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| Hiking | 2.40 Miles |
117 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.40 Miles | 1 Hour 15 Mns | | 2.62 mph |
| 117 ft AEG | 20 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | http://hikearizona.com/x.php?I=4&ZTN=16172&UID=11058 Continued from part 1 of Many Glacier day, Part 2:
I didn't realize Gary's broken toe was giving him grief until we re-grouped at the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn. So we had 2 options, both involved Gary hanging out at the Many Glacier Lodge while we either did the trail ride  or the Grinnell Lake hike . We opted for the Grinnell Lake hike so we dashed back to the Many Glacier Parking lot. I ran over and told the trail master we would not be joining them for the trail ride and then we headed down to catch the 3PM boat to the TH on the far side of Lake Josephine.
The boat ride across Swiftcurrent Lake is always nice and this day would be no exception; other than our guide who's voice I could barely hear. Fortunately, I already knew a lot of the information so I just concentrated on getting movies and pics. By this time the sun was out with some high scattered clouds floating about.
Once you hit the other shoreline, you have to hike over a pretty good-sized hill. We were worried about one of the older tourists with a cane and though it took him a bit longer, he persevered  and joined us in the boat (Morning Eagle) on the other side. While we were waiting some ducks suddenly appeared on the water. They had been fishing and just popped up  . It was quite the site. I got some of it on film but I was a little far away. 2.66 miles later at around 3:55 we arrived from the Swiftcurrent Lake dock at the opposite shore of Lake Josephine.VIDEO of our boat ride, walk, boat ride to the Grinnell Lake TH: http://youtu.be/QiOZbtQC3wM
And then the dash was on as we only had an hour to get back in time for the 5 PM boat. However, the worse case scenario is that we would have to walk back the 2.5 miles to the Lodge. The first part of the hike involves going through some forest. You do get a glimpse of Cataract Creek as it had overflowed its banks. Soon you come to the Hidden Falls suspension bridge which they had just replaced. First, I was suprised we came upon the Falls so fast as I thot they were beyond the lake and second, from this vantage point, being slightly hidden and all, they weren't quite that special but going across the bridge and trying to maintain my balance while filming them was.  
From there you follow the creek for a short bit until you come to some wooden plank walkways. Of course, the purpose of the planks is to keep you dry, which they did but this year they needed to re-route a good portion of this due to all of the snow. It's also an interesting moment when you encouter hikers going the opposite way as everyone has to maintain their balance either while waiting or while passing.
Wendy and I were impressed by the wild course of the creek since it had obviously blown its banks. By the looks of the trees, there had been some serious water action going on here. What surprised us was to see the remaining snow drifts as we approached the junction with the other trails that take you to some passes. And then right before you, as you come off the planks is a view of Grinnell Lake with the mountains rising up into the Garden Wall to the west and all of that water flying down, I mean falling down. IN credible  . Granted the color of this lake is nothing short of spectacular from above but here it was nice to be able to touch it; oh wait, I didn't touch it; but my boots did .
So we took it all in for a few minutes, got our pic taken in the "W" formation and then headed back. This is a case where you're glad you get to go back the way you came as we were trying to keep up a pretty good clip which as you may know, is a difficult task when "tibber"  is along. It was only us and another couple on the trail so it was nice to have our private moments with it. We grabbed a few more pics of Hidden Falls and going across the one-person suspension bridge and arrived back at the dock with a few minutes to spare. It was apparent, since we were the last to arrive, we would have to wait for the second boat  . It was such a lovely day for a wait. Here is VIDEO of our hike including Hidden Falls and Grinnell Lake: http://youtu.be/jdEYSqtlgY8
I sat down next to one of the boat people. She was a local from Kalispell but would be coming to Arizona. I gave her some ideas of where to hike. Like many others, this is where they hung out for their summer job between school sessions. And before you knew it, the last boat arrived. There weren't many of us on it so we could spread out and move about as we wished. We went over the hill to catch the Morning Star. Little did we know when we got on this boat that we would be treated to such a special experience.
As we are getting toward the other end of the lake preparing for the turn toward the boat dock, what do we see but a moose in the lake. WHAT?! but there she was, swimming her fool legs off. I didn't have the best position for filming as I had to shoot over others (and fortunately the boat didn't tip ) but I was able to zoom. For awhile there it seemed like she was treading water but before you knew it, as we're docking she made it ashore. I think she was headed to the Gift Shop for some huckleberry yogurt (Wendy thinks she had a hot date at the Lodge) ; but all the people on the porch scared her away. Anyway, it made for a lot of excitement on a normally very serene boat ride. Here is VIDEO of the boat trip back from Lake Josephine and Swiftcurrent Lake including the moose encounter as well as from the Lodge and at the Cattle Baron Supper Club: http://youtu.be/kRYIV8so7h4
After de-barking we decided to spend some time at the Lodge before driving to dinner. So Gary and I headed off to the lounge to get a beer; it ended up being a huckleberry draught Heffewizen (so GOOD ) which we drank on the porch enjoying the most spectular views and wonderful weather. From there, it was off to the Cattle Baron Supper Club in Babb where we got to eat some of Montana's finest beef prepared perfectly  . And if you thought the nite was over, nope - we had to stop at the KOA to do Gary's no-longer-missing laundry. They had this most wondeful contoured map of the Park at the store but it was a little pricey so we passed. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
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