Day 4 - Glacier National Park

For Tuesday, September 6, after Labor Day

Traditional summer is over. No crowds, right?

Views from the camp site:

The morning in Glacier National Park was a little breezy. As I was in the bathroom, my new tent blew away a short distance into some weeds. I had mostly emptied it and was letting it air out a bit. Even though the weeds were thorny, no damage was done. Hey, if everything goes smoothly, what would we tell stories about? Really, it was no big deal. It was just another footnote in the “adventure” so far.

Today was the day to travel to the north end of the park. But first I checked out some nearby trails with a small river and Baring Falls waterfall.

Goose Island

Stream in woods

Baring Falls
I did not see anything bear or bare this morning. Relax and imagine feeling the spray.

In open range country, you may encounter cattle on or near the road at any time.

On the north end, I had tentatively picked out the Iceberg Lake trail while researching trail options at home. Only later did I learn that this trail had been closed for over a week due to too much Grizzly Bear activity with fall berry picking. The trail had just reopened yesterday afternoon.

It was a warm day. But I figured it should be cool by the icebergs. So I kept long pants on. That was a mistake. I thought two water bottles would be enough for that distance. But I could have used much more. And I think the altitude had some effects too. So the fun hike did not feel all that great physically.

As recommended, I was noisy most of the way singing and talking and making up little song phrases. This really felt strange. I prefer to be quiet. But the noise is a preventative measure to avoid surprising bears or other animals. I did have bear pepper spray with too.

It is wise to stay on or near the trail at some points.

It was a nice hike with a variety of scenery. The waterfall was mostly hidden with no great view of its height.

The waterfall in the bottom center is only a partial view. It appeared there was no fairly safe route to see the entire waterfall.

But the tiny little Iceberg Lake next to a glacier was a nice spot to stop and rest a while and visit some of the other hikers of all ages. The alpine flowers were putting on a nice show.

Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park. There was still a little bit of ice left in September. The view is way too big to get it all in. About ten other people joined me sitting by the lake. Recorded 6 September 2011. Music by Ron Hedberg.


Chillin' by Iceberg Lake. Recorded 6 September 2011. Music by Ron Hedberg.
Relax by the lake for a little bit.

Alpine flowers

Back at the parking lot, I was thankful I had purchased some Gatorade mix. After a couple water bottles of that, I felt much better.

In the parking lot, I met John. He is a therapist/counselor moving from New York for a new job. Unfortunately, he did not get the job out west for which he interviewed. So he wasn’t sure what will be next. Funds are short. After a fairly long talk, I asked if I could pray for him and what’s next. He refused. He is an atheist. I told him God might surprise him (in a good way). Feel free to pray for John, his job situation, and his potential source of hope for the future.

It was getting late and all of the park campgrounds were full. I needed to make progress west. I got back on U.S. Highway 2. I found plenty of campsites in the Lewis and Clark National Forest. Summit Campground is on the Continental Divide. Here I saw the need for trains with multiple engines. This is the chosen route for most northern trains. Grain and other goods move west. Cars and other Asian goods move east.

There weren’t too many trains during the night. And road traffic was light. So the $10 campsite served me just fine.