Grinnell Glacier Hike

We were pleased when we heard that the Grinnell Glacier trail had been reopened. It was shut down previously for bear activity. This was where Jack Hanna (TV nature guy...) had to use pepper spray on a young grizzly. We had been wanting to do this hike, but thought it was not going to happen. We actually had tried once, but arrived at the boat dock to threatening weather. We waited and came back another day. It still wasn't amazing weather, but we had purchased the boat tickets and decided to go for it.

The first part of the hike was two quick boat rides. We took the hiker shuttle boats across Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine. This allowed us to join in the ranger led hike to Grinnell Glacier. We thought that with all the bear activity here, it would be a safe way to go. The ranger's name was Monica, and we had heard her give a talk on the geology of glacier once already this summer. She was a young, recent college graduate and we enjoyed her presentation very much.

This is a look at Lake Josephine and the boat dock where we started after we had climbed just a bit up to the ridge where we would do most of the miles. We had a large group of people on the hike, and since the abilities were very scattered, the pace was slow and "stop and go". Whenever Monica stopped for a bit she gave information about the plants, animals, or geology of Glacier. We learned a lot, but after awhile we got tired of being with all the people. This was especially true because the lady directly ahead of us was someone that would stop dead in her tracks with no warning to look at a plant, pick a berry, etc. I almost crashed into her several times.

When the group decided to stop for a 15 minute snack break, we decided to continue on our own. It was cold, and we didn't feel the need to stop for that long since the pace had been really slow.

Above is an attempt to show the sun breaking through the clouds. It didn't come out as nicely as we hoped, but the sun was like a spotlight moving over the forested sections. It was pretty cool.

In this photo above, you can see where we are headed. The large snow area at the top is Salamander Glacier. Just below it, (hidden) is Grinnell Glacier. We will be going above that waterfall and almost to the rock wall below Salamander Glacier. The waterfall is Grinnell Falls.

This is a view of Grinnell Lake. It lies beneath Grinnell Falls, which flow from Grinnell Glacier. Have you noticed how everything is named Grinnell? Well, it was all named after George Bird Grinnell. He was an environmentalist that explored the area and was instrumental in getting the area named a national park.

Just in case you were tired of mountain photos, here is one of trees. Glen did try his hand at photos of many things this summer. :)

After we left the group at the snack break, we approached this waterfall. We knew that we had to go through it. We aren't sure that everyone on the hike was thrilled about this, and even we had some questions: "Just how wet are we going to get?" So here is our time-lapse sequence of Terry going through the falls.

Planning the route.....

Beginning through.....but careful not to go fast enough to slip over the left edge.

Deciding that the water was COLD and going a bit faster......

Mostly through. The right half of the body is now wet. That doesn't show up in the photos, but trust me....it was wet and cold. And knowing we have to come back through it doesn't help.

A closer view of where we are heading. Now you can see parts of Grinnell Glacier.

And....now the area below the glacier that is melting into a small lake above the waterfall.

You can see the lake, the glacier to the left, and Salamander Glacier above. Glen says the salamander is peeing.....boys will be boys!

Anyone for a swim?

Glen posing by the beautiful view. Raingear is now on as it has started to sprinkle. We head back to the picnic area just a bit down the trail from here, eat lunch, and then head back. We met the ranger led group again just as we finished up lunch and were ready to head out.

We were able to hop on the first boat when we returned to the dock, and the only wildlife we saw was a bighorn sheep. We were glad to have done this hike, and would say it has good "bang for the buck". It isn't overly steep or long, and has good payoff. We know now why it is a popular hike. If you wanted safety in numbers, the ranger led hike is a great option.

We only did one more hike while we were there, so the blog updates are almost done.

Short, but sweet

We were running out of longer hikes in the park, and decided that we might want to try some of the hikes that were commonly done by people that visited our campground. We had a lot of people looking for short, easy hikes to get out and explore a bit of the park without having to be in great shape. So, we tackled two of the more popular hikes.

First, we hiked to Avalanche Lake. This trail goes beside a creek and hikes into a lake where you can see some tall waterfalls coming down the hillside from the glacier above. It is a very busy trail. That was one of the first things we noticed and have to say it is a different kind of experience. It reminded us of Yosemite where things were just so packed with people that it didn't feel like hiking.

With that said, it was an opportunity to see some pretty things without a long hike. It did have rolling hills and was certainly challenging for some.

This is the lake at the end of the hike. It was an overcast day, and in fact did rain on us before we got back to the car, so no brilliant blue sky or water in the photos. It was a nice place to have a picnic lunch, dip the toes, and drink in some scenery. There was a ranger there telling of the days when the glacier above would have been visible there and how he used to go ice climbing there.

A closer look at one of the waterfalls.

An even closer look at the water in Avalanche Creek.

Another popular hike in the park is to the Hidden Lake Overlook. We had tried to put this in the itinerary when we were visiting with Kyle, but parking issues prevented us from accomplishing it at that time. The hike begins at Logan Pass, and takes you through an alpine meadow to an overlook of a hidden alpine lake.

Along the way, we were treated to some mountain goat action. We also had to make our way through some snow even though it was August! We had waited and waited for the snow to melt out and didn't have time to wait any longer. When we first arrived in June, people were heading up this with skis and snowboards to then ski/board back down.

Above is the payoff. The hidden lake. You can't see this from the "Going to the Sun Road" or from the visitor's center at Logan Pass. But, with a short 3 mile round trip walk, what a treat. There isn't a lot of elevation gain, and much of it is actually on a wooden boardwalk. Along the way you pass through wildflower meadows and are surrounded by mountains. This is certainly a great hike for people of all ages and fitness levels.