Firebrand in Fall: Let me walk in glory

 

The Lake Creek aspen show on the Looking Glass Road

Bold Ptarmigan didn't move when we hiked by

My favorite section of the Firebrand Pass trail

A sharp eye will spot the larch in golden color behind Summit Mountain

Peak 8888 dominates the horizon from Firebrand Pass

Mountain Ash tree is a blaze of color

Gordon Whirry enjoying the explosion of color on Firebrand trail

A wall of brilliant aspen

My headline is from an old Indian prayer to the Great Spirit, "Let me walk in glory," extolling the wonders of nature.

We walked in full Fall glory Oct. 3 on our annual autumn trip to Firebrand Pass in Glacier Park.

It's a relatively easy 10 mile, 2,000 feet trip to an out of the way spot on the southeastern edge of the park, entered across a railroad track and a barbed wire gate at a place called False Summit, about 7 miles from the park.

We time this hike for the last couple of days of September or the first couple of days of October when the fall colors on the east side of the park are at their peak.  That means the copious aspen groves and ground cover, especially the huckleberries are bursting with golden leaves and scarlet foliage. 

I love this hike any time of the year, but fall is when it is at its best.

It also has the advantage of being off the park's beaten path, but increasingly we're finding more and more people on this trail.  A portion of the trail is part of the Continental Divide Trail, but ultimately climbs to the divide above Ole Creek, which empties into the Middle Fork of the Flathead at Essex.

Red Crow Mountain is an easy climb from the pass via climbers' trails  Calf Robe is accessible via ridges from the trail at various aspects.

Along the way we got great views to the south of the spectacular aspen groves aglow in the Badger Two Medicine area in the Helena Lewis and Clark National Forest.

To change this up when we reached the flat below the pass we opted for the old, abandoned trail to the pass, which goes straight up the gut, rather than the new trail that hangs to the south high above steep scree fields.  We found the old route still passable, although some trees had grown over the path, easy to skirt.  We took the high trail back down.

On the return trip the sun had hit the aspen groves, lighting them up even more than in the morning.

At the pass itself we were treated to fully illuminated golden larch trees beneath Summit peak.  It will be a couple of weeks yet before we return to the Middle Fork country to enjoy the Fall larch show.

As an aside, I continue to marvel at the number of women and women's groups that do this Fall hike.  There was just Gordon and me and one other man, and 18 women in five different groups.  All were from the Whitefish/Kalispell area who misidentified themselves as being from, "here."  We set them straight that they were from the West side, and we, being from Great Falls, were "here" on the East side of the mountains.

Glorious Fall: Blackfoot, Glacier, Missions

 This is a glorious fall, and we've been blessed to enjoy it fully with trips to Glacier, the Missions, the Swan and the Blackfoot corridors.

Some of this has been just to get away on long drives to enjoy the color.

We've also stayed at the Laughing Horse Lodge in Swan Lake and attended the Glacier Two Med Alliance annual meeting in East Glacier Park.

Earlier, we had an ill-fated driving trip to Folsom Lake area of northern California, cut short by Katie catching Covid, which turned us around so we didn't infect Katie's parents.

Whew!

My favorite was the Sept. 28 drive from Swan Lake to East Glacier, experiencing the cottonwoods along the Middle Fork of the Flathead and the golden aspen in the Two Med and Lake Creek country of Glacier.I had usually reserved a trip along the Middle Fork for mid to late October when the larch are at their golden peak, so it was great to see the cottonwood and aspen color.

Our biggest hike was in the Missions to Cold Lake near Condon.

We've been struggling with what Katie can do as she battled Covid and severe anemia.  

While at the Glacier Two Med meeting we hiked in the Lubec Lakes area and then went with Laurie Lintner from Looking Glass Pass to a favorite ridge into Glacier.  It was blustery the day of our hike there.

The ground cover has been the main attraction for me ---- the reds, yellows, oranges and purples and deep green colors spangling the forest floor.

I've taken my backcountry skis in for a tune-up.  Some years I've been skiing by now.  Always pays to prepared.

Devil's Glen, Waterton Lakes, Glacier Park

We had a perfect day for the perfect Glacier Goose Island photo on St. Mary Lake

Katie strolling the Janet Lake shoreline

Katie with the Porcupine Quills behind her

 The smoke has abated somewhat. It's still there, just not as thick, so the outline of the mountains is visible.That makes getting out more palatable. 

