Home is where we are parked

Home is where we are parked
Home is where we are parked

Thursday, June 27, 2019

MT -- Whitefish, 31 May - 14 Jun 2019


Two weeks near Whitefish MT...

Why we came...

To explore Glacier and for a reunion with old military friends!

The campground...
Mountain View RV Park was only five miles from Whitefish.  It was a comfortable and clean park with 46 pull-thru sites.  They were level and we had full hookups.  The park has a few back-in sites but they are short and hookups are far away.  There was decent space between each site.  It is next to highway so traffic noise was prevalent during the day and tapered off each night.

There are only a few trees so it was not a problem getting satellite.  There was an ok Verizon signal and the wi-fi was strong during the first part of our stay and sporadic towards the end (a data hog probably moved in).   The restrooms/showers were kept clean and the laundry had 2 sets of washers and dryers.                                                                                                              

 “We are only 22 miles to the gateway of Glacier National Park, 2 miles to the West is the Whitefish River, 3 miles to the East is Flathead River and 5 miles North West is Whitefish Lake. Flathead Lake is 30 miles south and is the largest natural fresh water lake west of the Mississippi with over 200 square miles of water and 185 miles of shoreline.  Mountain View RV Park boasts beautiful views of Big Mountain, Teakettle Mountains, Columbia Mountains along with gorgeous sunsets to boot!”
We had full hook-ups and decent space at Mountain View RV Park

Nearby towns...

ColumbiaFalls, population ~5,000 and elevation 3,087 feet, has a decent selection of restaurants, two grocery stores, and some services.  It’s a busy little town surrounded by an outdoors paradise.

Whitefish, population ~7,000 and elevation 3,028 feet, is 10 miles west and has more of a resort town feel.  It has more restaurants, stores, and services.  It sits at the south end of beautiful Whitefish Lake and there is a decent sized ski resort nearby.  We could easily live there!

Kalispell, population ~22,000 and elevation 2,956 feet, is 17 miles southwest and is the main shopping and service center in the area.  It feels much bigger and busier than its 22,000 people population.  In fact, Wikipedia says there are nearly 100,000 people living in the Kalispell area, which includes Columbia Falls and Whitefish.

Adventures...
On 1 June we hiked to the top of Big Mountain…

Arleen was antsy to do a hike with some vertical so we drove up Big Mountain road to Whitefish Mountain Resort. The original Big Mountain Resort was a community effort and opened its ski lifts in 1947. It was renamed Whitefish in 2007.

“Today Whitefish offers 3,000 acres of glades, groomers, bowls, and steeps, covered in more than 300-inches of Rocky Mountain powder snow. Whitefish is actually not a “ski town,” it’s a town of skiers.”

There are a number of homes and condominiums at the base of the mountain. The ski resort stays busy during the summer with mountain bikers, alpine slide, zip line, spider monkey mountain, aerial adventure park, and scenic lift rides to the summit where there is a nature center but that all does not kick off till after June 15th.

It was the 1st of June and a Saturday.  So we were thankful it was still quiet and that the lift was running.

Arleen is always looking for a slide or a zip line down when we do a steep uphill hike. Whitefish Mountain Resort has the perfect hike for her. We would hike 4 miles and climb over two thousand feet on the “Danny On” Trail and then ride a ski lift down!

“The Danny On Trail was dedicated as a memorial to Danny On, a Forest Service silviculturist (forest ecologist) and renowned nature photographer, conservationist and avid skier on The Big Mountain. Danny died at the age of 55 in a skiing accident on The Big Mountain.”

We weren’t sure we could get to the top because of snow.  According to the signs posted, there were snow fields about two miles up the trail.  We headed up to find out for ourselves.

We meandered up the tree-lined switchbacks and paused when the trail crossed the ski runs that were clear of trees to take in views of the valley below.  It was filled with smoke from a large wildfire in Alberta but as we climbed and the afternoon waned, the visibility improved.

As the trail took a left turn from the south side to the east side of the mountain, we encountered snow fields near the base of Chair 5.  We took a break to ponder our options.  How wet did we want to get?  Did we really want to post-hole another mile and a half up the mountain? We knew a hot lunch was waiting for us at the Summit House so we decided to press on.

Suddenly, a golden doodle scampered down to us from the Moe-Mentum ski run.  Like an angel, his partner, a tiny, gray haired, elder lady made her way down through the snow.  She was a local taking advantage of the outdoor paradise in her backyard. She hikes Big Mountain a few times a week during the summer and skis all winter.

