Glacier N. P., Backpacking with Scouts

Journal
Troop 7 backpacking trip 2007
Glacier National Park
Gary Hochgraf

July 21 Saturday
We met at the Ann Arbor Amtrak station around 7:45am, and the train pulled in on time.
And we’re off! Headed west.
The adult leadership for the trip is Rich, Greg, Scott, and myself. The scouts on Team 1 are Adam, Devin, Jeff, Maxime, and Xavier. Team 2 is Andrew, Andrew, and Zach. Three people had to drop out for various reasons.
About noon we arrived at Union Station, Chicago. On time.
At 2:15 we boarded the train to Glacier. There was a bit of a struggle to get all our gear on, but we eventually succeeded when the car attendant opened the baggage section.. Night fell somewhere in Minnesota, and after a miserable night in cramped and uncomfortable coach, we awoke in South Dakota. On and on through the northern plains, along the Platt river. We long for forests. Things finally get interesting in western Montana as we approach Glacier National Park. They have some Park Service naturalist volunteers who narrate the scenery and history from the lounge car. Riding along the southern edge of the Park we saw much magnificent scenery. When we arrived at West Glacier station, our ride was not waiting for us to bring us to the KOA. And cell phones don’t work. We finally got in touch and they sent out a little car! So three of us went, ant he came back with a van, which still took two trips.
Reached the campsite as dusk was just beginning to fall, and the tents were quickly up. There was much discussion about bears and our food stores for the night. Then we noticed the rather ordinary trash cans nearby and realized that they don’t have a bear problem here. So we just hung most everything just high enough for raccoons. It looked like a clear night and there don’t seem to be any mosquitoes, so I slept under the stars. The humidity is higher than I expected, so the late night star show, while nice, was not spectacular. There is also a waxing half moon.

July 22 Sunday
Awoke to a noisy flock of crows overhead. There are some horses next to our campsite, and the Gray jays came by to inspect the campsite for crumbs.
Once we are all finally packed, we made our way to the campground office, where they gave us a ride to the Backcountry Permit Office, where we picked up our permits, watched a bear and backcountry etiquette video, hiked to the transit center, and boarded a shuttle to the Lake McDonald Lodge. By now it was time for lunch, followed by locating the trailhead, and we’re off!
This is a popular trail, served by busses at both ends, with a chalet in the middle, and open to horses. It is very wide, well eroded, and smells of horses. It climbs steadily up 900ft in about 2 miles. We then leave the main trail for Snyder Lake in 2.2 miles with another 500ft of gain. Its hot and dry, and no relief from climbing. We’re in sun and shade, and everyone is drinking and snacking as we go, with lots of rest breaks. But with a mile to go Xavier gets a headache and dizziness. After a break he goes on. So he and Scott took it slow while I took the rest of the crew on to the campsite. We had planned to send some of us back to help, but by the time we recovered, they had made it in to camp.
Snyder lake is a classic tarn nestled in the glacial cirque ringed by Mount Brown to the west, the Little Matterhorn to the north, and Edwards Mountain to the east. Snyder creek flows out to the south.
After dinner (spicy beans and rice for Scott & I), we were cleaning up and some clouds drifted in from the west. I was anticipating watching the shadow from the setting sun cast across the valley onto the east wall, rising and turning rosy. But the valley was now all in cloud shadow. There were a few rumblings of thunder, then the skies cleared and we had light on the eastern wall for a few minutes, then back to clouds. The clouds thickened, rumblings increased, and most of the crew turned in for the night. But I couldn’t. I walked down to the little bridge over the lake’s outfall, and watched the storm’s approach. Scott joined me for a while and we saw a beautiful lightning strike further down the valley. As the light was fading, and the first drops of rain fell, Scott retired. But I stayed on. I walked up the trail to the tiny beach for a different view. Now the wind was picking up in brief gusts from every direction, seemingly caught and tangled by the craggy peaks above. The rain slowly increased. I stood and felt the light rain on my face, listened to the erratic wind, the musical notes of raindrops on the lake surface, the static hiss of rain on the leaves of bushes and trees behind me, and the thunder. When the rain finally came in earnest I retreated to my tent in the last of the day’s light.