We did a beautiful day hike to Devil's Glen in the Dearborn part of the Bob Marshall Wilderness and then spent three days in Waterton and Glacier National parks.

I had forgotten how beautiful the Devil's Glen area is because I've been returning to the Falls Creek part of this area more frequently.  Within less than three miles the translucent green Dearborn River flows through a sometimes high and jagged limestone canyon beneath Steamboat Mountain on the Rocky Mountain Front.  The canyon disappears, but the river cascades over patchworks of limestone.

Because I let our smog-filled summer keep me home much too often I developed a pretty severe case of cabin fever that Katie fixed by planning a trip to our favorite Waterton Lakes National Park north of Glacier in southern Alberta.

We spent three days hiking and enjoying the park for the three days immediately following the Canadian Labour Day holiday.  We arrived the day after and found the townsite and park deserted.  What a welcome contrast to Glacier Park, which we visited on our way home.

As usual, we saw black bears on the road to Waterton's Red Rocks Canyon

We walked the shore of Cameron Lake the first day, and the second day took the boat across Waterton Lake back to Glacier Park where we hiked 8-miles roundtrip to Janet Lake.  I hadn't spent much time there in more than 30 years and marveled at its beauty.  The dominant peaks above the lake are Thunderbird and the Porcupine Quills. Glacial waters fill it as well as Lake Frances above it.  We had stayed at Lake Frances three years ago on a Hole in the Wall destination trip that started at Bowman Lake.

As a side note for the record, I got my eighth COVID vaccination on Monday, and on our first day at Waterton experienced painful side effects that included body aches and extreme fatigue.  I didn't let it stop me and by Wednesday was back to my old, chipper self.

The final day we drove back, enjoying a leisurely visit to Glacier's St. Mary's valley.  We had set out to hike Sun Point, but to our surprise and dismay couldn't find parking!  This on a mid-week, post-Labor Day.  Glacier, unlike Waterton, was crawling with people all vying for the same sights along the Going to the Sun Road.

So, we retreated to the Red Eagle Lake Trail near the park entrance and had a nice hike to the shores of St. Mary Lake.  We encountered only a couple of other hikers.  The weather was the best of the trip with clear visibility and there we found our best photos.

I'm glad folks around the U.S. and the world are enjoying the park, but with large bus tours from international companies like Globus and Collette, the park has become a zoo.

My advice is to go off-trail in Glacier or confine your hikes to the U.S. 2 park portals and trailheads on the southern end of the park. 

I should mention that we also finished our Midnight Hill traverse near Rogers Pass, this time coming up the short hike from Montana 200 just west of the pass on an old logging road.  Possibly skiable.

At the Dearborn's Devil's Glen

The Devil's Glen spectacle

Catching up during a hot, smoky, busy month

 

At the saddle below Elk Calf Mountain on Continental Divide

In the Puzzle Creek/Slippery Bill roadless area looking into Glacier Park

Cobalt Lake in Glacier Park

On Midnight Hill below Rogers Pass and the CDT (in background)

Yes, I've been out, but I haven't been as disciplined writing about my trips.

There were trips to Cobalt Lake in Glacier, the Puzzle Creek/Slippery Bill wilderness proposal near Marias Pass, the Pioneer Ridge Loop in the Little Belts, Midnight Hill near Rogers Pass, Mount Helena, and a number of hikes along River's Edge Trail.

Yet, there could have been more if the weather hadn't been so smoky and hot, which kept me indoors.

We supplemented some of the hikes with sightseeing, like a trip to Havre for that city's buffalo jump, and nearby Fort Assinniboine, a foray into Taber, Alberta for a looksee.

Noticeably absent this summer have been hikes in the Rocky Mountain Front.  Again, too smoky and hot to bother.

The highlight of the month was the Puzzle Creek/Slippery Bill hike near Marias Pass.

It was a joint Glacier Two Medicine Alliance/Wild Montana effort.

It was billed as a hike to Elk Calf Mountain, but from the Skyland Road side of the Continental Divide.

The hike introduced me to a roadless area that wilderness advocated would like to see as a bridge between the Badger Two Medicine and the Great Bear Wilderness.

This burned over area is truly wild and we saw plenty of bear sign to prove it.

