A Fall to remember: Coopers Lake, Windy Point in Highwoods

The golden larch along Coopers Lake north of Ovando

I guess you can say Katie is a real tree hugger as she takes on this 130 foot larch

Larch showing off

Surprising late, aspen color in the Highwood Mountains

Some of the blowdown along Thain Creek in the Highwoods

 It's the final weekend of October, and while still colorful, I think my autumn colors treks are over.

I can feel winter looming.

In the past week I've taken two hikes in the Coopers Lake north of Ovando on the edge of the Scapegoat Wilderness, and a hike to Windy Point in the Highwood Mountains.

I expect the western larch to be in full color until the end of October, so I wasn't surprised to see the lovely display near Coopers Lake.

I was surprised to find the bright, yellow colors in the aspen and cottonwoods in the Highwood Mountains.  In normal years these would have been gone by now.

My wife has observed that it is rare to see the aspen and cottonwoods on the east side of the Continental Divide in bright color at the same time as the larch on the west side.  But there they were.

I had been invited to Coopers Lake by my friend Wayne Phillips, who was leading a hike for the Montana Native Plants Society, and who was interested in the giant larch trees in the area.  We parked at a gate on the east shore of the lake and walked a trail on that side that parallels the lake. It is a trail that can be taken to the North Fork Blackfoot Road Bear Creek trailhead, something I'd like to try someday.

We only went a mile and three quarters, and stopped to measure larch trees, which we estimated to be some 130 feet high and more than 5 feet in circumference. 

The larch were in such golden glory that I returned with Katie a week later to enjoy them again, only this time in better, sunnier weather that made the larch really stand out against the blue sky.

It must be at least 30 years since I had been in the area and didn't remember the lake or the trail, or how I managed to climb to Windy Pass and then Echo Peak.  But I do remember the late Sydne and Charley Abernathy on the trail.  They had a cabin on Coopers Lake.  The trail there was particularly poignant to me in that Sidney had died only two weeks previously.  These were two of the kindest, community-minded folks in Great Falls.

Phillips is convinced I accessed the pass and peak via Bear Creek trailhead.

Anyway, Thain Creek, which is the main drainage to Windy Point in the Highwoods, has been very affected by uprooted and downed trees from recent high wind storms.  The Forest Service has done a remarkable job clearing the trail. 

Robust Fall color tour: Teton canyon, Belt Creek, Bearspaw nature trail, Pioneer Ridge, Polebridge larch

Bowman Lake in Glacier

North Fork Flathead River

I've always maintained that our best colors in the Fall are on the ground, although I must admit that the larch in color are always a thrill.

 It seems as though the pace is almost frantic:  getting in as much of the Fall color as we can.

I don't remember a better Fall show, a combination of warm and dry with no frost.

In a two week period we hiked the Middle Fork Teton after touring the Teton Canyon west of Choteau;  took several trips up the Belt Creek Scenic Byway viewing the brilliant reds, oranges and yellows that climb the gulches and spangle the bottoms; hiked the Beaver Creek County Park Nature Trail in the Bearspaw Mountains; did side trips to Lewistown and Stanford to visit the American Prairie Museum and attend the Stanford Scarecrow Festival; did the Going to the Sun Highway and stopped overnight at the Polebridge Mercantile, with a visit to Bowman Lake and a hike into a lovely meadow;  we drove out along the North Fork Flathead River in awe of the spectacular larch in full color, proceeding down the Flathead and the Swan and through Seeley Lake and home via Rogers Pass.  Whew!  Oh, and I did a side hike, the Pioneer Ridge Loop near the Belt Creek Ranger Station.  The Belt Creek trip was coupled with a drive via White Sulphur Springs and the Skidway Campground in the Big Belts.

These trips took us into the Little Belts, Bearspaws, Big Belts, Rocky Mountain Front, Glacier Park mountain ranges.

 

 

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.