July 23 Tuesday
It really rained last night, and my 25 year old tent is no longer up to the challenge. Yeah, some of my stuff got wet. Morning broke with heavy overcast. This is not the kind of weather I expected. Breakfast of pancakes, a failure, and the skies cleared. There is morning light on the western wall, but too late to show us that rosy morning glow. The scouts had pancakes too, and theirs were a total success.
There’s another couple camping here too, and we’ve enjoyed chatting with them. He was an Eagle Scout, and they both enjoy the backpacking life.
We got a late start, headed back down the trail to the junction, and began the climb up to the Mount Brown Observation Point. It’s a steady climb, with many switchbacks. Some of the scouts keep asking “how far have we gone?” or “how much further?” or “how high are we?” etc. Scott has a GPS unit, and my map is readily accessible. Yesterday we just gave them the answers. But today I just hand them the map and say “figure it out.” It becomes a teaching moment. We had lunch at a grand vista point, overlooking the lower half of Snyder creek valley, and far to the south, outside of the park, to Great Northern Mountain with its glaciers. We push on and up with many more switchbacks. Higher, we came to a wonderful view westward over Lake McDonald, Heaven Peak, and north to the Granite Park area of Glacier N. P. A raven kept us company on the ridge.
By now we were worried about water, but so close. We pushed on to another east view down into our own valley (Snyder creek), just half a mile from the observation point. At this point I returned down to fetch more water, while everyone else made it to the Obs pt. 3.7 miles down at a steady speed was hard on my ankles and legs, but I made it, got water, and made it back up about half a mile to where I met the others coming down. We passed around the water, continued down, got more water and hiked back to camp about 7:30. Dinner was curried couscous with vegetables for Scott and I. The boys had tuna chowder. Devin really enjoys cooking for his crew.
Beautiful alpine glow on the Little Matterhorn and Edwards Mountain to the East and North from our little camp as the sun sets.

July 24 Wednesday
Sore. I’m feeling beat-up from yesterday's hike to Mount Brown and back. Simple breakfast of Oatmeal today.
Our plan for today is to day-hike to Sperry Glacier. We had thought it to be a 6 mile hike, or 12 miles round-trip. But now we know its 10 miles each way. And that’s too far, with much of the hiking on horse trails in the woods and not too interesting until the finale. Instead we decided to explore our own little valley. The map shows an Upper Snyder Lake, and we can hear quite a waterfall cascading down the headwall at the north end of our lake. So we collect some camelbacks and backpacks for a day hike, and follow the trail beyond the campsites. It is not an official trail and is not maintained or improved. It soon opens onto a scree slope, which we follow to a crevasse in the headwall. This section takes some serious scrambling and bouldering. We don’t have a heavy rope nor the expertise to use it, so we did all the climbing unaided. We did have a 25’ bear-bag rope of 1/8” nylon which we used to haul packs up the tough spots.
From the top of the wall we headed cross country through forest and thicket to Upper Snyder Lake. It’s a small lake, about the same area as Lower Snyder, but shallower. From here we can see a snow field quite close by on the East wall, so we make it our destination. Across the creek again, through a forest, and up another scree slope, and we’re there! The snow patch is about 100ft across and has two tunnels through it. We stop for lunch near the larger one, then go exploring through it. And we throw snowballs at each other. A snowball fight in July! The melted surface is very irregular, and it drips off the ceiling. We are in shade, and a very cool breeze flows off the snow. There’s a stream flowing through each tunnel, and is most likely the creator of the tunnel. Further along the scree is a pair of larger streams falling and cascading down the high headwall between Edwards Mountain and the Little Matterhorn. These streams come off Sperry Glacier above us and feed the Snyder Lakes. So we follow across the scree to the lowest section of the falls (home to a pair of water ouzels) then back down to the lake. From high up on the scree we see a deer browsing the lowlands around the lake. Near the bottom of the scree we see a family of marmots sunning themselves on a large boulder. We continue around Upper Snyder through thickets of Alder, grass, wildflowers, and other vegetation. Scott and I remind the scouts to spread out to distribute their impact on the environment. For the most part they do, but often settle into a single file. Our plan to get down is to follow around the west end of the headwall between the two lakes. It’s a long way, but less difficult than the way we came up. Sometimes we find a game trail and follow it, loose it, bushwhack, find another trail, and repeat. The scouts saw a large mule deer with velvet antlers quite close-up. Its really steep and tough going, but eventually we find our way down and cross the cascade between the lakes, and scramble over the scree back to the trail and into camp. We’re hot and sweaty, and we choose to refresh ourselves at the lakeshore. Its been quite a day with some unique challenges and unique opportunities. Today was really a highlight for the trip, as we got to experience a wide variety of environments, vistas, and challenges. While many of us had cut through woods before, to spend a full day hiking off-trail was a new experience, and something I would look forward to doing again.
We share the campsite with another couple again tonight. We first met them as they were heading out over the scree to the cascade as we were nearing camp. Dinner was tacos for Scott & I. The boys had ‘West African Stew’ which looked quite good, followed by pineapple upside-down cake. I watched a Golden Eagle gliding along the headwall and perch on a ledge.

