Glacier National Park

Day 5, 6, 7, and 8= = Glacier National Park

Spectacular in its grandeur and amazing in the minute detail. That is the best way to describe Glacier National Park. The peaks, mountains and glaciers were so magnificent that you would think that you could miss the tiny details, but no: the wildflowers and beautiful pebbles at your feet demanded attention.

Avalanche Lake Trail
One of our favorite hikes came by accident. We were told that it was only one mile and happily headed down the trail to Avalanche Lake. Six miles later when we made it back to our camp, we were exhausted but elated that we had made the journey. The river at the beginning cut deeply into the rock creating almost a slot canyon effect. The rocks, smooth from the river were blanketed in emerald green moss. A quiet forest of Hemlock and Cedar trees surrounded us, creating a muffled silence. When we arrived at Avalanche Lake we were amazed by the massive mountain which faced us from across the lake.

Five individual glacier waterfalls cascaded straight down into the lake. This wasn't close enough so we made our way around to the back of the lake at the foot of the waterfalls.


The only way to cross the many rivulets of water from the falls was to toss aside our hiking boots and wade through the frigid water. It literally took your breath away as the cold bit in to your ankles, but after about 15 seconds you found your feet numb anyway and could tolerate it a lot longer.

Jadeyn was ecstatic to be able to play in the river. We rolled up his pant legs, then after about 2 minutes, decided to let him have at it and would just change his clothes entirely when he was done. Other hikers came by and saw our little boy in the water and decided that it must not be that cold and stepped right in. Boy, were they shocked at the icy water and amazed that Jadeyn could handle it that long!



The fishing was quite enjoyable. Nice sized trout: cutthroat, rainbow and supposedly some bull trout filled the lake. Even if we hadn't have caught about 30+ fish, the scenery would have been worth every second. The waterfalls cascading down behind us, the breathtaking cliffs, beautiful trees and the incredible array of multicolored pebbles at our feet! I have to admit that everyone found it heaven in their own way: Kevin and his dad fished happily, me and Kevin's mom sorted through the rocks at our feet to find the prettiest ones, and Jadeyn picked up the rocks and chucked them in the lake!!


This hike was worth every step!
































Logan's Pass Hike
It the very pinnacle of Glacier National Park is Logan's Pass and the beautiful hike up to Hidden Lake. It began at the Visitors center and headed right up the side of the mountain through an amazing blend of yellow and purple wildflowers peaking out through the patches of snow! 90% of the trail was still covered in snow which made the hiking a bit precarious but hilarious at the same time.
We were joined by Kevin's parents and his oldest sister Melanie and her family. All in all, 12 of us noisily made our way up the slope drawing chuckles from a few fellow hikers. Snowball fights, sliding challenges, and songs came with us. The panoramic view the entire length of the hike was one for the postcards. Blue skies with puffs of clouds, scatterings of brilliant wildflowers, pure white snow, mountain goats, marmots...














At the top of the trail we gazed down to a high mountain lake reflecting the high peaks around us. We spent some time up there enjoying the peace, as well as letting the kids romp around the rocks and get all excited when a mountain goat and kid would come close. The path down was entertaining to say the least. We all slid, slopped and skidded down the snow laughing the whole way!

The Minute Detail
I particularly enjoyed the tiny details of the plant life in the park. Yeah, I was teased quite a bit by how many macro photos I took, holding up the hike for a few minutes to focus on a patch of lichen or moss, but it was awesome.

We were treated to an extra special experience twice while in the Logan's Pass visitor's center parking lot. Once we were circled again and again by a precious baby mountain goat and her mother. It seemed as if they were poised and ready for their photo shoot by how many different angles they gave us.


On another evening, six magnificent big horn sheep migrated down the the parking lot to investigate the cars and oogle at the people as if we were the wild life. The meandered around giving us a spectacular view of their impressive horns gracefully curling to frame their faces.