We are in Glacier NP and decided to take one of the tamer, moderate trails this first afternoon. The Ranger did mention it got steep at the end but was good for a lazier, less challenging afternoon. Well, it was 9.6 miles roundtrip with an elevation change of 1050 feet (most of that in about a mile distance). I am not trying anything they call a difficult trail!
Sounds like a “can’t miss” sort of place right? It is a wetland in one of these supper narrow valleys of the Columbia mountains. It is pretty cool plantlife and this area came with the potential opportunity to see grizzly bears. Seems they really like skunk cabbage blossoms so visit this area frequently. Not today though…no bears for us.
Spring is late in Revelstoke NP too. Wildflowers in the subalpine meadows are just getting started as the snow recedes. It was still a great walk though and some wonderful views. We never quite figured out all the ranges we could see but it was a crystal clear morning and we are sure it was 100 miles or more. At the end of the hike, we relaxed on the shore of a lovely clear mountain lake. The air was full of the smell of the subalpine fir. If one could just bottle it! I didn’t stick my toes in the water but since the snow was just feet away, I am sure it would have triggered some serious goosebumps.
We hiked the trail along the Nooksack River today. I saw a Bald Eagle lift off from the river with a wonderful size fish. He should have been happy for a while. We watched some crazy folks head off into the rapids on rafts. The water is only hours from being glacier ice so one can only imagine how cold it is. Plus the river is absolutely wild. They were all in wet suits and took a seemingly calmer stretch of the river. But still? I’m waiting to raft until we get somewhere where it is 90F and sunny and getting wet feels Good.
They aren’t just going to have late access, they aren’t going to plow the highest part of the road into Mt. Baker national recreation Area at all this summer. It is a bit of a bummer. There is actually only one trail completely free of snow. It is along the river by camp. Everything else has thinning ice bridges (drifts that are being undercut by fast flowing streams), avalanche tailings (big piles of snow with boulders and whole trees) or is just under many feet of icy snow. Yikes. Not my idea of a good time. We will try one more time tomorrow to see if we can get far enough for some good views of the local mountains.
The further out into the wilderness I get the more intense all those senses are. It is amazing even if just for those few hours.
We started out on an easy stroll along the river but a mile or two into it got the bright idea to take a connecting trail, another Pass trail. This one was sure to be snow free. It was; but, the 4th of July Pass trail was a nearly continuous climb for over 3 ½ miles. Absolutely relentless! By the end of the walk we traveled nearly 12 miles. We are both still moving but I anticipate a fitful night’s sleep as my body retaliates. Oh well, tomorrow we move camp so it’s a low energy day for me. We are heading to Mt. Baker Scenic Byway.
We got to see one and heard two avalanches/glacier calving. We were up on the Cascade Pass trail with a wonderful view of the steep mountains all around us. They claim 300+ glaciers and we had a great view of at least three huge ones. Ice clings to these nearly vertical cliffs and when it lets go it bounces down with a grumble or rumble. It is a very distinct sound that I would hate to hear if I didn’t know exactly where it was coming from. From our vantage though, it was really cool.
We actually had to quit the hike before we reached the actual pass. There is still a lot of icy, steep, tunneled-out snow up there. We found a nice rock at one of the switchbacks and just watched the world go by for a while….really relaxing.
We didn’t wear the fancy tennis racket–looking snow shoe made of wood and gut. Ours were the much more utilitarian plastic and steel shoe with built in crampons to grip the slushy, icy snow. It was great fun once we got the hang of it. I am sure we’ll do it again. We hiked out to see the Nisqually glacier and the results of all it’s grinding down the face of the mountain. It is a convincing image of the power of nature.
We both managed to stay on our feet pretty much all the time. Morning will tell us if we abused any muscles too badly.