July 25 Thursday
Today we leave Snyder Lakes and hike 12 miles to Lincoln Lake. As we were about to depart, a large 10pt buck mule deer walks right into camp. We got some good photos. He was not afraid of people at all and came quite close to us. We get a late start, and the last 4 miles or so got real old. The trail is not well used, and the weeds crowd the path. It passes a pretty beaver meadow. Lincoln Lake is a absolutely beautiful and worth the long hike. There’s a huge waterfall and cascade pouring down the headwall of this cirque into the tarn. We are surrounded by steep rocky crags dotted with snow packs, and the black spruce march up the slopes between debris slides. We’ve been picking and eating huckleberries all along the trail, and now the first of the thimbleberries are ripe too, but very few and far between. Another couple is here too, and they have a 2-year old boy with them. Its great to see families starting young in the wilderness.
The boys are making tremendous strides in many skill areas. Xavier could teach map reading. Devin is becoming a very good cook. Adam and Maxime are both showing great leadership. Jeff is so quiet but also such a strong and steadfast member of the team.

July 26 Friday
Last day. We strike camp, and hike 8 miles to the Going to the Sun Highway. Its mostly the same trail, just as uneventful, but with lots of huckleberries. We flagged down a shuttle bus, but they couldn’t pick us up there. We had to hike another ½ mile up the road to the official shuttle stop, board the shuttle, and ride to Apgar. Zach and Rich were waiting for us, and walked us the last bit to the campground (full of pickups and RVs). And now we share stories! Team 2 encountered a bear at Reynolds Creek campsite. They were cooking breakfast and heard some snapping and crashing noises near their tents. There had been mule deer in the campsite, so they thought it was one of them. But when Greg went to investigate he found a 2yr old bear clawing up his tent! The bear ran off a short ways, but the tent was ruined. There were also holes in his thermarest pad. They reported the incident to the rangers, who closed the site. Their last campsite was located in an area that had burned about 4 years ago. There was no shade anywhere. And since there would be no shade at the camp either, and it was very hot, and the sun was intense, they decided to abort the campsite and head straight for Apgar.
We all took a swim in Lake McDonald to cleanse off the sweat and trail dirt. Felt great.
Dinner, more stories, a walk to the little tourist village, and I sat by the lake looking north toward glacial carved valleys and peaks, then to bed.

July 27 Saturday
We struck camp and stuffed all our backpacks into the bear boxes, and walked to the transit center to board shuttle busses to Logan Pass. The ride is spectacular. High peaks rise up on either side with craggy ridges, alpine meadows, snow fields, and white water streams running down.
At Logan Pass is a visitor center and associated parking lot full of tourists. We walk the boardwalk up through an extensive alpine meadow studded with all sorts of wildflowers, a flock of bighorn sheep, a family of mountain goats, a marmot, and countless ground squirrels. Further up the trail were a few snow packs, little streams, moraines, then a grand vista down into the next valley, over hidden lake, and the Going to the Sun Highway. On the way down the highway we all boarded one shuttle, but despite the magnificent scenery and twisty turns, many fell asleep. One last visit to the tourist village at Apgar, pick up our packs from the bear boxes, and re-join to meet our shuttle to the KOA for the night. Here we have showers!
Our campsite is on the end of a cul-de-sac, with a few trees and a water spigot on the island in the middle of the turn-around. Two teenage girls are camped with their family next door. We (the adults) have been noticing how our boys and the girls were eyeing each other discretely. The girls were tossing a Frisbee around on one side of the island when I went to get some water. I joined their game for a few tosses, then returned to camp. Soon a challenge was made, and shortly about four of the boys, the two girls, and I were tossing a Frisbee around the perimeter of the cul-de-sac. Later the whole bunch of teenagers settled at a picnic table for card games.

July 29 Sunday
On the move again. We are up and packed in record time with breakfast delayed until we get to the station. Our KOA hosts drive us to the station, and we board the train, on time, at 8:30. Also boarding happens to be a venture crew from S. Carolina. They were scheduled to camp at Reynolds Creek, but the night before was Troop 7’s incident with the bear at the same site, and it was closed!
Riding the train was uneventful and entirely to be expected. We were 4 ½ hours late getting into Chicago and missed our connection to Ann Arbor. They put us on a bus and we arrived at about 4am.


I feel this journal would benefit from a glossary.

Bushwhack: Hiking off-trail, often through bushes and undergrowth vegetation.
Cirque: An amphitheatre-like valley of glacial origin, formed by erosion at the head of the glacier.
Headwall: The name given to the highest cliff in a glacial cirque
Marmot: Related to the woodchuck, found in high alpine areas often in scree.
Moraine: A glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated debris.
Scree: Broken rock that appears at the bottom of a cliff or mountain wall.
Tarn: A Norse term for a lake situated in a cirque formed by a glacier.
Water ouzel: A small dark gray bird which inhabits the environs of high mountain streams. Habits include bobbing up and down while perched by the stream.