Eight Miles of Beauty!

St. Mary, MT
Glacier NP
August 6, 2013

 Third hike destination...as close as we could get to Grinnell Glacier. I say that because this hike is an 11 mile hike round trip. With 4 pups waiting in Belle, we just set out and decided to turn around when our time was half up. We made it four miles in.







 This trail begins at the Many Glacier Hotel and carried us around the shoreline of Swiftcurrent Lake.

This part of the trail is flat, easy, and full of photo opps.

 I was hoping to see a moose, even a deer would have been great, but just not meant to be.

We did spot a fisherman...





...a Pipsissewa which is a new wildflower for me to photograph...

 ...and a mama grouse with three babies. What a joy to watch her and listen to her soft clucking.

 She was very attentive to her babies.

 And enjoyed a dust bath.








From here, the trail turned right.

 Wildflowers, butterflies, and rock walls on our left...


 

 ...and Lake Josephine and mountains on our right.
















We made a steady, gradual ascent towards Upper Grinnell Lake...its a 1600 feet rise to the glacier.

 From here the trail travels through open countryside with no obstructions to the incredible views that were all around.




This was our lunch view and the end of the trail for us.

Salamander Glacier, Mt. Gould and Lower Grinnell Lake were all visible.

 Salamander Glacier lies on a shelf which is part of the Continental Divide at an average elevation of 7200 feet. Before Grinnell Glacier retreated significantly, it used to encompass Salamander.

 View of Salamander Glacier

Grinnell Glacier rests on the north flank of Mt. Gould at an average altitude of 7000 feet. It is melting quickly and is likely to be entirely gone within 30 years.




Lower Grinnell Lake has an opaque turquoise appearance from rock flour (silt) which comes from the melting glacier.

 This is one of the more popular hikes in Glacier NP. If you are looking for quiet and solitude, you might not find it here.

 It's popular because of its incredible beauty.

There were a few colors of fall...already!

 We had a much more relaxed day today...

...visited another waterfall. The forecast was for 60 percent chance of thunderstorms...hasn't happened yet.

Until next time...

 

P.S. Does anyone know what these berries are? We see them on all our hikes. They are so red and shiny and almost look artificial...like berries I bought for Christmas decorations.

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.