~*~ 
“This doesn’t suck.”
Date:
This is my
account (yet another novella) of our day hiking from
Yesterday
was a low key day with an afternoon trip up to Whitefish, MT. We were in bed early
since this morning we needed to be out of the house between
By
When
the shuttle showed up, the driver let us know she had two empty seats. However,
when I got on the bus I didn’t see even one empty seat. It 
was then that I learned the wheel well in
the back was my seat and poor
The
After
about ½ mile along the boardwalk, we saw about 6-7 Big Horn Sheep just chilling
out on a little ridge above
As
soon as we left the Overlook, the crowds were gone. There was a group of four
that turned out to be doing the same hike as we were but we left them scurrying
for their guidebook while we took off down the trail. From the Visitor Center,
it’s only 1 ½ mile to Hidden Lake but not a lot of people venture down to
lakeside because in order to do so, they would have to descend and then climb
about 500’. Lazy! It really is a shame because they miss out on a 
beautiful area with spectacular views.
We
paused at the lake to eat a snack since it had been awhile since breakfast.
There is a faint trail that skirts around the edge of
We
made our way around the bend in the lake and the faint trail we had been
following seemed to just disappear eventually. 
At
any rate,
Just
over the notch, the terrain levels out slightly as you pass over a big field of
rock and snow fields. There are boulders scattering the landscape, with
Avalanche Ridge looking impossibly steep just ahead. There were not a lot of
wildflowers around at this time and
We
decided to have lunch on Avalanche Ridge, providing we were there around
Once
past the snow field and the boulder infested area, the mountain becomes a lot
steeper. There are grassy areas as well as rocky ones and scree so it’s a
matter of finding the best route that you can with what you have. There is no
telling that we 
took the easiest route, but it was going
to be steep no matter what. I became increasingly happy to have my trekking
poles to rely on, particularly for balance and stabilization. I’m not that good
on scree and constantly feel like I’m going fall off the mountain! As we came
around one large boulder, a lone mountain goat stood looking at us like we were
in the wrong place. He promptly jumped up on a rock and posed as if to say
“fine, I will allow you to take my photo”. So I did, and he jumped off and
wandered away, not caring one bit that we were in his territory. He was a big
guy too – I don’t think I would have messed with him.
The
last little section up to the dip in the ridge was particularly steep.
Sometimes it was easier to use your hands above you to help control your
ascent. The picture to the left does a decent job of illustrating how steep it
really is. I was only about 10’ above
as an opportunity to take a few great
photos of each other. Mother Nature seems to know what she’s doing in setting
up the perfect backdrop with an appropriate place to photograph it.
I
was hesitant to leave this little piece of heaven, but we finally did and made
our way up and along the ridge to its highest point where we would be able to
finally see Sperry Glacier,
Lunch
consisted of a turkey sandwich, complete with mustard and dill pickle slices
(yum!!!) which we had packed in separately so as to avoid soggy bread. We had a
bag of trail mix, courtesy of my mother, and a liter of Gatorade which we had
picked up the day before. The Gatorade tasted so damn good at that point and
the energy that I felt to be lacking in the last ½ mile or so to the ridge was
instantly rejuvenated by good food and cold drinks. We checked 
the GPS and decided to leave it on to
track the mileage and our time from here to our next destination,
From
where we sat, it looked like the obvious route would be to follow the base of
the Glacier once we reached height of land and just traverse across it to the
Pass. It seemed as though it would be easy to traverse part way down to
This
descent is immediately steep. There is no way of getting around what we were
about to do. There is a small patch of trees on the side of the 
ridge that require some negotiation to get
through. It’s a little hard because you can’t really see what’s on the other
side of where you are going, made more difficult by the fact that it is so
steep; you can’t see anything beyond the 15 yards in front of you. Somehow,
descending, it felt good to walk with a
normal gait once again and stretch out our leg muscles. We talked about going
straight up and over, as well as traversing through the small patches of trees.
It looked as though we could make a gradual semi-straight line if we went from
where we were standing through the trees and up to the glacier. So that is what
we decided to do. Part of the fun of being off trail is not really knowing
where you should go but being able to figure it out on your own.
It
didn’t seem like we were in the valley very long at all before we started the
climb. Sure enough, we were able to pick a good gradual route up. Getting
through the trees wasn’t really too bad, though I could have done a better job
at navigating one section. We seemed to be locked in a bit and 
actually have our first disagreement.
Well, there you have it. My stubbornness will probably be the cause of an
argument or two in our future.
