but with such a dropoff, it feels like barely a yard. This photo looks down the cleft that was mentioned earlier:</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-XDpFgZD/0/X3/IMG_5508-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i0.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-XDpFgZD/0/L/IMG_5508-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">A Dropoff along the trail</p></div>
<p class="regtext">As you round the shoulder, the famous Hole In The Wall campsite appears as an elevated bowl, a green plateau 2000′ above the lower valley, which it feeds with waterfalls, and another 2000′ below the semi-circle of peaks. In early summer the bowl has up to 20 waterfalls. Some people call it the most spectacular campsite in the contiguous states.</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-s3ZS8g8/0/X3/IMG_5494-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i1.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-s3ZS8g8/0/L/IMG_5494-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">First glimpse of Hole In The Wall basin</p></div>
<p class="regtext">We cooked Mexican food and settled into the evening. A few notes for the archives: 3mm is the minimum practical cord diameter for decent knots and happy hands; bring plenty of gatorade packets and spices; and overdo the ziplocs, paper towel, and thick garbage bags when traveling in bear country. Also, I need a thick hat.</p>
<hr/>
<p class="regtext">The morning of day 3 was cold, about 25F.</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-FnJRQcc/0/X3/IMG_5548-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i1.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-FnJRQcc/0/L/IMG_5548-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Cold but happy morning</p></div>
<p class="regtext">Thunderbird peak glowed orange in the sunrise:</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-zGWXF2R/0/X3/IMG_5555-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i2.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-zGWXF2R/0/L/IMG_5555-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Thunderbird Peak at dawn</p></div>
<p class="regtext">The oatmeal warmed us a bit, but it took until 9:15 for the sun to crest the ridge to our east, at which point we must have gained 20 degrees in a matter of minutes. We were thrilled for the warmth:</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-jnLD7TZ/0/X3/IMG_5560-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i2.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-jnLD7TZ/0/L/IMG_5560-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Give us heat!</p></div>
<p class="regtext">Today was our option day. John, Alex, and Suhas stayed in camp; Roger, Bill, Steve, JC, and I hiked Boulder Mountain. Suhas had intended to join the hike, but his sweaty, salty boots were too attractive to the local rodents, who stole his boot away into the brush and chewed through the tongue. John and Alex were content to relax at the waterfall.</p>
<p class="regtext">Our plan was to follow the trail westward to Boulder Pass campground, then ascend the gentle western slope of Boulder Peak to its summit. The entire route comprised one spectacular scene after another, from the climb out of Hole In the Wall:</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-dqFgRTG/0/X3/IMG_0134-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i0.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-dqFgRTG/0/L/IMG_0134-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Day hike from Hole In the Wall</p></div>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-52v7LLn/0/X3/IMG_0144-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i0.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-52v7LLn/0/L/IMG_0144-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The eastern side of Hole In the Wall</p></div>
<p class="regtext">(in the photo directly above, Roger & Bill & Steve are tiny blips along the upper portion of the trail in the high res version).</p>
<p class="regtext">Through the pastel rocks of Boulder Pass:</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-TtzGvQs/0/X3/IMG_5753-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i2.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-TtzGvQs/0/L/IMG_5753-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Pastels of Boulder Pass</p></div>
<p class="regtext">The next photo, truly unstaged, shows the popular “low-rider” toilet. I cannot find the link, but this toilet was once named the best backcountry toilet in america. Its comfortable perch offers 180 degree views of Agassiz glacier, of Kintla Peak, half a vertical mile above you, down to the Kintla Valley, half a vertical mile below. Truly spectacular.</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-VbdwMn9/0/X3/IMG_5763-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i0.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-VbdwMn9/0/L/IMG_5763-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Boulder Pass’s famous low-rider</p></div>
<p class="regtext">There is no official trail up Boulder Peak, but the route is obvious and easy, and a light narrow track occasionally appears. As you ascend, Kintla lake comes into view, nearly 4000 vertical feet below:</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-GrphBgn/0/X3/IMG_5879-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i0.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-GrphBgn/0/L/IMG_5879-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Kintla Lake from Boulder Peak</p></div>
