Log for Wednesday, July 9, 2003

Glacier National Park, Montana

I awoke at my campsite at the Rising Sun Campground to the sound of singing birds. It was still early but I made a breakfast of scrambled eggs with parsley. I boiled water for green tea and enjoyed not having to tear down camp as I was staying put in one place for a change. The sun was shining brilliantly over the mountains so I decided to ride my bicycle down to the St. Mary Lake boat ramp and check out the water. It turned out to be very windy and no boats were on the water. There were white caps on the lake. No kayaking this morning.

I biked over to where my brother and his son were staying at the Rising Sun Motor Inn to see if they were ready to do some sightseeing. David was having coffee out on the porch of the quaint motel and looked quite content. We decided to drive to Many Glacier to hike the Swiftcurrent Lake Nature Trail, a 2.4-mile trail looping around Swiftcurrent Lake. The Many Glacier area is in the northeast corner of Glacier Park and has many interesting day-hikes.

We drove to the town of St. Mary and got gas and oil, then drove to Many Glacier. The road was lined with spectacular views all the way to Many Glacier. We parked in the trailhead parking lot for the Swiftcurrent Lake Nature Trail, packed up our homemade granola and headed out. The trail was filled with Beargrass (a tall plant with a delicate white flower atop) and offered excellent views all around the lake. This is the first time I have seen Beargrass and I found it quite beautiful. Beargrass is an evergreen herb of the Lily family (Xerophyllum tenax) with white flowers that grow on a stalk up to six feet tall.

We veered off the lake loop trail for a quarter of a mile to see St. Josephine Lake, which turned out to be another spectacular glacial lake.

We drove to Two Medicine Lake, and found the drive to be a long, tedious winding road at around 6,800 feet in elevation. The scenery was not as spectacular as at Many Glacier but the trip was worthwhile in many regards. We saw wild horses running along the two-lane paved road. There were almost running across the highway at full speed but stayed off the road just as we drove past. It was lovely to see these very beautiful animals running free.

We cooked out at my campsite at Rising Sun. We made steak, hash browns, sauteed mushrooms, salad, bannock with cinnamon, and Okter Chocolate pudding to dip it in.

Tomorrow morning David and I will attempt the Otokomi Lake Trail.