Trip 4: Chief Mountain to Many Glacier
Back in June, I found a cancellation through the Backcountry Availability page for GAB ELF. I had been to the Ptarmigan Tunnel from the Many Glacier side many times, but I had never climbed up from the Elizabeth Lake side, so I grabbed it.
A friend from Calgary joined me for this one. Tibber was back in the Park and planned to join us, but changed her mind after hiking during a couple of wind warning days. She met us in Many Glacier the day before the trip and we had dinner at the lounge at Many Glacier Lodge. We then did the short walk over to Fishercap Lake. No moose, but we were entertained by a small deer family.
I shared a 2 bedroom Swiftcurrent cabin with tibber that night. It was nice to have one final visit with her for the summer. She drove Sharon and I to the Chief Mountain Trailhead the next morning and took off from there for her drive back to Phoenix. Another sad goodbye to a Chatter friend.
We got a late start but that was intentional, because we only had a 6 mile hike to the Gable Creek Campground. There was a wind warning this day, but the wind really wasn’t an issue. We got there in about 3 hours, and enjoyed a leisurely afternoon hanging out in the campground and walking near the Belly River ranger station.
We had a large campsite at GAB and with the help of the Thermacell we were able to take advantage of the space. We laid out our mats and were able to lounge and do some stretching.
There were a nice group of folks at the campground that evening. There was a couple from Kalispell who were off to Helen Lake the next morning, and would then be climbing Gable Pass “the wrong way” and camping at Slide Lake for their final day. We also chatted for a long time with two cousins from Texas who were in the Park for the first time and full of awe and wonder. They were on a two night itinerary with GLF as their second night, but they planned to detour to Elizabeth Lake the next morning before hiking up the Mokowanis Drainage to GLF. We would cross paths with them again the next morning in the middle of a thimbleberry jungle.
The backcountry ranger came around that night to check permits. I always keep mine in the top pocket of my backpack. I got it out and handed it to her and she had a puzzled look on her face. She said, this permit is for Gunsight Lake. Oops! Guess I didn’t clean out my pack very well after the last trip.
Our second day was a super easy one as we only had to hike from GAB to ELF. So again we were in no hurry. As you may have noticed, I didn’t tackle big mileage while backpacking this summer (other than what we would do the next day). I get a lot of enjoyment from just being in the backcountry, whether it’s hiking or just sitting by a lake and taking in the scenery. It is nice to slow down and really notice things. I do have a plan for next summer that’s a little more intensive, but I’ll share that later.
It’s a good thing we were in no rush, because I slept in until 8:45 am! I have never slept that late on a backpacking trip. But it was a cool night and I was super snug and comfortable in my sleeping bag.
Needless to say, we were the last ones out of camp that morning. First to arrive the day before and last to leave.
One thing I really like about the Gable Creek campground is how easy it is to gather water there. The creek is steps away from the food prep area, and there are nice deep areas along the bank, so with the flow of the river your bag fills instantaneously.
Gable Mountain is one of my favorites.
First stop: Dawn Mist Falls.
It was quite brushy between Dawn Mist Falls and ELF.
This photo with Sharon gives it a little more perspective. The only way out is through!
We got to ELF in time for lunch. It was already a busy campground. We again had some super nice people in camp. Most of the group was off to Many Glacier the next day, so we would see a lot of these people over the course of the next few days, crossing paths on the trail and at the restaurant and porch at Swiftcurrent. We spent some time getting to know 3 doctors that met in med school years ago and take backpacking trips together each year. But our favorite camp mates were a team of 3 from South Carolina, David and his daughter Emily and niece Alex, both in their early 20’s. These girls kept us entertained with their constant chatter.
Our afternoon at ELF was a bit cloudy and cool. Sharon loves the water and had packed a swimsuit in hopes of jumping in Lizzy Lake, but it was too chilly for her to be motivated to do so. We lounged, talked to people, and soaked in the scenery and enjoyed Elizabeth Lake. The last time I was here there were too many mosquitoes to enjoy it, so I made up for it this time.
We went to our tent that night knowing we needed to have a much earlier start for our ten mile hike to Many Glacier.
I did not sleep well. I rarely feel the need to go in the middle of the night, but this night I did. So I was up quite a bit deciding what to do. The distance to the pit toilet outweighed the need each time, but around 6:15 am, a bird flew under the vestibule on my side of the tent and startled me with its flapping around in fright. It found its way out pretty quickly, but I was up.
