July Trip

[MarxMN]

Our group of 20+ was in Glacier for the last week in July. Most of us arrived on Saturday, July 22. We left the Park on Saturday, July 29. The weather was dry and warm with only one thunderstorm. We camped at the St. Mary KOA. This year all our hikes were day hikes.

On Sunday, July 23 we hiked to Cobalt Lake. We were looking for a good first day hike to stretch out but not wear out. The hike to Cobalt Lake served that purpose and also provided colorful flower displays.

On Monday, seven of us hiked the Gunsight Pass Trail from Jackson Glacier Overlook to Lake McDonald Lodge. The hike is listed at 20 - 22 miles in different guides and on the mile marker signs. We had hiked this trail over two days several times (spending a night at Sperry Chalet or Gunsight Lake) but wanted to hike it in one day. We were on the trail by 7:00 am and finished about 5:30 pm. The hike from the road to Gunsight Lake was mostly uneventful and cool in the early morning. Hiking from Gunsight Lake to Gunsight Pass provided spectatular scenery and several snow fields that were challenging to cross. We ate lunch at the pass and then hiked down to Lake Ellen Wilson. The waterfall and creek near the bottom had a lot of water and most of us had wet feet after crossing. Hiking up to Lincoln Pass in the hot afternoon sun was the toughest part of the hike. We took a long break at Sperry Chalet drinking lemonade and talking to another group from Minnesota. Then the long hike down the mountain to Lake McDonald Lodge seemed to go on forever. The weather was threatening much of the way down but the thunderstorm held off until we were lying on the lawn at the lodge.

On Tuesday we hiked the Siyeh Pass trail. The flowers were good but not as prolific as in previous years. There was almost no beargrass in bloom.

On Wednesday we hiked to Grinnell Glacier. Despite the general dryness, a lot of water was flowing where the trail goes up the steps along the rock wall. A herd of thirteen bighorn sheep were on the snow above the picnic area.

Thursday was Canada day - we hiked the Carthew-Sumit trail from Cameron Lake to the Waterton Townsite. It seems the sumit is alway windy, this year that again was the case. Several members of the group that did not want to do the long hike climbed the Bear's Hump. Our group has developed a tradition - we celebrate the Canadian hike with pizza and beer at Pizza of Waterton.

Friday the group hiked the Highline Trail. Part of the group hiked out to the Loop, others hiked over Swiftcurrent Pass to Many Glacier (the Hockey Ref hike). I did not hike that day, I took one of our group to the Cardston Clinic to deal with a sinus infection. When I returned to the St. Mary park entrance at about 1:00 there was a narrow plume of smoke up the Red Eagle Valley. The park ranger at the entrance station said a crew had been sent in to survey the situation. I drove over to the Loop to pick up some of our hiking group and when we returned a couple hours later smoke from the fire was visible over Red Eagle Mountain from Logan Pass. That night we drove back into the park and watched trees torching across St. Mary Lake.

Saturday morning we left for the drive home to Minnesota. Saturday afternoon the St. Mary area was evacuated due to the Red Eagle fire.

We had another good hking trip. While the park was dry in late July, streams and creeks still seemed to have a lot of water from melting snow. Wildflowers were fewer than in most previous years. Our timing relative to the Red Eagle fire was good - the fire certainly disrupted plans for those arriving a week later than us.

One additional note, crossing the border, especially returning to the US, was much more pleasant at Piegan (the road to Cardston) than at Chief Mountain. The US Customs agents at that station did their job in a much more professional manner than the agents we had at Chief Moutain.

[southernguy]

We were there at the exact same time this summer and it was hot. Sounds like you had some real good hikes. Gunsight to McDonald is quite a trek in one day. We did it in 2 days in 2004 and spent the night at Sperry. Attached is a link to a 4 minute video I did that might give you some memories of that hike. It was converted from Hi8 to digital so the quality is not quite as good.
Hope to see you on the trails.

Jim

[MarxMN]

Thanks for the link - the video is fun to watch.

In my report I should have mentioned that it appears the shelter at Gunsight Pass is being repaired. Lumber and other supplies were stored inside the shelter and along side the shelter in late July.