2009 – Week 13



July 9, 2009, Thursday:
Susie and I were up at 6:30am. Daisy had 2 walks, and we were able to leave the RV at 8:15am for the 9:00am boat. Once again, we were transported by 2 woodies that were in magnificent condition. We were told that the boat on Lake Josephine, the farther of the two lakes we would travel, a few years ago had been in need of a major overhaul. She had been hauled over the glacial moraine between Lake Josephine and Swiftcurrent Lake (an artificial lake in front of the Many Glacier Hotel). The boat normally on Swiftcurrent Lake was hauled the other direction to Lake Josephine and placed in the fully enclosed boat shed for the winter. As luck would have it, an avalanche hit the boat shed and sheared off the roof so that boat operated as an open boat for the following season. Given the afternoon rains that seem to come through here every day, it must have been a wet tour season. To get back to the activities of the day, we took the first boat across Swiftcurrent Lake, walked a 1/5-mile across the moraine where we boarded the other boat to go to the far end of Lake Josephine. There were tall mountains all around the lake, and not much space available for paths along the water’s edge. We had the choice of 2 hikes; an easy one led by a naturalist, the other a more strenuous hike by ourselves. We, along with several others, took the more strenuous one named the Grinnell Glacier Overlook. Along the way, we saw fresh bear scat and a discussion followed as to what our thoughts would be if the scat wasn’t on the trail as we went up but was when we came down 20 minutes later. We were unable to go the entire way because of snow blocked some of the trail. If we had tried and slipped, it would have been a long way down.




We saw five people, all young, ignore the gate and keep on going. We thought our 2- mile hike from elevation 4,858 feet to 5,876 feet was enough. So did lots of other people. There was a Ranger at the high point who answered the question “Can we go on?” The Ranger’s answer was short and to the point “We can’t stop you but none of you have the proper equipment to proceed beyond this barrier.” Silence; no one asked anything more. Eventually we all headed down only to see many more people of all ages heading up. The wild flowers were colorful, helped I’m sure by all the moisture this year.

We opted to walk back along the north shore of Lake Josephine rather than wait for the boat. As we walked, we noticed several avalanche chutes where the trees had been cleared out from the top of the mountain almost to the lake. However, for some reason the avalanches seemed to stop about 150 feet of the lake and never took the trees out. We ate the rest of our lunch while waiting for the boat, and then went into the Lodge for some snacks. I rested (slept might be a better word) around the large fireplace while Susie allegedly headed to the gift shop. However, when she returned, she told me she had been talking to a lady who had a Kindle 2 from Amazon. The lady loved it! Susie thought it might be a bit pricy. We made one attempt to ride our bikes back to the campground but it was raining a bit with a promise of more to come. We waited for a while and then decided to tough it out. About 15 minutes after we arrived at the RV, the sun broke through so we got wet for no great reason. Susie took a nap, so the recharging of the RV battery was delayed. We had dinner and went to a Ranger talk on fire in the forests. It started to thunder and lightning and then rain so the program was moved under the motel porch. She was here in 2003 when there was a fire on the west side that threatened to jump the ridge and burn the east side as it had a few years earlier. The Many Glacier area was evacuated, and she and her young children went into Canada for 3 days before returning. She also talked about the fire in the spring of 2006 on the east side that jumped US89 and burned part of the Blackfoot Indian reservation before it was put under control. When we passed through here in September 2006, the smell and the burned bark on the trees was still there. This year the smell is gone and the bark has fallen to the ground. There is also some new growth. It rained quite a bit last night, and the bikes are cleaner than they’ve been in a long time.

