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| Hiking | 13.49 Miles |
2,890 AEG |
| | Hiking | 13.49 Miles | 8 Hrs 2 Mns | | 2.12 mph |
| 2,890 ft AEG | 1 Hour 41 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | This hike involved driving 1.5 hours from the Fish Creek camp ground. 1 hour for the distance, and 30 minutes due to crappy road quality and/or twisty, hilly goodness. Regardless, it was a bit of an adventure to get to the trail head at Bowman lake.
The trail starts at bowman lake and heads off into the forest. Very shortly there is a bridged river crossing followed by an old patrol cabin. The first trail Junction is soon after. We should have went right to go counter clockwise around the loop to do the unshaded, exposed climbs and descents in the morning when it was cool, but instead we did the loop clockwise and spent the morning in the shade instead. Oh well! It wouldn't have mattered so much if it wasn't a heat wave when we were there with 100F Temps!! The trail ascends the ridge through thick forest with lush undergrowth, complete with multitudes of mosquitoes! :/. The result was that we wore pants and long sleeves despite the heat. :/. Still the Vermin attacked us!! Boo. Anyway, the lush green made up for the evil mosquitoes. So beautiful! The trail is easy to follow, and it is the only one around. It did feel like a bit of a bushwhack at times given the abundant plants pressing into the trail space. After 5.6 miles of trail in the lush forest, we emerged at the Quartz lake Campground. We saw one group of 6 backpackers coming back to the TH from the CG. That's it! Amazing considering the sheer amount of people in GNP and on the more accessible trails. This lack of people truly made this trail worth the drive time! Upon arrival at Quartz Lake (where back country CG is located, maybe 6 small sites), we were the only ones there! The lake is beautiful and serene. We loved the remoteness and solitude. We took off our shoes and waded in the frigid water, on the smooth rock beach. The water is so cold that it numbs your feet in no time. Even the mosquitoes didn't take away from the beauty of this area.  We had a leisurely lunch on the beach.
We departed from Quartz Lake CG to lower Quartz Lake CG a few miles away through lush forests and another bridge crossing, this time over middle Quartz Lake. We saw two more people backpacking from lower Quartz Lake to the TH. The 3 miles passed swiftly, and we arrived at lower QuartzLakeCG. As it was later in the morning, more people were about. 3 backpackers and a family of 4 with small kids (troopers to make it over that incline... They were young kids!). We stopped for a pit stop (both Quartz Lake and lower Quartz Lake CGs have a single pit toilet each, latched from the outside as well as inside to deter bear entry) and a quick snack. We departed shortly to head out on the last 3ish miles of our loop hike. We crossed the bridged river and slowly started our way up. This is the part we should have done in the morning... 1 mile straight up relentlessly with no shade. In the afternoon heat during a heat wave... Yay! But we made it one foot in front of the other, through the forest but with no coverage. Finally at the top, it starts almost immediately down for 2 miles straight down but with a slightly more gentle slope and some shade coverage. After those 2 miles going down in the forest, we meet back up at the trail junction, and passed by the patrol Cabin again. We were in the home stretch to the car!  13.5 miles. We were soaked from the heat, but it was a delightful hike in the wilderness with relatively few people and lots of gorgeous scenery, especially the Quartz lake beach.
We saw no bears, but we did have bear spray as is recommended by the NP. We tried to make a good amount of noise as we hiked, too.
After your hike, be sure to stop in the tiny town of Polebridge at the Mercantile where they have a delightful bakery serving freshbread and pastries! The huckleberry bears claw and chocolate-filled poppy bread are amazing!! |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
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We had a leisurely lunch on the beach. 