<p class="regtext">And at the summit proper, the views in all directions are indescribable, from Pocket Lake to Kintla Lake, from the towering peaks to the distant plains of Canada, from forest to meadow to glaciers.</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-JSrTGMJ/0/X3/IMG_0187-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i1.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-JSrTGMJ/0/L/IMG_0187-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Atop Boulder Peak</p></div>
<p class="regtext">We returned to Hole In The Wall the same way we’d come, aside from a shortcut to slide down a few dozen yards of snow below Boulder Glacier.</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-ZLxFSkR/0/X3/IMG_5888-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i2.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-ZLxFSkR/0/L/IMG_5888-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Labor Day sledding</p></div>
<p class="regtext">I like the perspective of this shot of Bill and Steve, who were descending below us:</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-NhhpXxv/0/X3/IMG_0207-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i1.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-NhhpXxv/0/L/IMG_0207-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Returning to Hole In the Wall</p></div>
<p class="regtext">And this shot, which also has Bill’s red jacket as a speck in the lower left (might need high res to see him):</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-wWTXjbc/0/X3/IMG_5920-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i1.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-wWTXjbc/0/L/IMG_5920-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Descent from Boulder Pass to Hole In The Wall</p></div>
<p class="regtext">After a collaborative and popular pesto night</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-XZKNsXm/0/X3/IMG_5942-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i1.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-XZKNsXm/0/L/IMG_5942-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Pesto Collaboration</p></div>
<p class="regtext">we noted that bread is useful to mop up pesto, as is a proper sponge. We went to bed with cloudy skies threatening rain.</p>
<hr/>
<p class="regtext">Day 4 began with dark clouds obscuring the peaks. For several hours the rain seemed moments away, but it never came. After blueberry pancakes we departed Hole In the Wall for the 8 mile descent back to Bowman Head:</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-b6nr4TN/0/X3/IMG_0249-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i2.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-b6nr4TN/0/L/IMG_0249-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Departing Hole In the Wall</p></div>
<p class="regtext">When we first crossed the meadow, do you recall the undetected huckleberries? Upon our return we knew exactly how to detect them, which slowed our passage by at least an hour, as Bill, Alex, and John, surrounded by outrageously beautiful terrain, could only focus 18 inches in front of their faces (John called it “the most fun he’s had all trip”):</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-Hn6BQPn/0/X3/IMG_6054-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i2.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-Hn6BQPn/0/L/IMG_6054-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">They spent hours like this</p></div>
<p class="regtext">After summer sausage & cheeses at Brown Pass, we descended to Bowman Lake, picking thimbleberries, raspberries, and huckleberries along the way. We all swam in the coldest water I’ve felt in a long time:</p>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-xDCLhkr/0/X3/IMG_6066-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i1.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-xDCLhkr/0/L/IMG_6066-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">September in Bowman Lake</p></div>
<div class="photo"><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-GVR2zxz/0/X3/IMG_6086-X3.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://i2.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/2012/2012-09-GlacierNP/i-GVR2zxz/0/L/IMG_6086-L.jpg" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">A bit cold</p></div>
<p class="regtext">Whether due to the cold shock, or the exertion of carrying solar panels thousands of vertical feet, John got sick. It was the first time I’ve seen him cold. While we walked around in shorts, he was huddled next to the fire in a down jacket.</p>
<p class="regtext">The final dinner was gnocchi with sage butter. Spices & butter dramatically improve backcountry cooking. After carrying 8 pounds of gnocchi to Hole In the Wall and back, I realized I could have cached it at Bowman Lake. That’s useful to remember for future out-and-back trips.</p>
<p class="regtext">After dusk we debated whether we saw zodiacal glow along the western horizon, vs. the milky way, or even some geometrically inexplicable reflections of the long-set sun. Then we went to bed.</p>
<hr/>
<p class="regtext">The final morning dawned with mist on the lake. Roger, Bill, JC, and I departed early (~7am) to catch a flight to the east coast. We reached the cars by 9:30 after passing plentiful bear scat that was still warm to the touch. The others took their sweet time and flew to Vegas.</p>
<hr/>
<p class="regtext">Our retrospective notes are that the scenery was spectacular and the variety superb. We’ve previously done dispersed camping, so we felt a bit constrained by the designated sites and attendant neighbors. (A friend asked, after reading my initial post, how many people we saw. I didn’t count, but probably 6-12 per day, which feels busy in such a vast, remote area). I guess we’re getting spoiled.</p>
<p class="regtext">Stay tuned for the 2013 trip.</p>
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