July 10, 2009 Friday:
We were very lazy this morning and eventually settled on doing a 6-mile roundtrip hike to Ptarmigan Falls, taking us into the 3rd different valley in three days. The weather looked great and we eventually started the hike at 11:15am. Before we left, Susie had taken Daisy for a last walk down the main road and was stopped by another camper warning her than he had just seen a black bear sow and cub crossing the road where she was standing. Evidently that spot was a major known crossing route. The first 1/2-mile was the toughest, or so it seemed. We passed a family taking a break, and they were eating oranges. They seemed like a great snack and Susie vowed to get some when we came down. We walked through woods, and as we gained altitude we passed through fields of wild flowers and low shrubs. This was definitely bear (black and grizzly) country and so we hollered “Here Bear” is an effort to warn to warn them off. We passed very fresh bear scat and a spot along the trail where a bear had torn up the grass to find grubs and roots. As we went further into the valley, the Horrigan family (Leo, Margery and son Eamon) we had passed earlier caught up, and the five of us joined up. We were now close to the magic group of six people that the NPS had found bears had not attacked. It turned out that this family was from Baltimore. The usual “You’re kidding!” and other comments were passed. We stopped at the Ptarmigan Falls, talked, had a snack and then Susie and I decided that we would carry on to Iceberg Lake. This would make the hike a 10-mile trip. Off we went, climbing higher all the time and hollering “Here Bear” more often and a bit louder.



About half way up, we saw the first major wildlife of the trip, a Golden Eagle. This large bird was sitting on a rock ledge about 100 feet above us and the same distance off the trail. It doubt if it was watching us, but all of a sudden it took off and put on quite a show as it soared over our heads and the valley below. Continuing on, we started to hear news of a grizzly bear about 5 minutes ahead and about 35 yards off the trail. All the people coming down the trail confirmed this and were very excited. We approached quietly, but when we arrived, the bear had disappeared. We hope he would pop up again, but after 10 minutes we continued on, more than a bit disappointed. We kept looking back, but it was Susie who spotted it moving across the fields.
It took the rest of us a bit longer, but eventually we all saw it. There was another person nearby, and try as we might we never could get his eyes in the right place. Susie took the pictures, and we’ll see how they turned out. Up we continued and came upon a small lake. The GPS and the map showed only one lake, but this was a disappointment. We continued up the trail, popped over a small rise and there it was: a beautiful blue lake sitting at the bottom a semi-circle of 2600 foot high mountain cliffs above the water surface.

We had lunch there, soaked our feet, and gazed in awe of the scenery. We saw Mountain Goats on the cliffs and steep rocky slopes.

Leo and I tried placing ice on our knees to reduce the swelling before heading down. Off we went, making noise and encouraging those coming up the trail to continue on: the view was well worth the effort. Eamon had a great recollection of the trail, and he was right on when telling us when we were approaching a point where something exciting happened. We stopped at the Ptarmigan Falls for a rest and then continued down. We reached the bottom at 6:30pm and headed to our respective campsites with an agreement to meet the next morning to exchange information, etc. Susie and I had corn-beef hash and eggs, real comfort food, before heading off to hear a Parks Canada Ranger give a talk. Evidently, the US Park Service and Parks Canada swap programs during the summer, and we had a great one. On the way to this program we were slowed by the sighting of a black bear on the mountain slopes above the road. It was a black bear even though it was blonde in color. The two major differences between the species are the big muscle hump and the dished face on the grizzly bear. This bear had no such hump so it was a black bear. We returned to the campground and took showers. All of a sudden it was 10:15pm, and exhaustion set in. Off to bed!

July 11, 2009 Saturday:
We were slow getting up this morning but managed to have one cup of coffee before the Horrigans came by. We exchanged info and wished them good luck on their remaining visit. They headed to Two Medicine Campground for a couple of days before heading back to Whitefish MT where they would catch AMTRAK home to Baltimore. They were hoping to get a white-water trip in before leaving. Susie and I headed to St Mary Campground and decided to make today a rest day. Tomorrow we’ll spend a few more hours in Glacier NP before starting to head east. Susie drew, inked and colored like crazy while I tried to catch up on my photographs and prepare a blog for the next time we have internet.

