We're Likin' this Hikin'

 St. Mary, MT
East Glacier NP
August 5, 2012

St. Mary Visitor Center

 Second hike...destination Virginia Falls. This hike begins about 10.5 miles west of the St. Mary Entrance Station on the Going-To-The-Sun Road.




The only "wildlife" we saw on our ride to the trailhead were  Deere...traffic slowed down,  moved over and even stopped to allow plenty of room for them to do their thing. 



Parking for the hike is limited. We got lucky and pulled right into a spot. It's a 3.4 mile roundtrip trail to Virginia Falls. Just right for today!

Near the beginning of the trail, as we passed through an opening in the forest, we had a view of 8064 foot Dusty Star Mountain. It was towering right in front of us.

The trail enters a canopy of dense pine forest.

The ferns were thick and green...

...and the small streams we crossed over were clear and cool to the toes. 

 At about a half mile, we reached the St. Mary River. It wasn't long before we heard the thunder of crashing water.

In another quarter mile, we reached the St. Mary Falls.


The spectacular aqua-green color of the pools below the falls is incredibly beautiful.

The rush of water forces a cool breeze down the gorge. Another one of those "WOW!" moments for sure!

Even the falls had a hint of the aqua color.


The falls drops about 35 feet. Certainly a photo opp.

It was hard to carry on. But we had a ways to go...one last look back as we climbed the ridge towards Virginia Falls.

 I can't say enough how awesome this hike was...I  enjoyed every step! The Mountain Harebell was growing out of the rock ledge along with other vines and moss.

In between St. Mary Falls and Virginia Falls are unnamed falls and cascades. Being located between two absolutely spectacular waterfalls they may be somewhat diminished. But so worth a stop.

We did meet a future botanist.

At 1.7 miles, we reached a fork in the trail...we went right towards the Virginia Falls Viewpoint and the base of the upper falls.

Stepping up to the base of the falls is like instant air conditioning.



This is also a multi-tiered waterfall with the main falls dropping about 50 feet.

Joe made a short video...there was no way I could capture Virginia Falls with a camera.

 We sure had a great time...

 My how our time here is flying by...tomorrow is Wednesday and there is a 60 percent chance of thunder storms.

 Hope you are having a great week.

Thanks for stopping by...

 

...until next time.

 

 

 

 

On the Trail Again!

St. Mary, MT
Glacier NP

August 4, 2013

It sure feels good to lace up the old, well...not that old, hiking boots again!

 

With over 700 miles of trails in Glacier, it was hard to pick  our first destination.

 Red Rock Falls in Many Glacier turned out to be a great choice for our first hike...a 3.6 round trip to the falls and back.

It's a 12 mile ride on a very scenic road from the entrance to Many Glacier to the Swiftcurrent Trailhead. A good bit of the ride we followed the Sherburne Lake.

We did see a family of bighorn sheep. I only got a quick photo of the lamb.

Except for a few short, small grades, the hike is basically flat and easy to Red Rock Lake. The forest is green and lush... I was surprised at the amount of grasses growing there...not just along the trail, but as far as I could see.

This not so little Columbian Ground Squirrel was the only wildlife we encountered on the trail. These squirrels are easily identified by their large size and distinctive coloration.

Huckleberries were just beginning to ripen. In fact we passed several children with red fingers and mouths and  buckets that were mostly empty!

Even with all the berries, we didn't see a bear!

We did see some very pretty rock formations...lots of red rock...not red like Nevada and Utah, but a much deeper shade of red.




In some places the trees opened up to beautiful views of the surrounding mountains.














Look up, look down...it's hard to take it all in.

 From Red Rock Lake, you get an awesome view of the Continental Divide...Mt. Wilbur, Grinnell Point, and Mt. Grinnell.

 Red Rock Lake can be enjoyed by fly fishermen and spin fishermen. Brook trout is a common catch here and since they are not rare, your catch can also be dinner.

 

 After several "Oh my!"s , we continued on.  As we made our way around to the far western shore we passed more interesting red rock formations...must have been the inspiration for the naming of the lake and falls.

 We reached an unmarked fork in the trail...we went right. This led us to the upper falls.





I love the sound the falls make and the sun glistening on the water was oh so pretty! The water is crystal clear...





...and offers a different view of the red rocks!











We headed back to the fork to take the left turn and low and behold passed a real cowboy!

 The left turn took us to the lower falls...

 This was the perfect spot for water and a snack!








The clear water rushing over the red rock is quite mesmerizing. Beautiful to see and hear!

Red Rock Falls is actually a series of cascades. It is not the tallest of the more than 200 falls in the park, but will be memorable for us as the first one we ever hiked to.

It was a great Monday...especially after 2 days of steady rain.

Sure hope you are enjoying your week...we did another hike today. More on that later!

 

We did cross over 2 creeks on the trail...

Until next time...