Escaping the smoke to a busy Swan

Katie at the Mission Mountains Wilderness boundary

Glacier Lake in the Mission Mountains Wilderness

Huckleberries were ready

Katie crosses Glacier Creek

A nice cascade at the beginning of the hike

 I absolutely love the Swan valley, but doubt I'll go back during the summer again.

Highway 83 between Highway 200 and Glacier Park is now wall-to-wall campers, creating a long, slow traffic jam.  Highway 200 to Great Falls from that Swan Valley turnoff is pretty bad, too.

Now that I got that off my chest, we still had a wonderful time escaping the unhealthy wildfire smoke in Great Falls to breathe the less unhealthy smoke in the Swan Valley, spending a night at the Laughing Horse Lodge in Swan Lake, and taking a side hike to Glacier Lake in the Mission Mountain Wilderness, and a trip in a rented canoe on the Seeley Lake canoe trail.

It had been more than 25 years since I had been in the Missions, so I didn't remember much of the trail.  I had gone to Turquoise Lake then, bypassing a stop to Glacier Lake, so the Glacier Lake hike (3.4 miles roundtrip) was something new.

We had smoke, but still got some vistas from the lake toward Mountaineer Peak and the wonderful waterfalls into the lake.

We were also treated to mostly ripe huckleberries treats along the way.

The Laughing Horse is always a great experience.  Owner/Chef Kathleen is an engaging personality who has cultivated an amazing garden in the open space between the small cabins.  Her food is gourmet, and you can eat it outdoors, although you'll deal with the smoke.  It is less than a mile from the Swan Lake State Park public access, a lovely spot to swim or to walk along a beach trail. We enjoyed conversation with the Laughing Horse guests.

It was a nice break from being confined during these days of smoke and heat.

The long range forecast is for more.

I'm not a water person, but the canoe trip in what amounts to a slough from the Seeley Lake Ranger Station was interesting, although the weather was overcast and the air thick with smoke.