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Many Glacier

By Amy, on February 11th, 2012%

It’s been quite a while since I posted any pictures from Glacier National Park, so here’s the next round. After seeing the bear warning as I drove into the Many Glacier area, I kept going along the road toward Swiftcurrent Lake and the Many Glacier Hotel.

This area of the park is peaceful and quiet. You’re well away from the Going to the Sun Road. I could have hung out all afternoon just enjoying the views:

This is one of my favorite shots from the park, and definitely my favorite from Many Glacier:

If I used a lens hood, I could have avoided that lens flare, by the way. But I never bother to carry one around, since there isn’t really room in my bag. Plus, I rather like the effect in a shot like this one.

Anyway, before I arrived in Glacier, I had researched this area with the intent of hiking a trail up to Iceberg Lake. You can see it on this map. However, it’s a long hike, and I didn’t want to wear myself out the first day of the trip. I had other goals in mind for later days. So instead, I settled for resting up a bit on the deck at the Many Glacier hotel–it was quite hot that day. And then I went to the trail head just to nose around a little without doing any actual hiking.

I did get pictures of the stream that flows out of Iceburg Lake, though. Doesn’t that water look like it tastes wonderful?

Then I got some flower pictures. Here’s an Indian Paintbrush, one of my favorites:

Another common flower in the park is Bear Grass. Bear Grass looks like giant Q-tips. I guess because bears have very big ears:

And finally, on my way back to the car, this little guy was hanging out at the trailhead. Probably hoping for folks to drop a little trail mix his way:

That concludes my time in this part of the park. I headed back to my hotel room for the night. Good thing I did, because a huge storm blew in on my way back. It was a rather blustery evening in that tiny little motor lodge. I remember hoping they didn’t get tornadoes in that part of the country! I was too worn out to worry about it too much, though. I ate dinner, tried to find a weather report on tv (without much success), and fell asleep looking forward to the next day’s adventure.

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Trail Above Avalanche Creek, Part III

By Amy, on November 11th, 2011%

I’m missing Montana, so here is a second week of Glacier pictures…this one wrapping up the walk I took on the trail above Avalanche Creek.

The nice thing about going to Glacier this year was all the water–waterfalls and streams were running strong. This one is all the way across the valley from where I was standing, so you can imagine how massive it must be up close:

Walking along the trail, the views were so incredible and the air so clear that I had trouble believing I was really there:

That clearing is as far as I got, though. I didn’t want to go too far and wear myself out–still had lots of other places to see that day. So I turned around and enjoyed the scenery when heading in the other direction:

Of course, this type of area made me a little nervous that a bear could be lurking nearby, and I wouldn’t see it:

I wasn’t the only one thinking such things. Not long after I took this picture, I encountered a group of people hiking the other direction. The woman in front asked if I’d seen any bears or any sign of bears. She seemed a little nervous. Acting as if I went hiking in bear country all the time, I said, nope–no bears. They’d rather not run into people. You’re in a group, I told her. Just make enough noise so they know to move off, and I’m sure you’ll be fine!

Do I talk a good line, or what? If only she’d seen me a few minutes earlier, peering around anxiously in search of stray bruin intent on charging me. I move fairly quietly, though, and there was only one of me, vs. about six people hiking in her group. All the same, I didn’t see any sign of bear, and after taking this walk, felt a bit less afraid out there on my own. It’s impossible to stay too afraid when surrounded by such beauty. I figured odds were I wouldn’t see a bear, and if I did, odds were I wouldn’t die. If the astronomically unlikely happened and a bear did kill me, I guess I’d rather die on a mountain in Montana than on a city street under the wheels of a bus.

I’m rather thankful I haven’t died either way, of course.

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Trail Above Avalanche Creek, Part II

By Amy, on November 5th, 2011%

One of the things that draws me so much to Glacier National Park is the contrast in scale. The park is massive–the Going to the Sun Road, which crosses Glacier east to west is 52 miles long–with only one switchback. The park is even longer from north to south. And, of course, you are always either on a mountain or looking at a mountain while you are there.

Perhaps this grand scale is why the smaller plants of Glacier fascinate me so much. Here is another view of the moss, lichen, and fern community I posted a couple of weeks ago. Doesn’t it look like a miniature garden?

And there’s something about standing on a mountainside that gives a sprinkling of flowers a feeling of intimacy:

I often pause, looking for the tiny things in such a massive landscape. Beautiful plants somehow find a toehold on those mountains and eke out an existence there, in spite of harsh conditions:

These are one of my favorites–Indian Paintbrush. Such a bold flush of color, without being ostentatious. A detail drawn with artistic flourish on the side of a mountain:

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