Pitamakan-Dawson in Glacier: 2016 version

The red rocks abound in the Dry Fork valley (Gordon Whirry photos)

Flinsch Peak towers over Old Man Lake 

On the shelf between Morgan and Flinsch peaks

I try to do this hike once a season.
I think it is the best hike in Glacier.
It is a traverse around the park's most massive mountain, Rising Wolf, in the middle of the Two Medicine valley.
It is a long and robust hike:  about 3,800 feet of elevation gained on an 18 mile route that threads two high passes in the park:  Dawson and Pitamakan.
I've done it both ways, but think I like going up the Dry Fork Valley and  through Pitamakan first and then Dawson because it is an easier grade.
The four miles between the two passes is on a high, alpine trail that clings to the west faces of Flinsch and Morgan mountains.
From on high it is possible to see 9 different alpine lakes, including lakes in the Dry Fork, Cut Bank Creek, Nyack and Two Med valleys.
We passed an amazing huckleberry crop well into the Dry Fork/Pitamakan portion of the hike.
Here's a full link to a map and description:  CLICK HERE

The lakes below Pitamakan Pass

Enjoying a moment on a ledge

Above the Nyack Valley