After, our mountain angel had inspired us, we headed up the ski run and the snow fields.  Thankfully, the snow was still firm and we did not post-hole at all except on the edges.  It was steeper than the trail, so we paused frequently.  It was clear that our month in Roundup had set back our fitness.

We crested the final steep pitch and while our pulses slowed we admired the vast views of Flathead Valley, the jagged peaks of Glacier National Park, the Canadian Rockies, and the Bob Marshall, Great Bear, Scapegoat, and Cabinet wilderness areas. Incredible!

We noted the temperature on the summit was 54o and it was breezy.  It felt chilly as soon as we stopped moving.

We moved out of the cool air into the warm Summit House and ordered tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  We ate our lunch next to a window where we enjoyed the expansive views.
Finally, we took a chilly 10 minute ride down the Scenic Lift to finish Arleen’s ideal hike.

We hiked to the top of Big Mountain and then rode the lift down
Glacier lilies are one of our favorites
First patch of snow was about half way up
Approaching the top
We made it!
On 3 June we did a special bike ride…

Glacier National Park, established in May of 1910, is in the northwest corner of Montana sharing the Canadian border with its international peace park, Canada’s Waterton Lakes National Park.

“The park encompasses over 1 million acres and includes parts of two mountain ranges, over 130 named lakes, more than 1,000 different species of plants, and hundreds of species of animals. This vast pristine ecosystem is the centerpiece of what has been referred to as the "Crown of the Continent Ecosystem", a region of protected land encompassing 16,000 square miles”.

“The current glaciers in the park are estimated to be at least 7,000 years old and peaked in size in the mid-1800s, during the Little Ice Age.” Today there are roughly 30 glaciers clinging to remote mountain sides.

Glacier National Park has several main areas.  We’d explore seven of those areas over six weeks.  We’d visit the Lake McDonald and the Walton area on the west side area in our first two weeks and the Two Medicine, St. Mary’s, Logan Pass, and the Many Glacier area the next two, and the Canadian Waterton NP in our final two weeks.

Our first day in Glacier, we rode our bikes part way up the Going to the Sun Highway.  The park slowly opens the road to hikers and bikers as they clear it of snow. Most years the road opens to vehicles by late June.

We parked at Avalanche Lake campground which was where the highway was gated.  In addition, the campground was still closed to camping to make room for parking for all the hikers and cyclists headed up the epic road.  It was only half full at 1000L but filled up by the time we got back – and it was a Monday!

We eagerly hopped on our bikes and took our time to admire the incredible scenery.  The first few miles were relatively flat and then it pitched consistently up for the next six miles.  We stopped to ham for a few pictures and felt like we had our own National Park.

The final mile pitched up to a 6% grade.  The views were even more punctuated by waterfalls as we climbed high above the valley.  We slowly rode through a wet tunnel and appreciated the cold spray as we tried to catch our breath and cool off.
 
The “Road Closed’ sign was posted just above the main switchback: “The Loop”.  About 10 fellow riders were hanging out, chatting about the incredible adventure and other things. The ride down was SO much fun until we had to fight a stiff headwind – just as forecast.  Otherwise the weather was nearly perfect for an epic day.

Bike route on Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier NP
We love having our own national park!
 
We slowly rode by a few pretty waterfalls
We made it!
 On 4 Jun we did a short hike on Columbia Mountain Trail...

Columbia Mountain is a 7,200 foot peak between Columbia Falls and Hungry Horse.  There is a Mother Nature’s stair climber of a hike with switchbacks climbing 5,000 feet over 6 miles.  It was a gorgeous day without any smoke – the type of day you cannot waste!

We hiked up just over a mile for a good view and a good aerobic workout.  We climbed 800 feet up just a few of the many switchbacks.  Our legs felt like stumps after the bike ride the previous day.   We wanted to save them for next day: a tough hike to the Apgar Lookout.
Hike route a little ways up the Columbia Mountain trail
Vibrant penstemon flowers
This was our best view. Looking down towards the Flathead River and the peaks of Glacier NP.  See the train?
 On 5 Jun we hiked to the Apgar Lookout...

Glacier National Park has nine lookout towers (there were 17 at one time).  Of those four are still utilized today.  Apgar Lookout Tower is probably the most easily accessed.

The original lookout was constructed in 1929, but burned down only two weeks after its completion. It was immediately replaced with the current two-story wood frame structure on the premises today. Although no longer in use, the fire tower is considered an historical structure, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.”