I made my way to the pit toilet and then the bear box to gather my things to make coffee. There were quite a few people already packed and having breakfast. Sharon still slept. I made my coffee and chatted with the doctor group. Sharon still slept. Then they packed up and hit the trail, so I made my breakfast. Sharon still slept. Finally around 8:15 she made her way over to the food prep. We made a game plan to be on the trail by 9:30, and I headed back to the tent pad to start packing up. Despite my morning dawdle and her late start we made it out of camp at 9:30 as planned.
After crossing the bridge out of ELF, the climb begins. The first 2 miles were uphill, but it was an easy grade. We made pretty good time with occasional short rest breaks at some of the switchbacks, and decided we would take a longer break at the junction for Red Gap Pass.
We were there in no time. We took off our packs and stopped for a snack. There was lots of action during our 20 minute break. People passed us in both directions, including our South Carolina friends and a solo hiker who was also heading to the Pass. We continued on and the trail flattened out for about a mile and was quite nice. It was shady and pleasant as it rounded a bend in the forest, where we reached a small waterfall and bubbling creek.
After the flat section the climb began in earnest, although we were soon above the tree line and enjoying the views.
The solo hiker was ahead of us just enough that we could use him as a guide to see where the trail was going. Although we knew we had a climb ahead of us, it was a little disheartening on a few occasions to see just how much higher than us he seemed to be. The trail winds around many turns along the mountain, creating a false sense of “oh, we’re going to see the tunnel just around the corner” when in reality, it was quite a few turns before we could see the final stretch.
Sharon struggled a bit on this climb. It was hot, the sun was relentless, and she had a heavy pack. But she is strong. She is the mother of five so I know she can handle tough physical feats! I had to remind her a few times of just how strong she is. She drank some Gatorade and persevered. Toward the end, when we rounded the last corner and the final stretch to the tunnel was in sight, we could see our young friends Emily and Alex standing outside the tunnel doors, waving and cheering us on. I told Sharon let’s hike 100 steps and then we’ll rest each 100 steps. This really helped get her through that final stretch. We were elated to finally make it to the tunnel.
It was back to civilization once we crossed through those tunnel doors on the Many Glacier side. Lots of dayhikers.
Emily and Alex were no longer at the tunnel when we got there, but they were waiting for us with David at Ptarmigan Lake. We took off the packs and boots, soaked our feet in the lake, and enjoyed a long, leisurely lunch of cheese, pepperoni sticks, crackers, Pringles and apple slices.
When neither of us could eat anymore, we still had 3 apple slices left. Before we could get the words out of our mouth offering them to David and the girls, Emily and Alex pounced on those slices like it had been days since they had seen fresh fruit. And that’s because it had been!
The five of us set off hiking together for the final stretch to Many Glacier, but David and the girls were soon ahead of us. We just couldn’t keep up with their pace. We had been so elated to make it to the tunnel and felt like the rest of the hike would be a piece of cake. Truth was, there was still 5 miles to go, and that first stretch leaving Ptarmigan Lake is steeper than I remembered. We were both pretty bagged by the time we got to Ptarmigan Falls and we were on autopilot the whole way back to Swiftcurrent.
Originally, we weren’t planning on staying at Swiftcurrent that night. With it only being a 3 1/2 hour drive home from there, I thought we could make the drive home and sleep in our own beds. But the border closes at 6:00. I found a cancellation for a Swiftcurrent hotel room on the morning we left, and we made a last minute decision to stay at Swiftcurrent after hiking back from ELF, because we didn’t want to be pressured during the hike back to make the border crossing by 6:00. It’s a good thing we did. We didn’t make it back to Swiftcurrent until 6:15.
When we finally made it to the Swiftcurrent parking lot, we found David, Emily and Alex sitting next to my vehicle. I had promised David a ride to the Poia Lake trailhead where he parked his car at the start of their hike. They were staying at the backcountry campsite, and we had some extra shower tokens to share with them. They invited us to their campsite for a beer that evening but we never made it.
We were so thankful to be staying in Swiftcurrent this night. It was so nice to hike right to the hotel and have a hot shower and not have to drive anywhere. After we showered and ate dinner, we socialized with the doctor group at the restaurant, visited the gift shop, and were happy to just go back to our room and relax. I had hoped to see our South Carolina friends the next morning, but we never did see them again.
We treated ourselves to breakfast at the Many Glacier Hotel the next morning before driving back to Calgary. What a great trip. It was now time for me to focus on the family for a couple weeks before my next return to the Park.