We did not make the top of Elk Calf because we ran out of time after covering 9.3 miles and an elevation gain and loss of more than 3,700 feet. I think huckleberry feeding breaks cost us.

The hike offered exceptional views into Glacier Park, the Great Bear, the Badger and the Bob Marshall Wilderness. 

We reached a saddle on the true Continental Divide with Elk Calf only 600 feet and about three-quarters of a mile away.  I didn't feel too bad because I've climbed and skied to the top of this mountain on several occasions.  I can say that reaching the top is much easier by following the Continental Divide Trail from Marias Pass. The route we took was mostly marked by stone cairns, which at times were hard to find.  I was glad we had Peter Metcalf, the executive director of the Glacier Two Med Alliance as our leader.

The day was a tad taxing because the day before I had hiked into Cobalt Lake in Glacier's Two Med area, a trek of nearly 12 miles and 3,400 feet gained and lost. 

Most of the other hikes I had done numerous times, but Midnight Hill was also new to me.

It is reached most easily from the Mike Horse Mine Road just south of Rogers Pass.  The distance and elevation gains aren't much, but it offers a nice off-trail experience, although much of it can be reached by following old mining roads.  Beware, though, many of these roads are blocked by deadfall, purposely cut to block vehicles (and hikers).

There are old mine diggings and buildings that are of interest, and the Continental Divide Trail is visible some of the way.

I think it would be possible to drop off the CDT below Rodgers Peak and follow the ridgeline down to a saddle below Midnight Hill.  There would also be access from Montana 200 on an old road.  That's for another trip. 

Oh, there's a good huckleberry crop this year.

Backpack to Gunsight Pass, walking upstream in the Middle Fork Judith WSA

The alpine trail above Gunsight Lake

The greeting party in our camp was this billy

The sketchy snow crossing on the way to Gunsight Pass

The clouds lifted at the pass allowing a view of Lake Ellen Wilson on the south side

Goats on a ledge

Mount Logan is the regal presence above the Gunsight campsite

Epic wildflower displays

 Four of us did a two day backpack at Gunsight Lake in Glacier Park with a sidetrip to Gunsight Pass, experiencing what Gordon Whirry, one of our hikers, said is the, "best 3 miles of scenery in the park."

After experiencing the Iceberg Notch, Red Eagle Pass and the Norris Traverse and climbing the six Glacier 10,000 feet peaks, I'm not sure I agree, but it was a truly stunning hike.

While Gunsight Lake is an alpine gem set in a glacial cirque, the hike from the lake to the pass offers alpine hiking on a trail that drop off precipitously to the valley and lake below, the many colorful stripes of Fusilade Mountain to the west, and the flanks of Mount Jackson that shoots waterfalls and streams from the snowfields above.

Even a driving rainstorm as we descended back to camp from the pass didn't change our awe of the scenery. 

When we reached the pass, we were thrilled when a shroud of clouds lifted revealing Lake Ellen Wilson below to the south.

I think this was the fifth time I've hiked to the pass, the others being a climb of Mount Jackson 33 years ago, and through-hikes from the Jackson Overlook on the Going to the Sun Highway to Sperry Chalet and on to Lake McDonald.

This hike, though, was done at a slow elderly person's pace, and yielded a deeper appreciation of what was around us:  the copious water and many waterfalls, the stunning wildflower displays, evidence of grizzly diggings and scat, several mountain goats perched high on cliffs, the coloration of the rocks.

In the past I had just gone too fast to savor those things.

Speaking of which, we were astounded to see pack-less runners in shorts and singlets sans bear spray and water, running in the chilly, driving rain.  Runners have become a nuisance in Glacier Park, disturbing the serenity of the alpine experience.

I really enjoyed the Gunsight Lake campsite dominated by a view of Logan Peak, Almost a Dog Pass, Blackfoot and Jackson glaciers.

A side note as we exited the trail at the Jackson Overlook parking lot:  Glacier has become mobbed by tourists, many misbehaved

The past five years the crowds have become obnoxious, a sort of an American clutter in an otherwise pristine environment.

I no longer enjoy the park in the summer, and look forward to the late fall and winter to have the peace and quiet that nature provides.

Middle Fork of Judith River

The Middle Fork canyon

So many frigid crossings

We climbed through the cliffs above the Middle Fork

Mark Hertenstein, my regular hiking partner, had never experienced the Middle Fork of the Judith River's tight and lofty limestone canyon, so I took him in on a hot summer afternoon.