July 12, 2009 Sunday:
Today we did as we had planned, plus a few more things. We took the shuttle to Logan Pass and then jumped on another bus to The Loop, a 180 degree-hairpin turn on the western side of the Going-to-the Sun Road. We didn’t want to go all the way to Avalanche, because the cliffs and valleys were not as spectacular. We passed The Weeping Wall, but it wasn’t as wet as it was when we passed in late June. We returned to Logan Pass where we took a short hike along the Highline Trail. The exciting portion of the hike was a rock ledge varying in width from 4 to 6 feet. Just to help us along, there was a steel cable covered with old garden hose that we could hang on to as we walked if we wanted.




Sometimes we did and sometimes we didn’t. There were hikers coming from the other direction, but the most interesting obstacle was a male mountain goat coming at us. He passed on the outside, but only after we had averted our eyes. These mountain goats, while not actually friendly, do not seem to fear humans. We returned to Logan Pass after a 1/2-hour hike. We jumped back on the shuttle to St Mary and decided it was too late to travel on, so we checked back into the campground. When Daisy was settled, Susie and I took our bikes to a trailhead and hiked the 3-mile loop around Beaver Pond. We returned to the RV around 6:15pm, and Susie took Daisy for quick swim that turned out to be 40 minutes. Daisy came back all refreshed and happy. The Park Host came by on his evening rounds and found us running the generator out-of-hours. Oops! We had dinner and tried to plan an exciting way across MT and WY, seeing places we haven’t seen before. It’s a struggle, but I think we have a plan. Next struggle will to do the same for SD.
Tonight really is our last night (of 12) in Glacier NP. As you can probably guess, it has been great and there is more to see.

July 13, 2009 Monday:
This was the last day in Glacier NP; twelve nights on both the east and west sides of the Park and well worth the time. It rained last night, and the weather for today was forecast to be rain most of the time. We decided to get breakfast in St Mary before heading to Great Falls. It was a real local place and very popular. We left St Mary and headed south on US89. The terrain changed from the foothills to the plains where we first saw cattle ranching and then as the land was better, there was still ranching but much more hay cultivation. To the west of the road, there was the Bob Marshall Wilderness and beyond that, even though we couldn’t see it, was the Abolt’s house and the town of Condon MT.

We kept heading southeast and came to a small town, almost abandoned but it had a Post Office. We stopped to change drivers, and I took a walk with Daisy. As we had approached the town we saw seagulls and wondered why, but when I got out of the RV, the ground was covered with grasshoppers or some other such bug. They were everywhere. No wonder the birds liked the place. We passed by Freezeout Lake, which is a bird wildlife refuge, but it was empty this time of the year. We continued to be amazed by the land and ranching until we reached Great Falls at 2:15pm. We stopped to refill the food stocks, get gas, purchase more dog food for Daisy and wash laundry. We finally reached the KOA at 7:15pm and had sticker shock at the price. It is a beautifully maintained place, but we didn’t need that. There was a husband-wife team who gave a small concert, and we met a couple and two young children who live in Michigan. It turns he was from Nova Scotia, but moved because of a lack of job opportunity. His father was a coal miner in an area we visited, but the job killed him at age 42. Tough life in the mines. The concert was a nice end to the day.