“The village, mountain, fire tower and trail are all named after Milo Apgar, who was among the first permanent families to settle on Lake McDonald in the early 1890s. Mr. Apgar built homes and cabins for tourists in this area, which would later become Apgar Village.”

The trailhead is just over 3 miles from the visitor center though two miles of it is down a narrow dirt road. And the road crossed a cool single lane wooden bridge over the tropical colored McDonald Creek.

The trail starts out flat and in the woods.  Then it pitches up and makes 3 long sweeping switchbacks before we got to the tower after almost 3.75 miles.  We climbed 2,000 feet.

As we climbed we had sweeping views back to the Bob Marshall Wilderness.  From the top we were able to take in views of the southern Glacier Peaks and Lake McDonald.

There were a few dozen folks when we arrived.  Three of them were folks that we had chatted with on the way up.  We had offered to take pictures of each other a few different times.

Arleen chatted with one of the volunteers and learned that some of the crowd up there was part of a team inspecting all nine towers in the park to assess stability and necessary repairs.  Arleen mentioned that with more time we could try to make it to all 9 towers.  Some of them are in very remote areas and are real tough hikes.  We’d make it to one more, Scalplock, in our time at West Glacier.
Hike route to the Apgar Lookout in Glacier NP
The top of that hill is our goal
We love the bear grass
Great view looking up the valley
Looking southwest towards West Glacier and Hungry Horse
Getting closer.  The Flathead River and West Glacier are far below.
Getting wind-blown near the top with the jagged peaks of Glacier behind
The view from the Apgar Lookout towards the northeast
Success!
Then our friends arrived!

Last year military friends from our Alaska days in the late ‘90s came up with the brilliant plan for a reunion.  We were all weather forecasters stationed together at Elmendorf Air Force Base. A few worked at the base weather station and a few worked at the Alaska Forecast Unit.

We were honored that they selected West Glacier based on our schedule.  Whitefish would make a good base camp with plenty of places to stay, a good selection of restaurants, and a variety of things to do. 

Including us, FIFTEEN came: Troy and Dawn (left Saturday), John and Debra (left Sunday), Joe and Trish (both forecasters), Sven and Cheryl, Steve and Raymona, Bill and Tami, and Lance who arrived late Saturday.  The main group left Monday morning but Lance stayed till Wednesday so the three of us could do a few more challenging adventures.

All of us are either retired or separated from the Air Force now.  We figured there was about 200 years of total military experience in our group! A few of them still work in the weather career but others have branched out.  Of the nine former weather forecasters we had a lawyer, an RN, a financial planner, an IT technician, an antique auto restoration expert.   Our group came from all over: Alaska, North Dakota, Michigan, Nebraska, Louisiana, and Arizona.

With the exception of Lance they all arrived Thursday afternoon.  Arleen and I greeted them at the Best Western Rocky Mountain Lodge as they arrived.  Except for a few folks we visited in Alaska last year, we hadn’t seen most of them in twenty years.
       
After they were all checked in, we went to the Montana Tap House for pizza and refreshments. As Bill said, "It's like we just put down our beer yesterday, and picked it right back up today!"

We spent many hours catching up on each other’s lives and making plans for the next several days.  As the group caught Uber rides back to the motel we waved goodbye and agreed to meet the next afternoon for a whitewater rafting adventure.
Military friends from our Alaska days came from all over the country for a reunion
On 7 Jun we rafted the Flathead River...

We are thankful to Sven for setting up the whitewater rafting adventure with Wild River Adventures.  Combine our Half Day Whitewater Adventure (9 river miles) with a tasty riverside barbecue dinner. Evening light makes our mountains glow and provides the perfect backdrop for a hot, delicious meal!”

We met at their office in West Glacier.  First, we squeezed into wetsuits which was a very entertaining process (painful?) for some.  There were several in our group that had never been rafting and they were understandably nervous and excited.

We took a bus up Highway 2 to the put-in spot on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River.  The next eight river miles run through a fun canyon with several Class 2 and Class 3 rapids.

Since there were 14 of us we were put on 2 different rafts.  Sven and I volunteered to take the lead in our raft.  We each had a paddle and our guide gave us instructions on how to get safely through the big waves.

We were glad for the wet suits since the outside air temperature was just 50o and the water was just 37o.  The spectacular scenery in the canyon soon made us forget how chilly we were.