This is Wilderness Study Area, but the stream has been fouled by off-road vehicles and trucks that use its bed as a road and play thing.

The river's bed has been turned brown from the sediment, off-setting its normal green translucent color.

Local conservationists, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department, the Forest Service  and conservationists have been working for more than 50 years to get the vehicles out of the river and have made great strides in blocking access through re-routing.

In the meantime, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, has been an enemy of wilderness designation for the area and has sponsored a bill that would remove wilderness study area designation and the designation's protections.

We walked up the river from the Judith Ranger Station a couple of miles to a large cave and then climbed a ridge off trail  to the north through high cliffs, completing a loop back to the ranger station.

A nephew's visit: Glacier and Waterton, Katie to the Missions

The Mission Mountains Wilderness boundary sign, accompanying Katie on her backpack

Katie and her girlfriends at Crescent Lake in the Missions

The Donnie Kotynski family from Crown Point, IN.  From left: Caleb, Carson, Shannon, Sam, Donnie and A.J. Smith

I made it to Grinnell Glacier

Grinnell Lake is a breathtaking sight

 We had a wonderful visit from a Chicago-area nephew, his wife and four boys who experienced Montana and Alberta Rockies for the first time.

For us, the highlight of the trip was a hike to Grinnell Glacier in Glacier Park.

For them, they were on their own for the Waterton Crypt Lake hike.

The weather here has turned brutally hot, but the mountain air was a bit cooler and manageable.

It had been about 9 years since I had done Grinnell.

The trail had been opened only one day before we did our hike this year and waterfalls were spilling in all directions.  One came down directly over the trail, drenching us coming and going.

I don't know that I ever appreciated this Grinnell hike as much.

Glacier, as expected, was full of people and the trail to Grinnell was crowded, particularly when folks who took the Lake Josephine boat emptied for the shortened hike.

We hiked to and from the glacier from the Many Glacier hotel, more than 11 miles and 2,000 feet in elevation gain and loss.

We were lucky enough to draw permit.

We've found Two Medicine fills up and is closed early most days because the folks hoping to do Going to the Sun Highway from West Glacier don't have permits and opt from Two Med instead.

Many Glacier's crowds made the area feel frenzied.

By comparison, Waterton had a relaxed vibe, and we enjoyed the big lake, the lodge, and business district, Lake Linnett, and Red Rocks.

We stayed in nearby Mountain View at a bed and breakfast connected to the country store/gas station.

We had meals at Kilmorey Lodge and the Prince of Wales, which we found expensive.

We thoroughly enjoyed my nephew, his wife and children, who took to the mountains like they had lived here all their lives.

After a return to Great Falls, I took Katie to the Mission Mountains Wilderness Area, where she planned a backpack and friends.  I walked into Crescent Lake with them and turned around and came out.  That night I headed to Cut Bank, where my nephew was staying at a nice farm house/bed and breakfast in an isolated wheat field 12 miles out of town.

It was so pleasant there that I spent the night in  tent, enjoying the summer breezes, rather than sleeping in the house.

I think the family enjoyed the splendor of the prairie as much as the mountains, a fitting end to their trip.

 

Summer in full swing: Shasta, Garry Lookout, Alice Creek

Mount Shasta is the dominant visual

Katie at the Wilderness boundary

The Castle Crags

 It was great to see some new places, as was the case with our trip to California and Mount Shasta.

It was followed by a hike to the former Garry Lookout site near Essex adjacent to the Great Bear Wilderness with views into Glacier Park, and an ambitious nearly 14-mile loop on the Continental Divide Trail in the Alice Creek drainage near Lincoln.

Shasta, at over 14,000 feet seems so huge that it is hard to comprehend.

We visited Katie's brother, who has a cabin near Mount Shasta and hiked in the adjacent national forest including an exciting trip into the Castle Crags Wilderness Area, Cliff, Castle and Terrace lakes.

It was scaldingly hot with temperatures over 100 degrees.  On our drive there we experienced 117 degrees in Redding, CA.

The Crags, which I had never heard of,  was my favorite hike, climbing to the base of immense granite spires.  The trail was steep and challenging in spots.

I was surprised that there were so few hikers in this gorgeous area, although we encountered larger numbers at both Castle and Cliff lakes over this 4th of July holiday.

