Day 8: Over the River and Through the Woods
Woohoo! The weather was gorgeous today. Crisp, cool but with low humidity that boded well for hiking. I made blueberry streusel muffins, and with some hot coffee, they were just the thing to start the day. I went ahead and packed some trail mix, energy bars, and water. I also made sure to pack binoculars, first aid kit, and a few other essentials... you know... just in case. The backpack was probably a bit heavier than necessary, but I may have watched one too many "I barely survived" shows.
We made the 7 mile drive to Glacier National Park, turned onto North McDonald Road, and found a convenient parking spot near the trailhead. Maybe we timed it just right, or maybe we just got lucky, but as this is also the start for the popular John's Lake Loop trail, it is normally packed by 9:00 am. It was a lovely 51 degrees at the start of our hike at 10:45 am.
The particular trail we were hiking today was the North McDonald Creek trail. It shares a trailhead with the John's Lake Loop trail, and is pretty easy and accessible for the first quarter mile or so. It's old growth forest with a well groomed trail that leads from the parking area to the popular McDonald's Falls. It is possible to carefully climb down from the trail and on to some of the rocks. But caution is warranted.
We continued on the Creek trail where eventually it joined with a designated horse path. We could definitely tell it had been used that morning by our equestrian friends! Luckily the path is wide enough that we avoided the landmines. At this point the trail reverts to a rustic but easily navigable forest trail. Just past the junction of the trails is the Sacred Dancing Cascade a footbridge that crosses the creek where you can continue the John's Lake Loop.
We continued on the trek and really began to relax and enjoy the scenery and the walk. It's a fine line when hiking the trails in Glacier - immersion and attention - because this is not "tame" country. There are signs everywhere warning that this is Grizzly territory and that they can appear at any time any where. There is part of you that wants to just be silent as you walk among the ancient trees, and with the trail being softly padded with slowly decaying plant life, conifer needles and moss, it is easy to lose your self in the quietness. Then there is the practical side that urges caution and continuing to make some noises so that you can alert wild animals to your presence, allowing them to leave at their leisure.
I can definitely understand where many of the old fairy tales came from. I can sort of imagine the Grimm brothers walking through old growth European forests and coming up with their tales about children lost in the woods, witches, fairies and all sorts of fantastic creatures. This forest has the same vibe and you almost can almost hear Little Red Riding Hood talking to the Wolf.
The trail continued weaving back and forth between the lush deep forest canopy and then back to the rocky ledge along the creek. The terrain changed every few hundred yards and so it kept the hike interesting. We eventually ended up in the more marshy section of the trail where we saw a duck bathing aggressively in a pond. The path then dove back into the deep forest, where it transected an old creek bed strewn with perfectly smooth river rocks. Either the creek had changed course some time ago or this was a seasonal run off. Either way, Papa Bear and I both agreed that as kids this would have been a gold mine for hours of outdoor play.
Just shortly after crossing the dry creekbed the path suddenly narrowed into something that looked a bit sketchy and had us both thinking we might end up as bear bait. We started talking loudly and making lots of annoying unnecessary noise just in case there was a critter nearby. We made our way through the weedy path and out the other side where it eventually widened out again and became the familiar rocky path alongside the creek.
At about 2.5 miles into the hike we arrived at the end of the trail at the Avalanche Overlook. This too was a series of falls cascading over the rocks upheaved and left by a one time glacier. While there we just relaxed and gave our legs some time to recover, ate a lunch of trail mix and cold water, and encountered a hoary marmot. It was a little skittish at first, but then allowed me to take several pictures before retreating to a small alcove to eat some weedy plant growing alongside the falls.
After a half hour break we started our 2.5 mile return journey. It had taken us about an hour and a half to hike in, and so we knew we had about the same length to get out. My legs weren't hurting too badly, and Papa Bear was doing good - other than his shoulder hurting from taking a whack while he was climbing the rocks. The trail itself wasn't a hard trail, nothing particularly technical, but there were some steep inclines/declines along the way that got the heart to pumping.
On our way back we stopped at the Cascade and climbed down onto the rocks. Papa Bear soaked his feet in the cold water, while I took pictures of a very well camouflaged frog (can you find him in the picture below) and watched a very lucky bumblebee recover from being caught in the turbulent water of the creek. We also watched a bride and groom preciously make their way over the safety railing of the scenic boardwalk on the other side of the creek to descend onto the rocks for wedding photos. Luckily all was well with bride, groom, and photographers making it back safely. Not sure that was entirely park approved, but all's well that ends well.
After another twenty minute break we got back on the trail, retracing our steps. We encountered only a few people going each direction, which made it nice. One because we had the trail to ourselves to enjoy, but frequent enough that concerns about bear attacks were able to be put on the back burner. As we came back through the marshy area where we'd seen the duck that morning, we encountered a moose! We were a very safe distance away up on the trail, but were able to quietly observe her as she enjoyed her afternoon lunch of pond weeds. She'd come up for a big breath and then nearly submerge her entire head to get a big mouthful of the underwater greenery.
All in all we saw only a little bit of wildlife - the moose, duck, some deer, a couple of snakes, the frog and the marmot. I'm perfectly happy with that menagerie and relieved we did not have any run ins with the larger more carnivorous inhabitants of the park. We made it back to the trailhead right around 3:00 pm. It was a great introductory hike - and unfortunately our only one on this trip - to the Glacier Park area. There are tons of other hikes from mild to very difficult that I would encourage visitors to undertake. There is a hike for every person's level of ability. Get out and enjoy!
They opened promptly at 5:01 pm just as the church chimes receded. They got all of the patrons waiting in line into booths and tables, with attentive and friendly wait staff. Papa Bear decided on the bison meatloaf with mashed potatoes and rosemary carrots. I opted for the wild Alaskan cod, beer battered and served with fries and coleslaw. They also had some locally brewed beverages on tap. Papa Bear got a tasty hard cider and I got a locally brewed root beer. I really like "good" root beer. I'm pretty picky, so was a bit disappointed by what I got. After our trip to Alaska, I judge all root beer against the on-tap variety served at the Red Dog Saloon. I cannot remember the brand, but it is brewed locally and only sold in Alaska. Anyway, I digress.
The food wasn't bad in any sense. It just lacked a little bit of seasoning in each of the items that would have really set it off and made it memorable. It was good comfort food and so there are no complaints. My belly was full, I was well exercised from the hike and I was very sleepy after dinner. We took a short little tour of Whitefish after dinner, and then stopped by the local grocery store to stock up on a few items since we would be hitting the road the next day. (Side comment - not sure what was going on but the chip aisle was decimated - slim pickings for our hummus!)
We ended the day with some basic housekeeping, laundry and prep for the trip to Idaho on Sunday. Stay with us for more details of our travel day tomorrow!
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