At the beginning of the float a shower moved over us and we were assaulted with huge raindrops and hail.  It confirmed the weather person’s curse of guaranteed bad weather for outdoors activities!  Soon after, the sun poked through and we had great weather for the majority of the float.

As we moved down the river, the guide would shout, “right paddle” or “left paddle” and we would push in unison to get through the rapids.  In some of the thrilling big ones we pitched up into giant holes and were splashed as big waves collapsed on us!  We all yelled and laughed in unison! 

But we all stayed in the raft till we got to the slow water towards the end. Then, Troy purposely jumped in the water to see how cold it was!

At the pull-out spot, we dragged the heavy rafts out.  There were already tables set up on the river.  Our guides got busy grilling steak, chicken, salmon and potatoes while we slipped into the woods to wriggle out of the wet suits and into our comfortable clothes that the bus driver had brought.

It was a fabulous meal with a fantastic view.  Dinner featured fresh salads, baked potatoes, and a pound cake with berries dessert. Then the rain and hail showers moved back in as we quickly tore down camp.

Back at Wild River Adventures, we went next door to the Crown of the Continent Discovery Center for hot chocolate to warm up a bit.

We wrapped up the fun day with a drive out to view Hungry Horse Dam.  The Hungry Horse Dam was built from 1948 to 1953. It is 464 feet tall and 2,115 wide. It is the 11th highest concrete dam in the United States.

The dam backs up the South Fork of the Flathead River between the Flathead Range and the Swan Range. The large lake is 34 miles long and the drive around it is 115 narrow dusty miles!

The scenic background made for a great group shot!
Rafting route down the Middle Fork of the Flathead River
Headed to the river
The gang at the river.  Nice boobs Troy!
Getting instructions before we launch
The other team getting their instructions
Just shoved off!
Good times on a pretty river
It’s SO fun!
We stopped to see the Hungry Horse Dam after the rafting adventure
On 8 Jun we did a couple of short hikes in Glacier NP...

Unfortunately, the next day it rained for most of the day.  Sadly Troy and Dawn had to leave that morning.  The remaining group had time to shop and check out Whitefish.

The rain tapered off in the early afternoon and we made an impromptu plan to all meet in the Park.  John and Debra had to leave the next day and they wanted to see Glacier.  We wanted to get Debra’s new boots dirty so Arleen and I suggested a couple of short hikes.

First, we hiked the Rocky Point Trail near the Fish Creek Campground on Lake McDonald.  The nearly mile long trail was perfect with a few rolling parts, a creek crossing, and lots of wild flowers.  Our destination, the shore of pretty Lake McDonald with mountains all around, was perfect for another group photo op.

Trail of the Cedars is an extremely popular hike and normally crowded.  However, we arrived in the late afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed a mile long saunter on the boardwalk through the giant western hemlocks and red cedars.
 

We finished the day in Whitefish at the Piggyback BBQ.  We shared delicious giant trays of BBQ Brisket, Sausage, Pulled Pork and chicken.  We also shared more stories and conversation.  The waitress generously let us stay past her normal closing time as we made plans for the big hike the next day.

Hike route to Rocky Point in Glacier NP
That's a sturdy bridge!
Being goofy at Rocky Point in Glacier NP
Hike route on the Trail of the Cedars
Crossing Avalanche Creek
Avalanche Creek cuts through a narrow gorge. It's very pretty.
On 9 Jun we hiked to Avalanche Lake in Glacier NP...

We all met for breakfast the next day at the Best Western to send off John and Debra.  They planned a day trip through the National Bison Range on their way to the Spokane Airport.   We also welcomed Lance who had flown in late the night before.

Our planning went awry.  The day turned into our now famous “Sorry Folks, Park’s Closed, Moose out Front should have Told You” adventure.

After three days of clouds and rain, the forecast was for partly cloudy to mostly cloudy skies.  So our little group (which included 8 weather forecasters) excitedly headed to Glacier National Park for a hike to Avalanche Lake.  Since the weekends had been very crowded and the Avalanche parking area filled before noon, the plan was to park at the Apgar Visitor Center to take the shuttle.

By the time we ate breakfast, wished John and Debra happy travels, stopped at Subway for sandwiches and drove into the park, it was noon.  The shuttle got us to trailhead about a half hour later. 

Finally, at 12:30L we started hiking up the trail!  The views were immediately impressive after walking through the Trail of Cedars.  Avalanche Creek in peak runoff is a pretty aqua colored river ripping through a twisting and turning granite chasm… So pretty!

