|
| | | Triple Divide Pass from Atlantic Creek Camp, MT | | | |
|
|
Triple Divide Pass from Atlantic Creek Camp, MT
| | |
| |
|
| Hiking | 6.11 Miles |
2,032 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.11 Miles | 5 Hrs 18 Mns | | 1.45 mph |
| 2,032 ft AEG | 1 Hour 5 Mns Break | | | |
|
|
| |
| Partners |
|
[ show ]
| partners | | oh ya, this lived up to the hype and beyond. Either that or I was so glad I made it to the top of the Pass  . We had hiked from Morninstar Lake and dropped our backpacking gear at Atlantic Creek campground so it seemed a longer hike than it actually was. The weather was threatening too. At the start it was a bit humid and hot though. You start in the forest until you come to the junction with Medicine Grizzly Lake hike. Once past there you seem to come out of the forest off and on for a bit before the whole valley opens up before your eyes. Of course the piece de resistance is that lake and to top it off, THAT waterfall  . I am guessing the waterfall is about 1500 feet (making a track on HAZ Route Editor from bottom to top)? A few day hikers passed us on their way up. The round trip for this hike from the Cut Bank TH is 14 miles.
It's really amazing how fast you get above the valley and how green it is. We passed thru an avalanche area and you can see a pretty good-sized pile of downed trees below us on the valley floor; altho it's hard to decipher how that avalanche came down the hill as it looks like it curved. But now I was getting hungry so Wendy found a bit of a wide vertical crevice with a large nice flat rock for some lunch. We had great views east and south. Alas, we have to move on.
The skies are more overcast now. As we trudge up on this beautifully constructed trail, you start to see across (south) on Medicine Grizzly Peak a little lake in a cirque or hanging valley and soon its waterfall. Off and on from this point we would encounter hikers coming down; everyone exclaiming how fabulous it was. Eventually we could see Triple Divide Peak but your eyes are constantly drawn to that extremely long waterfall into that extremely beautiful lake.
We rounded a corner and then could see the trail ahead again to a certain point where you couldn't see it anymore which meant that we would probably be going up and to the north at that point. Oh I forgot to tell you one of the most interesting things I read about this trail. It was one of the trails used back in the day for horseback rides so that's why it is so straight and didn't use switchbacks. There are NONE on this three mile, 1,950 feet elevation gain trail until you go over the other side.
As we finally made the turn and started heading up to the top of the Pass we encountered Max. Now if you encounter Max, it's worth stopping a moment to chat. In his case he had just summited two peaks and one of them twice. Come to find out, he works at the Many Glacier Hotel and has been in the Park since 2015. He explained to us why he had to tackle one of the peaks twice as he missed his route the first time, came back down, looked up and saw where he missed and went back up again. During this conversation, two hoary marmots decided they were gonna wrestle a little so we got distracted. You must see the video (part 1) as it's quite entertaining; especially with Wendy's commentary. Meanwhile, back to Max, he would be another coincidence. We would run into him tomorrow nite and then again when we got back from the Chalet.
And now to get 'er done, it was really quite something as we got nearer the pass as it seemed all of a sudden Triple Divide Peak morphed into a giant. And then another giant started rising next to it in the form of Norris Mountain and then you were there. I was so overwhelmed by this giantness and the beauty of it all. I got carried away with my exclamations as you will hear in the video over the wind. Poor Wendy hardly got to express herself as I couldn't quit saying "oh my God" "oh my God". And then to look south at that grandeur too and look down at Medicine Grizzly Lake so far below and look at the slight bench you could walk over to the falls.
We checked out the scree route to Triple Divide Peak, no way, ha! but in one of my picture captions I show you the easier way. We looked over at the peaks to the north including Split Mountain that was in front of you and the valley that held a rather large turquoise deep blue tarn and then up at Mount James saying "what about me?". The chipmunks and hoary marmots entertained us between our gawking. It was definitely that time of the year for critters needing to make critters.
Once the over-jubilation was done it was now time for celebration. I had brot up some huckleberry lemonade to mix with vodka but we had decided it was too windy on top so we went down the north side on the trail amongst some trees. We attempted to start this cocktail-making when we were rudely interrupted by a very aggressive hoary marmot. I guess he just didn't want to be left out of the libations. Wendy tapped her pole near the marmot several times but to no avail so we packed up and decided to head back (it's on the video too, part 1). After all, it is their turf.
Once back at the pass we marveled again at all of this, the hydrolocigal apex of the continent. The Continental Divide runs through these mountains, creating both a maritime and continental climate. This peak is rare and unique. From the prow-shaped summit of this modest and unassuming mountain, water begins a journey ending in three oceans—the Pacific, Atlantic (via both the Gulf of Mexico and Hudson Bay), and Arctic (via Hudson Bay). And there we are, standing on its Pass.
Heading down was as fabulous as going up except that I could breathe normally. The up really wasn't that bad, it helped that I had hiked two days in a row now. There was still lots of flora to admire as well as just the difference in the color of the rocks. Glacier National Park really has such a variety of colors of rock. The light was dancing all over the place especially down on the lake. You would still catch yourself looking back at the tall and elegant waterfall as you descend. As we got a little lower we could see rings of water in the lake. Not sure what was causing that but I assume fish? The clouds would leave impressions on the lake as well as the shadows they caused. Of course, the lake was most beautiful when the sun shone on it.
We were going to try and drink our vodka and huckleberry lemonade at our lunch spot but alas, the lunch spot now had water running through it. So we ended up just continuing our journey. As we got lower we stopped at the avalanche area to check out the trees that had been decapitated. A little further down and on the other side of the trail you could see where a couple trees were able to hold on. And now we were getting closer to the forested part of the hike so we came in and out of trees; were grateful for the shade as for some reason it decided to warm up, I think because the sun stayed out. The foliage alongside the trail started to get taller and thicker the closer to the bottom we got.
When we got to our campsite, we saw that it had rained so a good thing we had everything under Wendy's tarp. We got our campsite set up and then joined the family that was already there. They were delightful and we talked about all sorts of things. Mrs. Young had brot salsa which was perfect for the beans and tortilla Wendy made for me. Mrs. Young basically had brot just about everything that was in their refrigerator. The family was avid backpackers and hikers. Their son was a scout and had such a sophisticated way of talking for a young teenager. Wendy and the teenage girl sang some sort of song that many of you would recognize but she'll have to tell you about that.
To the Pass: [ youtube video ] (some good critter action here and there)
From the Pass back to the campsite: [ youtube video ] and we had some great light for this |
|
Wildflowers Observation Moderate
spirea, buckwheat, thimbleberry, alumroot, shrubby cinquefoil, subalpine fir, pearly everlasting, paintbrush, mountain penstemon |
|
| _____________________
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. |
| | |
|
|
|
Route Editor
Route Scout
