We didn’t spend that much time in Glacier again this summer, due to the hassles related to crowds, various road construction projects, and the new ticketing system for driving the Going to the Sun Road. Instead, we continued to explore other great places in Montana. We took advantage of the unusually great weather over Memorial Day weekend and spent three nights at Lid Creek campground on Hungry Horse Reservoir. Lots of loafing, some fun on the water, and a great time catching up with friends by the campfire!
In late June, we spent a fun few days up at Pete Creek campground near Yaak and were joined by Sue’s sister Carol. On Thursday we woke up to rain, but it cleared out and we opted for a low-land route based on the forecast for afternoon thundershowers. We hiked to Turner Falls and then on to Fish Lake #1 and #2. True to the forecast, the skies opened up on our return, with about 90 minutes of heavy rain. That made Friday a rest day, so that we could dry out our boots. But we did drive up to Hensley Hill to check out the views. On Saturday, we got an early start for our hike of Northwest Peak, hoping to avoid the worst of the afternoon heat. But the first two miles of the hike is through an area where the Davis fire burned in 2018 and there is no shade. But we enjoyed the abundance of glacier lilies and spectacular views from the summit.
To beat the heat around the Fourth of July, we headed up to Ten Lakes and the Big Therriault Lake campground — 5,500 feet and a lake to play in helped a lot. Plus we had new toys to play with — a stand up paddle board for Paula and a fishing float tube for Sue. In addition to water fun and loafing, we did a great hike to Bluebird Lake and Therriault Pass and enjoyed amazing wildflowers. And Paula celebrated the holiday by doing a hike up both Mount Wam and Stahl Peak.
But we did spend two nights in Many Glacier to hang out with our hiking friends. And Paula managed to do a few climbs, including the Henkel-Crowfeet traverse, Mount Gould via the Gem Glacier, and the Pinnacle Wall Traverse. The traverse is an amazing sixteen-mile route that involves hiking the trail from Swiftcurrent Lodge to the Ptarmigan Tunnel, then going off-trail to follow a four-mile long set of goat trails from the tunnel to Ahern Pass, scrambling up to Iceberg Notch and then down the other side to Iceberg Lake, and finally hiking back out to Swiftcurrent.
An early season ride on the Sun roadAnd a ride into Two MedicineCato enjoying the view from the top of Big MountainHanging out under the canopy and drinking hot cocoa on a cold and rainy dayKayaking on Hungry Horse Reservoir near Lid Creek CampgroundCrossing Vinal CreekCato likes creek crossings tooTurner FallsRest and dry out dayLooking northwest from Hensley HillMount HenryThe Davis fire burned crazy hot through hereThere’s a path through the talus for the last half mile to the summitOld fire lookout on the summit of Northwest PeakHow do you balance on this thing?Enjoying the ride?Assembling the float tubeFins on and ready to goSnack time at Bluebird Lake – Cato is sporting her new bootiesLooking east to the North ForkTraversing under Saint Clair PeakMount Wam LookoutLooking south to my next destination, Stahl PeakLooking east into GlacierThe north face and northwest ridge of Stahl PeakLooking down on Little Therriault LakeAt the saddle between the summit cone and northwest ridge on Stahl PeakStahl Peak LookoutEnjoying the view to the northLooking to the west you can see all the way to Lake KoocanusaFirst view of Krinklehorn PeakLooking east from the Krinklehorn summitDeep Mountain from the ridge traverseLooking up the McDonald Creek Valley from Haystack PassLooking down on Upper Grinnell LakeGem GlacierA great view of three glaciers!The amazing view to the south from the Mount Gould summit ridgePaddling Swiftcurrent LakeMount Wilbur looming out of the smokeCan’t see nearly as many mountains as when I did this climb five years ago!Looking down on Kennedy Lake and across to Crowfeet from just below the summit of HenkelThe Pinnacle Wall really stands out from the Crowfeet ridgeChief Mountain in the distanceSmoky start to the Pinnacle Wall Traverse – sun coming up over Crowfeet MountainLooking back down the Ptarmigan ValleyA quick trip through the tunnel to check out the view, but fog was covering Elizabeth LakeGoats make trails in some amazing placesOur first view of Helen LakeWe disturbed some sheep that were hanging out on the ridgeNow we can see Ahern Pass and the extent of the traverse that still remainsNot recommended for those who aren’t comfortable with exposure!Clearing skies make for better viewsYes, we came across that!Looking back towards Ahern Pass and Helen Lake as we climb up to Iceberg NotchIceberg Lake from Iceberg NotchOur “summit” – Iceberg Notch at 8,136 feet
PMF Adventures 