Trish, Steve, Arleen, and I set the pace.  After the trail follows the creek for a short distance it cut back into the cool dark woods.  As we walked, raindrops assaulted us.  We angrily yelled at the sky, “No, today was supposed to be nice!”  The sky responded with a few flakes of snow and pellets of hail.  Shortly after that, thunder boomed through the canyon… The weather person’s curse was at work again!  It was going to be one of those days.  We accepted our fate and pushed ahead. 

We popped out of the trees for a gorgeous view of a pretty aqua lake back-dropped by mountains and sheer cliffs dusted with fresh snow.  We walked the edge and settled on some big glacial rocks a few hundred yards down the shore.  Thankfully, the rain had stopped and the clouds even parted a time or two allowing us to view a patch of blue sky.

After a while we saw the rest of the gang emerge from the woods.  We waved and Joe was the first to duck back into the woods and head our way on the upper trail.  Then the rest of the gang followed a few minutes later.  They joined us on the rocks soon after that.  But no Joe or Lance!

After a while, Trish got more concerned about Joe.  After all, he had her sandwich! 

Arleen and Bill decided to go search for them. Arleen walked east along the shore while Bill scrambled up to the trail to try to flush them out.  Bill asked a day hiker if they had seen Bob Segar.  Yes, Bob’s at the east end of the lake!  Bill fetched them and soon our group was together again.

We spent a few hours relaxing at the lake.  Then I did the math and realized we were going to miss our dinner reservation.  So Arleen and I set out to catch the shuttle to Apgar, where we’d have a cell phone signal, and change reservation to a later time.  When we got to the shuttle, we discovered we were on the 5:00pm shuttle – the last of the day… “Sorry Folks, Park’s Closed, Moose out Front should have Told You”!  We asked the shuttle driver if there was any way she could help us. We still had 9 people on the trail.  She replied that there was nothing she could do and politely told us that we should have read the signs… DUH!

So we got back to the Visitor Center and came up with a plan to fit all 9 folks in our truck.  We emptied everything from the front and then took out a bike and bins filled with stuff from the back of the truck.  We piled everything around a bench where Arleen would stay to make phone calls and to guard our stuff.  I hurried back to Avalanche to find our stranded team.

In the meantime, the merry band of hikers had figured out they had missed the last shuttle.  Bill and Sven caught a ride back to McDonald Lodge and were walking the road when I spotted them.

When we arrived at the trailhead, Trish and Tami were pleading with a Ranger for help.  After scolding them for not reading the sign (DUH!), he agreed to give a couple of people a ride back to the Visitor Center.  Tami eagerly volunteered because she didn’t want to ride on anyone’s lap! 

I didn’t want the Ranger to give me a ticket for unseatbelted passengers.  To delay loading until the Ranger left, I asked someone to use the restroom.  Then we loaded up with 5 people in the front and 2 in the back… nobody was even lapped up!  The whole way back we laughed at the silly situation.

Arleen had made new reservations for 7:30 pm at the Columbia Falls Meadow Lake golf course.  Amazingly we arrived 5 minutes early!  They sat us outside in their garden among the flowers and the weather even cooperated. Our servers treated us great and even brought Lance a birthday cheesecake!  For the second time that week, we closed a restaurant.
Hike route to Avalanche Lake
Me and Lance.  So glad he joined us!
Chatting about something on the trail
Arleen and Trish walking the shore of Avalanche Lake
Avalanche Lake is beautiful
Lance and I getting some air
The gang at Avalanche Lake
On 10 Jun we hiked to the top of Big Mountain with Lance...

We started the day at the Best Western for breakfast with our friends.  Steve, Raymona, Bill and Tami were going to drive through the northwest corner of Montana and check out the Libby Dam and the Kootenai Falls on their way to the Spokane Airport.  Sven, Cheryl, Joe and Trish were going to visit Yellowstone National Park, meet up in Jackson, Wyoming for a few days and hike in Teton National Park. 

That left Lance, Arleen and I.  Lance is in better shape than I am so we were eager to take him on a few challenging hikes.  We started with Whitefish Mountain Resort.  Lance is a skier too, so we knew he would appreciate it.

The only issue was that it was a Monday and the lift wasn’t operating so we would have to hike up and down.  Arleen was a little disappointed.

We hiked swiftly up The Danny On Trail switchbacks.  Again, we paused when the trail crossed the ski runs to take in views of the valley below.  Today, there wasn’t any smoke and we had a clear view of the scenic area.

