Glacier National Park - Highline Trail

We're back in the Good Ol' US of A - and winding down our incredible summer vacation. We'll spend another week exploring Glacier, then most likely backtrack to Ketchum for a few days and then finally head for home. We expect to be back in Southern California on August 11th. Until then, though, we plan to make the best of our meander south...

So here's a bit more of Glacier - the Highline Trail - which starts at Logan Pass on the Continental Divide - and meanders through forest and meadows on a one-way hike for 12 miles. The views were spectacular - and we were treated to close encounters with mountain goats, deer and bighorn sheep. The last four miles of the hike were a death march descent... super steep and knee grinding. But well worth the effort!

We ended up many miles down the Going to the Sun Road and picked up one of the new shuttle buses back to Logan Pass. In 2007, Glacier added a free shuttle bus system which is wonderful! It allows point-to-point hiking, but also makes for less traffic in the park. Gotta love it!

Glacier suffered a devastating fire in 2003... but has quickly recovered and is green and beautiful amongst the blackened trees.

Waterton National Park - Crypt Lake

The second of the two premier day hikes in Waterton National Park is to Crypt Lake. It's 11 miles out and back with over 2,500' of climbing- and you have to take a shuttle across the lake to the trailhead.
About 2 miles into the hike we saw a grizzly bear; but of course, our camera doesn't have a big enough lens to get a decent picture - so we'll just tell you that we saw it and not bother to post the picture of the woods with the brown spot in the middle... It was actually the second grizzly bear we've seen in Waterton. But darn! Those elusive bears just don't want to be photographed. So here's a great scenery shot, with the moon, instead.
The waterfall that flows down from Crypt Lake.
Brian climbs the metal ladder up to the tunnel.
The flash really lit this up! It was pitch dark in the tunnel; and super, super narrow. Brian had to take his pack off to get through. And this was the wide/tall part!
We exited the tunnel onto a narrow ledge that dropped several hundred feet down to the canyon floor. Then we had to scurry up the mountainside to the trail that ultimately led to the lake.
Ah! The lake! Time for a brief rest and some snacks!
The 2 of us enjoying Crypt Lake!
The trip down over the loose shale was sometimes a challenge!
After 11+ miles, we re-boarded the shuttle for the short trip back to town. Another incredible day!

Waterton National Park: Carthew-Alderson Hike

The first of two premier day hikes in Waterton is the Carthew-Alderson hike. It's 12+ miles one way, with about 2,200' of gain (most of which is in the first 5 miles). We drove the van to the trailhead at Cameron Lake. Here we are, ready to go! Our first photo stop at Summit Lake. It wasn't even close to the summit! It was straight UP from here!!!
Looking down on Cameron Lake. We've come up a long way... And there's way more climbing to go!
Views from the summit follow. Unfortunately, it was raining when we made it to the top; and it was too cold to sit around waiting until it passed. So we started down, trying to get out of the wind. The sun eventually came out - and it was a perfect day for hiking!Ah...! Waterton Townsite down below! Less than a mile or so to go!!!
Oh yeah... We had to ride our bikes to get the van... It was only 10 miles -- but with over 1,300' of climbing! Not so easy after hiking 12.5 miles! No doubt we're going to get a GREAT night's sleep!

Banff: Lake Morraine - Paradise Valley & Giant's Steps

The highlight of our time in Banff National Park was this 12.6 mile hike in Paradise Valley out to the Giant's Steps. It was Deb's longest hike ever; but well worth every exhausting step!!!
Beautiful Lake Annette:
The Giant's Steps!
Here's what they look like from the top!

Banff: Lake Louise - Plain of Six Glaciers Hike

Starting at beautiful Lake Louise, we hiked an incredible 10 miles on the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail, with a little extra to Mirror Lake on the return.
About 3.5 miles into the hike we came upon the Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House. They serve sandwiches, hot beverages and home made chocolate cake - all prepared without electricity or refrigeration. They have propane ovens and stoves- and that's it. The folks who work there, live there five days at a time. They bring all the food up on pack horses.
Here we are at Mirror Lake. The sun wasn't really in the right place for the lake to be a mirror - but it was pretty anyway...