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| Hiking | 10.30 Miles |
1,709 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.30 Miles | 4 Hrs 28 Mns | | 2.62 mph |
| 1,709 ft AEG | 32 Mns Break | 6 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | The last hike of our Glacier National Park trip.
After struggling at the gate to get in (and only managing to do so when the ranger went on lunch break) we started our hike to Iceberg lake.
The hikes started out quite exciting. As is typical for the trails in Glacier, the rangers hang a yellow tag on trail signs saying "recent bear activity" if there has been a recent bear sighting in the vicinity. At this point on the trip we were laughing at the signs because every time we saw one, we saw no bears or even signs of bear activity. On the contrary, every trail we hiked that did not have a yellow sign we either saw bears (in the distance) or evidence of bear activity (namely bear scat). Well this time the yellow bear tag proved to be accurate.
We were just starting out and Victoria was in the lead while I rummaged through my daypack for some sunscreen. Suddenly she froze (so quickly I almost ran into her) and whisper/shouted: Bear! I looked up and saw that a large bear had just ambled around a blind corner of the trail about 30' in front of us coming our way. The bear froze when it saw us and stared at us for a moment. Victoria immediately said; Babe! Babe! give me the cell phone! (she had been using my Pixel to take photos). I responded with; Get behind me! and proceeded to get in front of her, draw the bear spray (I was carrying our can), and take the safety clip off. At this point the bear doubled back up the trail and around the corner from which we hear a woman shout: Stop! You're chasing it towards us!. The bear apparently didn't appreciate the shouting because it doubled back towards us again. This time it was followed by two cubs. I was starting to sweat a bit at this point as we clearly had a mother bear with two cubs trapped between two groups of hikers (just the situation where a bear might be inclined to attack). As I was considering the chances of actually having to use the bear spray several other hikers (in both directions) caught up to with us and the group up the trail and reacted in similar fashion to Victoria, with many excited shouts of Bear! and much fumbling for cameras and cell phones. At this point the bears decided they had enough of excited tourists, the cubs didn't stop when they reached mom but proceeded off the side of the trail and momma bear followed shortly after.
As we approached the spot where they left the trail (cautiously but still with the intention of getting photos) some comedy ensued. At the blind corner we saw the other group of hikers; in the front was the girl who had shouted, she was holding a can of bear spray at the ready and every other hiker in her group was huddled behind her (for safety) while holding phones and cameras of all kinds over her shoulders and around her sides trying to get a picture of the bears. I looked behind me and saw that a similar situation had developed; with Victoria and several other hikers with cameras at the ready but all other cans of bear spray forgotten in holsters and bags. Laughing on both sides ensued and the bears were well out of sight.
The trail turned out to be a great place for bear sightings. Besides the close encounter with the mother bear and her two cubs, we were able to see them on the way back as well at a more comfortable distance. It turned out that they were black bears (despite the brown coat) as the mother did not have the shoulder hump. We also saw (at much greater distance) a solitary Grizzly on the side of a nearby hill munching on serviceberries.
Beyond the to the animal sightings, the trail was exceptional. As you proceed along the views alternate between shady patches of forest and meadows with views of Mt Wilber and Grinnell to the south. The stop at Ptarmigan Falls made for some scenic videos near the halfway mark. As we approached Iceberg Lake the small lake it drains into came into view first which is is exceptionally picturesque with the glaciers and surrounding mountains.
The scenery here is stunning. The north-facing box canyon shields the snowpack here from the sun and in the shade the ice melts gradually and is still present in the late Summer. It breaks off the glacier in great chunks and drifts about the lake. Even in August there is still ice floating around and the water is icy cold. Some brave souls decided (briefly) to swim in it. I was satisfied soaking my hat and feet. I'm told that earlier someone was bold enough to swim out to one of the closer icebergs and get out on it. That would have been a sight! There were two areas that provided access to the lake shore; one along the main trail that was quite popular and a 2nd side trail that we thought was better for photos. This was one of those spots where (as Victoria put it) "its hard to take a bad photo". This was a wonderful spot and a great final hike for our Glacier National Park Trip. |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
Alos lots of berries of various sorts. Serviceberries were well represented |
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