Once
we broke through the trees at this point, it was relatively easy going from
there. We were able to pick one landmark at a time and make that our
destination. It broke up the hike an made it easy to attain our goals. Always
feeling accomplished helps mentally, if not physically. Our next stopping point
on the way up to the Glacier was a refreshing mountain stream. Since we had
stopped for lunch and were drinking quite a bit of water in the heat, it was a
welcome stop and a chance to replenish our dwindling water supply. To this
point, there is no shortage of water on the trail. At the stream, we tossed off
our packs while I filled up my platypus as well as the 1 liter Gatorade bottle.
I’ve learned the importance of staying hydrated. I know that if I stop and
drink some water, my entire body will react to it. My legs thank me and I feel
instantly rejuvenated. Although I know the importance of drinking, I still have
to be conscious of it and remind myself often.
We
had a beautiful view from the stream location and didn’t hesitate to stop and
enjoy it for awhile. We figured that the rest of the traverse to
It’s not long before the terrain goes from
grassy with a few rocks to nothing but rock. It’s almost as if we went from one
planet to another the way the landscape changed so suddenly. Before we knew it,
we were hoping over boulders and traversing long colorful rocks that reminded
me of painted pieces of wood that had been strategically placed in the valley.
Sperry Glacier had looked so small from Avalanche Ridge, almost as though it
would be ready to disappear in the afternoon heat. As we got closer and closer,
it was anything but diminishing. Suddenly it was this immense field of
snow…several of them to be precise. The loudest sound you could hear was water
rushing all over the place, maneuvering between rocks, cascading down and
draining eventually into several milky white ponds.
We
cautiously made our way along the rocky ridges to the base of the glacier. I
felt like I was in a constant state of awe, taking in everything that was
around me and just gawking at the scenery. Even 
Lookout, we had seen these same mountains
from afar. The thought that we were now trekking through them and seeing things
that very few people get to lay their eyes on was appealing to me on so many
levels.
Sperry
Glacier looks stark white from a distance. When you get closer, you quickly
realize that it isn’t as white anymore. The snow is littered with rocks and
dirt and is anything but white. It doesn’t deter from the beauty, but it’s a
strange thing to realize nonetheless. Once we reached the base, we were trying
to find the best way to cross the moraine and get to 
And
so that was how we decided to bank back to the right and go around the glacier.
Of course this meant that we would be going up and down and up and down and up
and down a whole bunch of rocks. Still not complaining. I was surprised to
realize how high some of the rock ledges were because from the last clear
vantage point we had, it just looked like one giant rock slab. It’s not, it’s
like a sea of colorfully layered rocks ranging from 5 feet to 20 feet high. We
spent a long, long time negotiating the best way through the moraine. There is
no doubt that this was difficult and taxing but at the same time, it afforded
some of the most spectacular views I’ve ever seen.
Throughout
the rocky terrain, there are numerous run offs from the glacier. Waterfall
after waterfall, stream after stream, we crossed over them and admired them the
entire way. I commented that is was a little amazing to me that there is so
much water and still so much glacier! It seems like with the amount of water
rushing off the peak there shouldn’t be any snow left at all. Though I imagine
we were crossing places that looked like solid earth that was really a few
inches of earth on top of six feet of snow. Maybe or maybe not, you just never 
really know.
After
crossing a couple of snowfields, we finally were faced with the “Big Mound” of
red rock. As we had approached it, we thought we might be able to somehow traverse
to its side or up the front. It was becoming increasingly obvious that the only
way we were going to get by it would be to keep swinging far to the right and
go around it. Damn. I was determined to find a route up but I finally had to
concede that it just wasn’t going to happen. I will admit, I was slightly
annoyed at the prospect of having to swing all the way around it, but I got
over it quickly. At the base of the mound was a bright turquoise lake that
eventually tapered into a cold mountain stream and ran off into the distance.
The scree we had to descend on at this point was a pain in the ass. Our legs
and ankles were tired, something that became increasingly apparent as we
slipped and slid on the rocks. We decided that when we reached the point of the
lake/stream where we could cross, it would be a great spot to stop and have a
snack and some water before we did the final climb up to Comeau. No arguments
from this chick.
I
can’t complain about the route we took because ultimately, it provided both of
us with one of the best views of the entire hike. This might have easily been
my favorite place in all 20 miles. It had a little bit of everything. A
turquoise glacial lake, a mountain stream, grass with yellow wildflowers
speckled throughout, a few small trees at the edge of the moraine…all looking
out at a view of Little Matterhorn and the mountains far off in the distance.
It was breathtakingly beautiful and majestic and simply perfect. I could have
sat there for hours just staring at it.