We took a break on the bridge in the Chair 5 area.  Then we headed up the Moe-Mentum ski run.  We were amazed that there was only a 1/3 of the snow that there had been the week before.  Still it was a good workout to move up the ski run.

Finally, at the summit, we looked down at Flathead Valley and out at Glacier National Park, the Canadian Rockies, and the Bob Marshall, Great Bear, Scapegoat, and Cabinet wilderness areas. Again, the visibility was SO much better than our previous visit!  

We took shelter from the biting wind on the porch of the closed Summit House.  We still had a great view during our break. 

Finally, we made our way back down the Russ’s Street ski run.  It was longer but not as steep of a gradient for our tired knees.  Since, we stayed more on the north side of the mountain, there were quite a few snowfields, nonetheless we had a good time sliding down in our boots.
Hike route up Big Mountain with Lance
Approaching our goal
About a third of the way up.  The town of Whitefish is above Lance.
Lance  making it to the top
The victory pose!
Headed back down through the snow
On 12 June we hike to the Scalplock Lookout...

Lance was scheduled to leave on an evening flight.  First, we had plans to do our toughest hike of the summer.

We drove to the seldom visited Walton area.  The Izaak Walton Inn is a historic inn in Essex, Montana. It was originally built by the Great Northern Railway in 1939 for lodging railway workers. In addition to railway lodging, the hotel was also originally envisioned as a potential official southern gateway to Glacier National Park, but that plan never materialized.”

The Inn is still there on the right side of the highway.  On the left is a ranger station, a picnic area and the Scalplock Lookout Trailhead.  We backed the truck into a picnic area.

The trail starts out flat with views of the Middle Fork of the Flathead River.  It crosses back and forth with the horse trail but is easy to follow.  Where the horses cross the creek, we followed the trail to a cool swinging bridge over the roaring Ole Creek. 

After a half mile it pitched up and the switchbacks through the woods started.  It was sloped just enough to get our heart rate up but not so bad that we had to stop frequently.

Occasionally, we’d have a peak down at the river and across to the Great Bear Wilderness and the Flathead Mountain Range.  It helped us hurry up the trail because each view was better.

Finally, after almost four miles of switchbacks, we broke out above the tree line for a fantastic view beyond the Great Bear to the Bob Marshall Wilderness. We followed the trail across the rocky ridge.  Avalanche Lilies were popping everywhere.

We had to cross a few snowfields and after starting to post-hole, it was just easier to cut across the spine of the rocky ridge.  We didn’t get a look at the tower till we were just below it.

The Scalplock Lookout was built in 1931.  It is a 2-story frame cab and is still staffed in the summer. “It was rehabilitated in 1999 and is listed on the National Historic Lookout Register.”

We climbed the stairs and were treated by a 360o view of mountain ranges all around us.  We could see some of the highest peaks and craggiest peaks in Glacier NP to our north.  It was stunning! 

We took a break on the catwalk and tried to take in the view.  We tried to get decent picture but were hampered by the trees that have grown up around the perimeter.  Still, the image is forever burned in our mind’s eye.

We left sooner than we wanted to.  Lance had a plane to catch and we had 5 miles of downhill hiking ahead of us followed by an hour long drive.

The Scalplock Lookout is in a quiet area of the Park, and we had it nearly to ourselves.  We only met one couple coming down the trail and another couple headed up while we headed down.

We took Lance to the airport; bid him farewell and we all promised it would not be another 20 years before getting together for the next adventure.
 
We went home feeling good.  After the day’s hike, we knew we were in fair hiking shape and ready for the many hikes on the other side.  We prepared the trailer to move to the east side and St Mary’s.
Hike route to the Scalplock Lookout
This was a fun bridge to cross.  It swayed a lot!
Finally popped out of the trees and were treated to an incredible view
Near the bottom of the final ridge and looking south
The lookout tower is at the top of the hill in the upper left
We loved walking along this ridge and were blown away by 280 degree views.
Just below the top and looking down to the Flathead River
Lance at the Scalplock Lookout
The victory pose!
The views from the Scalplock Lookout are incredible

Next...
We are in St Mary MT exploring the east side of Glacier National Park.  Next we head to Pincher Creek AB to play in Waterton Lakes National Park.  After that we hope to check out Banff, Lake Louise, and Jasper.

Parting shots...
A rickety bridge across McDonald Creek. The Flathead River is on the right.
(238,200)