Day 10 Sunday, September 16^th

Glacier

                We quietly gathered up our stuff, so we wouldn’t wake up our friendly neighbor, who had been kind enough to share his campsite with us. We drove through the park up to Logan’s Pass. Up here we parked the truck next to the visitor center and started packing our daypacks. Raingear, food, water, and of course bear spray! Every single park ranger we had seen had carried bear spray, not always a gun but always a bear spray! We thought we’d better bring ours.

“Here bear, bear, bear…” Jerry called out as we walked around corners or into prime bear areas. I guess he didn’t want to become dinner for a bear. The trail started out nice for the first ¼ of a mile, then it became a narrow shelf up high on the cliff sides. Not a place to bring little kids as the drop off was rather significant (over 2000ft) It sure made for some great views. Further down the trail we went through a forested area and above a little dried-up “creek” Jerry saw a couple of big-horned sheep grazing. It was a momma and her baby. Just out of the trees up higher on the mountainside to our right we saw several white fury spots. It was 9 mountain goats getting their breakfast. It is just amazing how agile and sure footed they are, as they jump from rock to rock and one ledge to another on steep mountainsides, where few humans would want to crawl without a rope. It was time for us to get our breakfast too, as my stomach had started to growl like a mountain lion.

With Oatmeal-To-Go in our stomachs the climb started. We were up above 7000ft. I felt like I was totally out of shape but every corner we turned had something new and interesting to offer: Rocks to jump, awesome views, animals grazing, or pretty Fall colors to see. After a good three hours of walking we stood at the trailhead leading to Glacier Overlook.

Looking up to the Glacier overlook I could see tiny, puny remnants of what might once have been a great glacier. Did we really have to take that steep trail up there just to see that? Jerry, however, insisted that we walked up the 1000 ft elevation gain as we needed the training to get in shape for Long’s Peak. Phew, it truly was steep. Every so often I had to stop and take a couple of breaths before I could go on. The trail just kept getting steeper and was often filled with scree, but it sure did make a good physical challenge. Several times along the way I questioned myself – AND Jerry, as to why I should put all this effort in to get up there to the top. I could perfectly well see the very same puny chunk of ice from the bottom! How did I let Jerry talk me into this? Exercise – was the only “good” answer I could come up with.

All out of breath I rounded the last corner, walked up to the crest of the ridge, and there across the deep abyss between the mountain walls was a huge glacier. The ice stretched all the way from the summit to the foot where it deposited large ice bergs in the turquoise colored lake. The wind swept across the ice and up the mountain where it chilled me to the core. Hunched down I took in the scenery. Wow, so this was what I had walked all the way up here to see. My spirit rose all the way from a measly 3 up to a top ten. It is amazing how beautiful nature is, and you especially appreciate it if you have to work for it a bit. It had taken us almost an hour to get up and it took only half an hour to get down.

The main trail led up to a chalet where we sat down and enjoyed our lunch. All the doors and windows were boarded up. It was time to close for the season. The work crew was still there ready to put in the last nail.

Back on the trail heading toward our four-wheeled home the going was getting a little tough. Slower than a snail’s pace or so it felt. It was as if we were getting nowhere. We were tired. Between telling stories and snapping a bunch of pictures time crept by and we finally got to our breakfast spot. The goats were still climbing high on the hills – do they never get tired? After a short break we headed into a forested area. I started calling out to the sheep – a substitute for calling “here bear, bear, bear…” No sooner had I finished the sentence as a huge big-horned sheep came walking around the corner on the trail toward me.

We both stopped dead in our tracks less than 15ft from each other, trying to read the other’s signals: Friend or foe? The consensus was friend, as the sheep let us take several photos before he slowly walked up above the trail and went around us. He came back down onto the trail right behind us. What a neat encounter, but wait, a little ahead on the trail were 5 or 6 more of the big-horned sheep, and they, as the first one, had really big rounded horns that were curled all the way around. One of them in particular seemed to be in charge. It was a big Ram and he had a bleeding cut right below his horns, from where he had fought other rivaling sheep. He looked free and proud as he stood there on the cliff shelf gazing out toward the horizon with the tall mountains in the background.

Jerry and I just slowly walked away so not to disturb the sheep. Toward the last half mile of the trail we met more people, however, in one grassy spot where no people were to be seen we found a family of goats. Momma, papa, and two little goats all busy eating greenery in preparation for the long fast approaching winter. What an awesome day Jerry and I have had. 16 miles with almost 4000ft elevation gain seeing all these beautiful animals and mountains.

The forest fires in the surrounding areas had filled the valleys with smoke and as the day had progressed the smoke had only gotten thicker instead of clearing out. With all the smoke and the road closure we decided that it would be better if we left Glacier. We piled in the car and headed toward West Glacier where we pulled in at Sued Camp. Here we got showers, did laundry, and sent a few emails to our families before turning in for the night in our bags.