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| Gable to Glenns Lake Foot, MT | |
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| | Gable to Glenns Lake Foot, MT | | | |
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Gable to Glenns Lake Foot, MT
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| Backpack | 4.50 Miles |
538 AEG |
| | Backpack | 4.50 Miles | 3 Hrs | | 1.80 mph |
| 538 ft AEG | | | | |
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| Partners |
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[ show ]
| partners | | Written two months later. Good morning from Gable Creek in Glacier National Park . We had breakfast and started to gather our gear when the bear alert went out by other campers. From the Food Court I actually saw two hikers somewhat chasing/herding a young looking bear; not a sight you expect to see. Elizabeth Lake backcountry site had been closed due to bear activity but this was not the same bear of course. Well that was a fun way to start our day. We were in no hurry as we only had 4 1/2 miles to travel.
Surprisingly, we got started at the same time as yesterday, 9:52AM. We said goodbye to the Belly River Valley and headed west passing through a meadow of wildflowers. We arrived at the long bridge that crosses the Belly River. Last time when Tina and I came across we got to watch one of the Glacier Guides almost run across wearing her heavy pack. This is a long bridge that is not stationary so that was quite the feat. However, today we would all walk across one at a time per the instructions on the bridge. Tina did the best, it's on the video.
Now to climb up the hill via a couple switchbacks. The view once you level out is really spectacular  . You can see the Ranger Station surrounded by the meadows with Chief Mountain lurking above and Gable to its south. You can see all the way down the Belly River Valley toward the Ptarmigan Wall and the Iceberg Notch. In front of you is Cosley Ridge which would be part of our view for a good part of our hiking day. The wildflowers were almost constantly at your feet even as you walked in and out of the forest.
About an hour later we got a good view of Bear Mountain to our north before turning west again and you get your first good look at the tallest mountain in Glacier Park, Mount Cleveland and also Stoney Indian Peaks and wow, what a view we get to enjoy most of the rest of the way. I learned while researching that there was indeed a Stoney Indian Tribe. And then it was back into the forest that was lined with very high thimbeberry plants that sometimes blocked your view of the trail below your feet. Next up was the hike down to Gros Ventres Falls. Gros Ventres is also a tribe and in fact, they are one of the tribes in the area I grew up with around Havre. The Falls were flowing pretty hard. We had a snack and enjoyed being by the Falls.
We headed up the hill and leveled out with those fabulous views toward the end of the Mokowanis Valley  with all those fabulous Peaks watching you get closer than it seems. The wildflowers continue to dance all around you but it was hard to shoot them as it was quite windy when you were in the open. Eventually you get a little closer to the shore of Cosley Lake's intensely deep turquoise blue water. Once again in a forest, the vegetation is so high and there are wood trunks across parts of the trail to control drainage that you can't see; thus, Tina did a turtle and her pole actually broke. Next you come to beargrass lane that is devoid of blooms except for one. When you walk on a bridge across Kaina Creek, you know that Glenns Lake Foot is only a little bit further.
I think they changed the tent sites since we passed by here in 2019 as the one I remember being near the Food Court was not there. We all checked out the various spots and they were all somewhat small. We ended up getting closer to the lake and after some trial and error, we figured out an arrangement for our four tents.... and believe me, it was a small space. We had lunch and then ended up just hanging around camp and Glenns Lake for the rest of the afternoon.
It was always fun to greet new campers as they rolled into camp. I should have made notes about this part of the day and evening as I don't have pictures to document what we did other than our usual Happy Hour. We did our usual chatting with other campers, part of the fun about having to congregate in a common area. I know all the campsites filled as well but mostly because Elizabeth Lake foot was still closed due to bear activity.
We ran into a female ranger who said she would be staying there the night to see if the bear was still around.
I just finished these videos this morning so I haven't reviewed these videos so hopefully they turned out okay on the big screen. Yep, I'm re-editing as the greens are too green... so I just went back and fixed the frames and am re-loading. Samsung camera's have a tendency to oversaturate and while I like color, too much makes me nauseous.
[Video deleted] Gable to Gros Ventre Falls
[Video deleted] more of Gros Ventre Falls and onto Glenns Lake Foot
2022-12-23
I went through and re-edited the videos for this hike/backpack as the saturation was so heavy for some reason. I can't remember why I even watched the video other than I'm just now making them public on youtube. You all get first looks before that. Anyway, I changed them up and also realized the third video never got added:
Video 1 Gable to Gros Ventre Falls: [ youtube video ]
Video 2a Gros Ventre Falls to Glenns Lake Foot [ youtube video ]
Video 2b Cosley Lake area to Glenns Lake Foot [ youtube video ] including around the campsite |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
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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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Route Editor
Route Scout
. We had breakfast and started to gather our gear when the bear alert went out by other campers. From the Food Court I actually saw two hikers somewhat chasing/herding a young looking bear; not a sight you expect to see. Elizabeth Lake backcountry site had been closed due to bear activity but this was not the same bear of course. Well that was a fun way to start our day. We were in no hurry as we only had 4 1/2 miles to travel.
