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| Hiking | 12.75 Miles |
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| | Hiking | 12.75 Miles | 7 Hrs 45 Mns | | 2.68 mph |
| 3 Hrs Break | | |
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| Partners |
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none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Since I was on my own this year, I stuck with ranger-led hikes. This hike was first offered last year and I'm glad because it is an area I've wanted to see and WOW did it deliver. If you like BIG  meadows with lots of flowers, a river running thru it, majestic mountains, along with a forest and a historic ranger station; this is obviously the hike for you.
You start in the forest for the first bit with a few seas of blooming thimbleberry plants at your side and occasional very tall cow parsnips. The elevation loss as you head down to the Valley is ever so slight but seemed longer than the mileage indicated. You eventually reach a bit of a clearing where you can just start to see the mountains in the distance.
You start gently switch-backing even further as you continue down and down but you notice the flowers more and more as you move out of the forested area. We are with a new ranger to GNP, the only one to be hired to GNP this year. He is a veteran medic with a huge pack. His name is Josh; he came from Alaska parks. We are hiking with two others originally from India but now living in Washington. Fortunately, he had a camera and liked to take photos. 
I had done some Rx on the Belly River Trail and hadn't seen much on the WWW so I went into heavy movie mode; probably too much. But if you like virtual hiking, the four videos are the way to go. Before you know it we are at our first of many meadows and not just some break in the clearing; these are serious meadows the size of Two Dog Flats along the GTTSR. And not only are these meadows huge and the views stupendous, the flowers are everywhere. It was so hard to keep moving.
Most of the hike was in and out of meadows on the flats with numerous bridged water crossings. On this part of the hike to the Ranger Station, you really don't get to hike too much by the river which is probably a good and bad thing. Good because you keep moving and bad because you don't get to enjoy the sound and sight of this beautiful snow/glacier fed river with its intense turquoise color.
As we entered an aspen area we heard a woodpecker and Ranger Josh spotted him so I zoomed in for photos and movies. The other fellow didn't get any pictures cuz he couldn't get the right lens out in time  . Having a high-end point and shoot better serves the purpose of getting fly-by pictures or fluttering wildlife when they scamper away so quickly. Along the way we would encounter backpackers coming back from their journey in the Belly River area. All were smiling. And of course, we would have a few backpackers pass us as they started their journey and they were smiling too. I was so jealous.
Unfortunately, the clouds had covered Chief Mountain to our east so we couldn't get any pictures that way... oh well, it wasn't like there weren't mountains everywhere else. What a wonderful hike this was. We approached the Ranger Station area where they have this cool fence along the trail to the station and along the trail for awhile as it continues in a southern direction toward the lakes and the mountains of Many Glacier.
The clouds had started to build just as we reached the ranger station where we had our lunch proceeded by a talk inside the station. The topic of course was about Ranger Joe Cosley, the first back country ranger, poacher and womanizer. Ranger Josh told the story about how he was eventually caught. The story is in video 3. The flag was flying at half-staff in honor of the Prescott Hotshots who died in the Yarnell Hill fire last week.
We got to tour the old ranger house with some some of the old stuff including old phones and traps and canteens etc. And then it was time to hit the trail. Under overcast skies we set off with a quick stop at the restroom at the main campsite near the area. As we continued on the trail we encountered a couple people on horseback. I squealed at a little snake that crossed my path. We passed through the meadows in different light and couldn't see a lot of the mountains to the east and souteast the clouds were resting pretty low by now.
We did stop by the river for a moment  before tackling the last 1.5 miles of uphill. But just before that, I saw a big old bear leap on the other side of the river. It was fun to see but too quick to engage the camera. As we headed up the hill we ran into several hikers being guided out for their first day of a 4 day backpack. It was getting a little late in the afternoon so I presume they would be staying at the campsite by the Ranger Station. I asked the guide about the mountains we could see and I'm glad I did as Ranger Josh and I were way off based on the map.
Not too far from here we saw what looked like a rather large black fox in the woods off to our left. It went back and forth a couple times but we really couldn't get a clear visual. We thot it might be a wolverine. I researched on the net and indeed, I believe we saw a wolverine . We were quite excited at the time. Alas we continued on up the hill back into the forest. The last 1/2 mile seemed so much longer but even prettier going in this direction. The trail widens a bit and like so many Glacier trails, it is a pleasure to walk on  .
We ran into some folks at the trail sign just below the TH. The boy with them had a close encounter with a bear over at the falls in Many Glacier area. He was quite reluctant to talk about it despite his dad's urging so I suspect the experience must have been somewhat traumatic. We were back at the parking lot at 4:45, said our goodbyes and I decided to go to Canada for dinner.
Here are my videos of the hike:
1 - http://youtu.be/v4ez86WsyeY
2 - http://youtu.be/g5M-dnHJZpw
3 (includes at the ranger station) - http://youtu.be/ZwAHIHxfzys
4 - http://youtu.be/mr_M2Whb8Ps |
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Wildflowers Observation Extreme
sticky geranium, elk thistle, gallardia, silvery lupine, self-heal, yarrow, just budding fireweed, thimbleberry, horsegrass, pink clover, death camas lily, several colors of paintbrush, tall cow's parsnip, white mariposa lily, alumroot, some prairie smoke, lousewort, loco, fleabane, harebell |
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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
. Tina and Deborah would end up getting a good lead on us several times; especially once we hit the meadows where the views open up as well. It was warmer than we thot so I'm glad we didn't have to be in a hurry other than we wanted to get to camp to eat a late lunch. There is a pond about a couple miles into the hike that always causes you to stop and observe. I've never seen wildlife around it though. Sentinel and Bear Mountain are to your west and provide a great backdrop for the flowered meadows. The trail is a bit deep here so you have to be mindful of how you step as it's easy to get your feet tangled as it's also narrow. 
as we just meandered around. There were 2 horses and a mule in the pasture eating away and swatting their tails from all the bugs. This was a buggy area. We would see the horses and mule and ranger on their ride out on our last day. There were a couple other backpackers hanging out at the Ranger Station porch. The views were stunning and the light would shine occasionally on Gable Mountain... and if you've seen Gable Mountain, you know what a show that is! And, of course, wildflowers everywhere. What a great first day! even though I did terribly. 
. I guess it would be equivalent to seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time. We've seen it before but every time it's just breathtaking. 