July 14, 2009 Tuesday
We work on computer stuff until 10:30am when Susie took Daisy for a walk before we left for Billings MT or thereabouts. I disconnected the RV from water and electricity and move it to the propane filing station. When I was in the office I discovered that they had ‘Cookies made just for you’, and I had a few and picked one up for Susie. They were delicious and just what we needed as we headed down the road. We continued south on US89, once again through wonderful farmland. It was raining intermittently, and we actually passed through an area where it had snowed. There were about 3” inches remaining on the edge of road, making it a bit slippery. Remember, this is July 14th! We passed by the Sluice Boxes State Park, so named by the early miners for the shape created by vertical rock walls and flowing water at the bottom. The signage stated that this area had been under water Unfortunately the road didn’t follow the river so we had just a short view. We continued south through the Little Belt Mountains where we passed the rough the town of Niehart, a place with a sense of humor. One street was named Compromise St. and the one store was named ‘The Inconvenience Store’. There didn’t seem to be much activity here but in earlier times it was an active mining town. We saw the remnants of two vertical mine shafts. We crossed the Kings Hill Pass at 7,393 feet where we found the base of a skiing facility. We went down the other side and turned east on US12 with the Little Belt Mountains on our left and the Castle Mountains on our left. This is true ranching land, and it is hard to find any houses anywhere. As we continued down, we began to see land under cultivation and irrigated for hay. We saw one cattle feed lot, but it wasn’t very big. We passed through a few very settlements, but they did have Post Offices so they must have been towns. We then turned south to Billings where we were planning to spend the night. The trip from St Mary to Billings has been wonderful and very different from the areas we have visited over the last three weeks. We have had a touch of the MT plains that we have not had before. Nearing Billings we called RV Parks and the prices were outrageous. We traveled a bit west on I-90 to Laurel where there was one with more reasonable prices, but it was behind a truck stop, and the smell of diesel fuel was too much. We moved on and started south on US310 and US212 and as we passed over the Yellowstone River (on its way to join the Missouri River) we saw a County Park. We though we had it made, but it was adjacent to a large refinery and while the wind direction was fine and the smell went the other direction, all that was needed was a wind shift, so we passed that one up also. We continued south and eventually stopped at 6:30pm at Cooney Reservoir State Park. The reservoir was above overfull. We settled in on the north side, right next to the water, and had dinner. It was quick and great and we needed the refreshment after having traveled 288 miles. Just after dinner, Susie looked out the window and there were two rainbows, one brighter than the other. I took Daisy for a brief walk and as the sun was setting Susie went out again. Daisy dearly wants to swim again, but it’s going to be cold tonight. The skies cleared and suddenly the Beartooth Mountains at the northeast corner of Yellowstone NP became visible. There was still snow on the peaks and in some of the areas protected from the sun. As we were going to bed last night, we heard a singing in the distance and discovered that there was a powerboat on the reservoir with a group of young folks and a boombox. They were far enough away and seemed to be having a good time without being a nuisance.


July 15, 2009 Wednesday:
Beautiful clean skies this morning. We have decided to spend a 2nd night here and so we are looking out over the reservoir with Daisy mostly of her leash. There is not too much activity here, but with the numerous homes on the north side, I suspect it is busy on the weekends. Susie is desperately trying to catch up with her drawings, and I am trying to identify the individual mountains we see off to the southwest. The Park staff has confirmed that these are the Beartooth Mountains
so we feel good about that. We have now seen the Beartooths from all sides, and the view never seems to get worse. I have pulled out the chairs and lowered the awning to provide shade. The generator is running full tilt to recharge the house battery and the computers. I have begun to take Susie’s battery when mine is low on juice. Either the battery is going bad or the iPhoto program with all our pictures is an energy hog. Well, I have a 3-year guarantee that expires in November so I’ll just go get a new one! I’ve already replaced it once. As I sit here with clear skies, I am beginning to think we should get a solar charger for the computers so that we don’t have to run the generator as often. There are 2 powerboats on the lake, often with water skiers behind. Oh no, a 3rd boat was just launched and it has a very loud boom box. Daisy is swimming in the water with a big stick and having fun not being on leash. She will be exhausted tonight. We have noticed that as the days go by, the winds shift from the south to the north and then back as night falls. It makes orienting the RV so the generator exhaust doesn’t infiltrate the cabin; closing the windows isn’t sufficient. Susie drew and drew and drew, finally stopping at 5:30pm after many hours. She took a rest and made a meatloaf and Brussels sprout dinner. I prepared a Byrd’s pudding, shortbread and peaches desert. She is now working on here photographs to prepare for the next time we get to a wifi site. It may be a while. It beautiful out as the sun sets. We had a 5-minute shower with very big raindrops, but that has all cleared away. We had a tent camper come and decide that he would pitch his tent between the water and us in our campsite. Susie politely asked him to move, and he did. Don’t know what he was thinking. There is much more activity on the Reservoir than yesterday. PWC’s seem to be everywhere as they roar up and down the lake. Susie had trouble with her pictures so she may need to take them again tomorrow.