Gable to Glenns to Cosley - July 20 and 21, 2022

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tibber
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Gable to Glenns to Cosley - July 20 and 21, 2022

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7-20-2022 GAB to GLF Written two months later.  We had breakfast and started to gather our gear when the bear alert went out by other campers.  From the Food Court I actually saw two hikers somewhat chasing/herding a young looking bear; not a sight you expect to see.  Elizabeth Lake backcountry site had been closed due to bear activity but this was not the same bear of course.  Well that was a fun way to start our day.  We were in no hurry as we only had 4 1/2 miles to travel.

Surprisingly, we got started at the same time as yesterday, 9:52AM. Image

We said goodbye to the Belly River Valley and headed west passing through a meadow of wildflowers.  We arrived at the long bridge that crosses the Belly River.  Last time when Tina and I came across we got to watch on the Glacier Guides almost run across wearing her heavy pack.  This is a long bridge that is not stationary so that was quite the feat.  However, today we would all walk across one at a time per the instructions on the bridge.  Tina did the best, it's on the video. Image

Now to climb up the hill via a couple switchbacks.  The view once you level out is really spectacular 8) .  You can see the Ranger Station surrounded by the meadows with Chief Mountain lurking above and Gable to its south.  You can see all the way down the Belly River Valley toward the Ptarmigan Wall to the Iceberg Notch.  In front of you is Cosley Ridge which would be part of our view for a good part of our hiking day.  The wildflowers were almost constantly at your feet even as you walked in and out of the forest. Image

About an hour later we got a good view of Bear Mountain to our north before turning west again and you get your first good look at the tallest mountain in Glacier Park, Mount Cleveland and also Stoney Indian Peaks. I just learned via Rx that there was such a tribe.Image 

And then it was back into the forest that was lined with very high thimbeberry plants that sometimes blocked your view of the trail below you.  Next up was the hike down to Gros Ventres Falls.  Gros Ventres is also a tribe and in fact, they are one of the tribes in the area I grew up with around Havre.  The Falls were flowing pretty hard.  We had a snack and enjoyed being by the Falls. Image

We headed up the hill and leveled out with those incredible views toward the end of the Mokowanis Valley with all those fabulous Peaks watching you get closer than it seems.  Image

The wildflowers continue to dance all around you :D but it was hard to shoot them as it was quite windy when you were in the open.  Eventually you get a little closer to the shore of Cosley Lake's intensely deep turquoise blue water.  Once again in a forest, the vegetation is so high and there are wood trunks across parts of the trail for drainage that you can't see; thus, Tina did a turtle🐢 and her pole actually broke.  Next you come to beargrass lane that is devoid of blooms except for one plant.  You walk on a bridge across Kaina Creek and before you know it, you're at  Glenn's Lake Foot campsite..

I think they changed the tent sites since we passed by here in 2019 as the one I remember being near the Food Court was not there.  We all checked out the various spots and they were all somewhat small.  We ended up getting closer to the lake and after some trial and error, we figured out an arrangement for our four tents.... and believe me, it was a small space. Image  We had lunch and then ended up just hanging around camp and Glenn's Lake for the rest of the afternoon.  It was always fun to greet new campers as they rolled into camp.  I should have made notes about this part of the day and evening as I don't have pictures to document what we did other than our usual Happy Hour.  I know all the campsites filled as well.

Here are a couple videos I made:
Part 1  to Gros Ventre Falls
Part 2  from Gros Ventre to Glenn's Lake

To see some more of the photos with detailed captions go to https://hikearizona.com/photoset.php?ID=67319
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7-21-2022 GLF to COS Written Oct14th. This would be the easiest of our days as we only had a couple miles back toward Cosley Lake.  However, Cosley Lake is worth getting to early as it's a great place to hang out.  We gave thought to doing Bear Mountain... key word being "thought".  I think we got rolling after 9:30AM.  Glenns Lake Foot doesn't have a beach so there was no point in staying longer.   Before we left I did a little trail work at our campsite as the overgrowth made it difficult to see the roots that would cause one to stumble.

Oh, I forgot to mention that a couple of former Russians came over what they called "the hill" via the Ptarmigan Tunnel as Elizabeth Lake Foot was closed due to bear activity (that's about 13 miles).  They were the last to stagger in for the day.  He had quite the bag of food for their time out.  They had also been backpacking in the Beartooths (over by Red Lodge MT) with their son.  They were surprised to learn I had been in the Soviet Union in the mid-70s.  They had left shortly after that and have been on the east coast ever since.  We gracefully got onto the subject of the war with Ukraine and they are disgusted by it.  We would have loved to probe more but felt this was not the place.  (Note to self, next time, make notes of the various people we meet so I can remember the stories better).  One of the things we all enjoy when backpacking here is the people you meet at camp.

The hike today was the usual in this part of the park with lots of wildflowers and abundant overgrowth on each side of the trail to the point you couldn't see where you were stepping.  However, it comes and goes so it's not too bad and the flora doesn't have that "stick-you stuff" nor are there things that rattle🐍 (bears and moose don't make sounds for the most part).  Image ImageWe crossed Kaina Creek that comes from Kaina Mountain to the northwest.  I got distracted by all the wildflowers as we hit prime and then you skirt the shore of Cosley Lake that you can see through the trees.  Taking the trail into camp is very crowded with very tall flora on both sides.  In fact, one time when I looked ahead I could barely see the other hikers' heads.

We set up our tents, hung out by the beach and then had lunch.... and then hung out by the beach for the entire afternoon.Image
I kept hoping we might see some wildlife but we had to be satisfied with the views and the wildflowers around camp.  We were all admiring the colors of the rocks in the water and the remnants of the glacial action on the side of the mountain (Cosley Ridge) across from us.Image 
We would also see a bit of Chief Mountain to our east and of course Kipp, Pyramid, Cathedral and part of Stoney Indian Peaks. 
Cathedral had 3 major waterfalls coming down and the Mokowanis Cascades.ImageIt was a great matinee :arrow: .
Deborah had brot her suit so she went in for a swim.Image  She's used to cold Montana waters but Cosley Lake got her attention as she came out very wide-eyed. 

Pretty soon it was time for Happy Hour and we wanted to finish off our vodka and rum plus our sausage and we had canned oysters as well.  We had brot crackers and cheese dip from Pak-It Gourmet along with two kinds of chips.  As people came around they were very impressed with our Happy Hour fare :mrgreen: .  We ended up sharing chips and sausage with other hikers as we didn't want to carry it out.  We visited with everyone including a fellow that knew one of our classmates from Havre.

We really had a beautiful day.  We love Cosley and were so lucky to get the permit adjustment.  Come enjoy with us: (I found the missing movies :P so re-did these): 
and


To see some more of the photos with detailed captions go to https://hikearizona.com/photoset.php?ID=67566
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