We
snacked on trail mix, summer sausage, cheese and crackers while we relaxed for
awhile and once again, enjoyed the view. It was another opportunity to take a
few token pictures…all part of the quest for the Christmas card picture. I
think there are some potential ones already, but this could be a good one as
well.
The
climb up the red mound area wasn’t really that bad at all. It looked steeper
than it was but I still hate rock slab so I hate climbing on it! Ugh! My heels
had been feeling okay but the steeper incline and all of the traversing that 
we have been doing on unstable ground,
they are feeling it now. The rawness I was having trouble earlier in the week
is coming back rapidly. The only reason I am not concerned is because I know
that shortly we will be descending for a long, long time and the pressure
points will be completely different. At any rate, once we reached the top of
the rock slabs, there were several snowfields that required crossing. By this
point, I was over going around everything and decided I was just going to go
right across the fields.
There
is a huge snowy ridge that goes up to the top of the mountain sitting right by
the pass. It’s quite beautiful actually. Before long, we had reached the giant
We
were so excited when we finally reached
We
didn’t dally at the Pass…we didn’t take pictures…we barely even stopped long
enough to enjoy being there. At that point, we were so happy to just be there
and we knew we had another 10 miles ahead of us. We’d been hiking for 7 ½ hours
and we were only half way done. That plays a little bit on your psyche. So away
we went, first having to descend a really steep rocky staircase that looked as
though it dropped straight the heck off the pass. Even the cables that were
screwed into the rock walls of the stairs weren’t enough to completely make me
feel safe. I don’t know if I made 
way, he went first and I was happy. Until
he disappeared over the edge, that is. Uh…hello?
Once
we were down the stairs, it was clear sailing. You could see the trail for
almost the entire 3 miles to Sperry Chalet. Ugh…nothing like being able to see
the entire trail ahead of you and realizing it will be about an hour until you
reach that point. It’s amazing how quickly the terrain changed again. For the first
mile or so, we were winding around a couple of little lakes and around boulder
after boulder. It was like a rock garden in some aspects. Occasionally we would
come to a giant cairn…and couldn’t figure out why it was there. The trail is so
obvious that if you miss it, you do not deserve to be there. Seriously, what is
the point of
Far
below us, in the valley, we could see the top of Sperry Chalet and a heavily
wooded area. Again I was reminded that this would be a great area for bears and
hoped that we would see one. Our fatigue was getting to us and I think we both
kind of turned it up a notch wanting to reach the chalet where we would be
stopping for a cold drink. Rumors of cold sodas and/or juices had been fueling
us along for awhile. We passed a lone mountain goat on higher up the pass. He
wasn’t really all that interested in us. Further down the trail,
not far from the chalet, we saw another
group of 4 mountain goats right on the trail. We could see them for a long time
before we ever reached them. Once we got close, we shouted and hit our trekking
poles together. They weren’t phased by anything. What finally did it for them
was me sticking my tongue out and doing a “raspberry” noise. Apparently
mountain goats don’t like to have you stick your tongue out at them. They took
off running up the rocky ledge and out of our way. A momma and her kid posed
for a minute but I was too late with my camera to capture it.
We
reached Sperry Chalet right around 
wished that I had done the same but I was
a little too lazy to take my boots off at that point. Especially with raw
heels. I didn’t even want to see what they looked like!
We
tore ourselves away from the stream at long last and all of a sudden hit cruise
control and were booking it down the mountain. It was a little reminiscent of
our last day in
I
don’t know where those last 6 miles went or how we even hiked them. A few times
I got myself into a zone and didn’t hear a single thing going on around me. I
stopped a couple of times to take a picture or two…at which point I could hear 
too clear but enough to stop and smile.
There may have been a spur trail somewhere that would take us to a vista point
but I’ll be damned if I was going to hike any further than I have to at this
point.
At
long last, we reached the horse stables and knew we were there. I don’t
remember the last time I was so happy to see a trailhead! What a joy! We were
so tired we didn’t even do the butt slap dance. We did take pictures with
Sperry Trailhead sign though and then hobbled to the car. We gave up hobbling
briefly just to do the Dumb & Dumber dance when they have their tuxes and
canes. I don’t even know how we did it given how tired we were at that point.
We got to the Jeepasaurus, dropped our packs and peeled off our boots. Sweet
heaven! Crocs!
Looking
at the watch, it was 8:!
A
brief stop at the country store for a huge Gatorade and an ice cream
sandwich…mmm…that hit the spot.
We
got to Moose’s around
See
all 303 pictures
from
Hornet Lookout in Flathead National Forest
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