Western Montana

Our stay in Coram included several evening drives through Glacier Park in search of WILD GAME! The closest we got were the vast herds of mosquitoes that attacked us on each and every outing. The crowds and construction discouraged us from a return trip to Logan's Pass until Sunday evening, when we correctly figured that at least the construction would be on hold. The traffic was also at a minimum. My goal was to hike the 1.5m path from Logan's Pass to Hidden Lake. This is a paved track that winds through an alpine pasture of low grass and shrub, wild flowers, small water falls and pools of marsh. With the setting sun casting a variety of shadows and colors from behind the mountain, it was a glorious walk, if a bit tiring on the mostly-uphill parts. We had to be getting close to the lake!  Russell said not even close, so I asked someone on the way down. He confirmed Russell's opinion of maybe a third of the way. I couldn't go any further and Russell wasn't all that interested. I mean where we were was fairly amazing.

Heading down hill we saw 2 beaver looking animals identified as marmots. Don't guess we have seen that animal before. We approached a very excited parking lot. Big horn rams were roaming between cars to lap up the water. I swear there was plenty of nicer water all over the place, but they seemed to like the extra mineral content of asphalt. We also got a wonderful look at the long-haired mountain goats grazing in one of the pastures.

A day hike produced a bumper crop of huckleberries, gathered up in the 2 water bottles we were carrying.  We picnicked, and relaxed by McDonald Lake. Sunset at the lake with mist rolling in was another terrific evening. We also had time for cooking out and enjoying the RV park.

I guess that putting some distance between the events and the blog is that only the brief summary remains, not a blow-by-blow account.