Glacier Park Chat
Between trips in the Bob and in Glacier I've spent 43 days backpacking since late May. Add to that a whole bunch of day hikes and climbs and I can definitely say I had a good summer.
Here's the story of my latest adventure.
Wednesday through Sunday Jim and I went over Headquarters Pass, down to the North Fork of the Sun River and the up to the Red Shale Meadows. We went into winter and back three times.
We began our adventure last Wednesday on a beautiful fall day. The sun was shining and it was warm. A rainbow in front of the mountains, however, indicated we might encounter something a little different.
A rainbow predicts some wet weather on the Rocky Mountain Front in Montana.
It was a mix of snow and rain at the trail head at about 6,000 feet. We hiked up about 1,800 feet to Headquarters Pass where it was snowing lightly. A strong cold wind kept most of the snow in motion.
Jim, descends in the snow just after crossing Headquarters Pass at 7,743 feet.
Moving quickly across the pass, we descended about 1,700 feet in seven miles to the North Fork of the Sun River. The ground was bare and plenty of fall color still decorated the valley. We camped along the river and enjoyed a fairly warm evening under a full moon.
Gates Lake west of the North Fork of the Sun River in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
Our second day featured a 7 mile walk up Red Shale Creek. That stream begins at the Continental Divide. We planned to camp 1,800 feet higher than our first night. Winter began to take over as we approached the head of the valley.
We did manage to find a nice relatively snow free camp spot. It was quite a bit colder but we were still warm in our good sleeping bags.
The following morning an elk bugled and his call echoed from the cliffs above camp. After trying to photograph the elk with only partial success, we decided to hike toward Sock Lake, about 500 feet higher on the divide.
Around noon, as we approached the lake, it began to snow. Little fluffy flakes at first. Then a little harder. Visibility began to deteriorate so we headed back to camp. The light snow continued through the afternoon and into the evening.
Overnight it warmed up and rained for several hours pounding a steady beat on the tent. But by 3 am it was quiet. We thought the rain had stopped and the snow of the previous day would most likely have melted.
I woke around four and looked into the vestibule of the tent. Hmmm, the roof was sagging! It did indeed stop raining! It was quiet in our tent because it was now covered in new snow. Snow, the heavy wet variety had replaced the rain. We shook the ceiling of the tent to get the snow to slide off and went back to sleep.
Daylight came slowly and the snow was still falling lightly. Our plan for the day was to hike back down Red Shale Creek. Leaving camp it was definitely winter.
I'm leaving camp on our fourth day. Inset: Our tent. Photos by Jim Utsler.
But once again, as we descended the valley, we returned to fall. The sky cleared and the sun felt very good.
Once more down by the North Fork of the Sun River. Evening light casts a warm glow across the marsh.[/size]
Our last night we featured a deep freeze. This made for a slow start in the morning. My frozen boots didn't feel very good on my feet. It took a couple of miles of hiking before my toes came back to life. As the trail miles slipped past we approached winter one more time. We had to traverse Headquarters Pass before reaching our trailhead. And once more we climbed into winter, only to descend back into fall.
I'm punching through the snow heading back up to Headquarters Pass.. Photo by Jim Utsler.
This trek was a challenge. But it provided a chance for me to get right with winter. I know the cold will come. I'm looking forward to the change of seasons. And I'm really looking forward to getting on skis again.
During our five days we saw only one other person on the trails. And we didn't see him until within 90 minutes of the trailhead. We saw that big bull elk below Sock Lake but no other large animals came into view.
We were not alone however. The trails were filled with tracks. Elk, moose, deer and bears, both grizzly and black, were on the move. We knew the bears were close at times by the freshness of the tracks and the scat. Still we saw no bears.
Grizzly Tracks and a boot print. The left track is a fore foot and the right track a hind foot. Superimposed on the hind foot is the track of my size 13 boot.
I like the looks of that area.
