2024 UP to Montana

We got up this morning very early, around 4:45. We had everything ready to go, so it only took us maybe 20 minutes to get everything ready packed up and take care of the dogs.

We get out to the trailhead, and it is already busy. There are so many people heading out on the same trail that we are at the same time. The only redeeming factor was that about halfway through the trail, it splits, and one route goes to Iceberg Lake, and the other route goes to the Ptarmigan tunnel. Ptarmigan tunnel just opened yesterday

Redd was so disappointed and getting upset about all the people on the trail, but we were only thinking at that time there were a lot of people. We would soon find out what a lot of people actually are.

About 2 miles in is Ptarmigan Falls. This is a lovely waterfall that has flat granite rock that you can sit upon and have a snack. There were way too many kids and aggravating people at that time, so we did not stay. We continued on our way towards Iceberg Lake. The route was very wet and very full of water crossings. The AllTrails review said nothing about water crossings. At one point, I crossed over, and as I was crossing, I swallowed a mosquito. As soon as I swallowed the stupid mosquito, I also fell into the water.

The trail to Iceberg Lake is 5 Mi one way, but the halfway point is Ptarmigan Falls. After we passed Ptarmigan Falls, we started a steady uphill climb. It's also a very narrow path that is covered on each side by berry bushes and other different types of flowers and grasses. I call that bear ambush. Because a bear could really be laying right there, and you really would never see them. We came around a blind curve, and a lady was saying "hey bear" and clapping her hands. Redd thought that perhaps she thought he was a bear, but in reality, there was a bear in the bowl off of the trail not far from us. I never did see the bear, but the bear got a Laney Wilson concert. We sang every song of Laney Wilson that we know to keep the bear away. I figure if it works with Chico, it would work with a bear, and it did.

Finally, the moment of truth! After about a fourth of a mile of walking through snow which was really ice we were rewarded with the most beautiful view of Iceberg Lake. The water is a beautiful aqua marine blue and there are actual icebergs floating in this lake. We walked down to the lake edge and ate our breakfast/lunch. Unfortunately for us, there were several very annoying middle school kids. A large group of them. They kept saying "it's not even cold." I wanted to throw them in that water to shut them up. We hung out as long as we could at the base of the lake, but it was so very cold, and the wind was blowing so very hard. Before we got to the lake edge, we had shed jackets and long sleeves, but upon arriving, we had to put the jackets back on.

We had to hike back up well, actually, it's down because the lake sits in the bowl of granite cliffs. This is a lake that was caused by a glacier melt, so it's lower than you would anticipate but still high up in the mountains. The water was running higher and faster than it was when we went up because it was so warm and the snow was melting. About a fourth of a mile from the trailhead, my legs and knees just would not cooperate. I was having a lot of difficulty stepping down off of rocks, and it was very slow going.

This lake is one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. You can not even describe the color of that water because it is just so blue it looks unreal.

As we were hiking down to the parking lot, there were so many people coming up. We probably passed 200 to 300 people going up. Once again, leaving early and hitting the trailhead before 6:00 a.m. is the best idea.

After we finished the hike, we came back to the RV and took a shower, and used our massage gun to bust up the lactic acid in our muscles in our legs. I fixed us a small coffee, and we had a chocolate covered granola bar and went to the East Saint Mary visitor center. They have a movie that tells the history of Glacier, and we looked at the souvenirs but bought nothing.

As we were hanging out and eating dinner, redd got a text that said Western Montana is in a heat advisory for next week and that more than likely temperatures will be in the '90s to 100s. We decided to cancel our Harvest host that we had booked, and we have instead reserved a campground near the Swan Lake in the Flathead Valley for two nights, and it has full hookups. We can't have no AC in temperatures like that, especially with the dogs.

Tomorrow's activities may include paddle boarding in Bowman Lake or Lake Mcdonald. We have not decided yet, but for sure, a bear claw will be had at from the Polebridge Mercantile.

Uncrustables Hazelnut and jelly s'mores are on top for tonight. I finally convinced redd that amped up s'mores he'll like.もっと詳しく