The outdoor recreation at Shasta is limitless.

I would have enjoyed climbing the big mountain some 20 years ago when my fitness and balance were better.

I was amused by all the "spiritual" attributes ascribed to this area, particularly the Lemurians, who believe there was a city inside the mountain with a special race of people.  Crystals are the thing here with many shops touting their healing.

I came looking for Bitterroot and found them

Silky Phaecilia was everywhere on Green Mountain

A look back at the ridge I walked

Lodgepole is coming back from a devastating fire

Alice Creek loop with Green Mountain

 I've done this 11 mile loop at Alice Creek near Lincoln numerous times and have written about it.

What made my latest trip different was that I added a climb of nearby Mount Green on the Continental Divide Trail.

Besides climbing the mountain I was hoping to find bitterroot flowers and I wasn't disappointed, spying a patch about 100 feet below the peak in the red shale that had been "rototilled" by grizzlies.

When I got back down to Lewis and Clark Pass I decided I was still fresh enough to do the Alice Creek Loop that included Red Mountain and a walk across a long shelf of limestone.

The flowers this year are unexceptional except for blooms below Green Mountain that included an array of purple and lavender Townsendia, and Silky Phaecilia.

It was a hot and somewhat hazy day, but I had enjoyable solo stroll of nearly 14 miles and an elevation gain of more than 4,100 feet.

The view into Glacier from the Garry Lookout

Garry Lookout looking into Glacier

This is a 3.6 mile climb to the site of the former Garry Lookout just east of U.S. 2 mile post 168.

This hike was an after-thought on our way back from Kalispell, where we had caught a flight to Santa Rosa for our Shasta trip.

The only thing left of the lookout are the footings.

However, the views into Glacier from just below those footings are remarkable.

The trailhead is unmarked and there is a gate across it. It is a 900 feet gain in deep forest. The wildflowers were quite beautiful.

We had a black bear encounter on our way back to the car.  I thought it was a big, black dog at first and it was bold.  But after we shouted and clapped it worked its way uphill for a better view of us.  No sweat. 

                              

A CDT section hike: Rogers to Flesher

Many dead trees litter this section of the CDT

A grizzly's calling card.  We saw seven piles along the way

The late alpine flower bloom --- Forget-Me-Nots

We were blown away by a vast Forget-Me-Not bloom

The scenic marker of our CDT section

 Many of the section hikes along the Continental Divide Trail are worth repeating.

Such was the case Wednesday when we hiked from Flesher Pass to Rogers Pass, a jaunt of 13.5 miles with elevation gain in excess of 3,000 feet.

I've also skied this section twice.

It is a particularly nice hike in the late Spring and early Summer as the alpine flowers emerge.

I'm used to visiting the Rogers Pass area to see the flowers in late May and early June.  There they peak the first week of June.

So I was blown away by the display of blue Forget-Me-Nots and Jacob's Ladder blooms about half-way into our hike on a very steep hillside where there is a transition from forest to open slope.  This section is sort of scary as a misstep would send a hiker down precipitously.  I can't imagine how we did this on skis.

Tons of trees have died and collapsed on the trail between Flesher and this point.  We scrambled around a half-dozen in the trail.

While Forget-Me-Nots dominated this section, every quarter mile or so, a different alpine flower, like the Jacob's Ladder or Silky Phacelia would dominate.

Also in the trail at seven different points was sizeable grizzly scat.  There is a bear(s) frequenting this section of the CDT.  They had been digging for roots here, too.

We were disappointed that we didn't see any bitterroot, which we know is blooming now elsewhere, nor had the beargrass begun, although we saw some nubbins near the Rogers Pass trailhead.

To the west, Red Mountain, at 9,411 feet, the highest point in the Bob Marshall-Scapegoat wilderness complex provided a scenic backdrop.  I noted that most of the snow had already been stripped away, so it is climbable. 

I had expected to see other CDT hikers, but there were none.  We encountered a horseback party near Anaconda Hills from Wolf Creek's Blacktail Ranch of four who said they were doing a loop ride.

The skies were hazy and clouded up later in the day and the temperature heated up, but not as high as the 90 degrees in Great Falls.

We could see a small fire smoking near Lincoln to the south, but otherwise we were rewarded with great views of mountain ranges and buttes in all directions.