Hike to Grinnell Lake Glacier National Park

This was a hike we did while staying at the Many Glaciers section of the park. Grinnell Glacier Trail was closed due to all the snow.  We heard they were going to dynamite the trail to break up the snow the week we left. The trailhead parking lot is the Swiftcurrent Picnic area.

It was a bit cloudy when we started.

This trail travels along three lakes. You can cut off some of the miles by taking the boat tour. The views were beautiful all along the way. Here is the first Swiftcurrent lake.

This is the boat on the next Lake Josephine.

The sunny weather gave us lovely blues in the lake and we could see panoramic views of the peaks surrounding.

The trail follows the edge of the lake until we head back into the forest following the Grinnell Lake trail.

The wildflowers were at their peak.

The trail follows cataract Creek for .5 mile till you get to the suspension bridge. Its only .3 miles to the lake.

Grinnell Glacier Lake derives its milky aquamarine color from the refraction of sunlight through suspended particles of fine dust created by the abrasive action of the glacier. 

The waterfall gives the final touch to the amazing views.  7.8 miles round trip without the boat shuttle.

Heading back along the boardwalk we saw two moose and a beaver building its lodge. A Great Hiking Day!!

Koonetai Lake Hike / Waterton Lakes Canada

This hike began with a boat shuttle on Waterton Lake in the Canada half of Glacier Park. It felt like passing through fjords on the way to the end. It was a long lake and took us about 50 minutes to get to our trailhead.

The mountains seemed to go on and on.

We passed little huts along the way.

Finally we arrived at the ranger station after crossing back over to the US. We had to bring our passports if we wanted to hike. There were rangers there that took info from us. It was called Goat Haunt. Most people on the boat just went for the boat ride and didn't hike. They leave you and come back in 3 or 5 hours.

We began our hike in the real backcountry. There was no one here and we were on our own. We were armed with bug spray but no Bear spray. So we made lots of noise along the way.

We were heading for Koonetai Lakes

There were several bridges to cross.

We made it to Koonetai Lake. These are the peaks belonging to what's known as Porcupine Ridge, and at the very end of this huge ridge rests the Citadel Peaks. We were hoping to see some Moose. Instead we saw a lone Loon swimming in the lake. The ranger we talked to on the way back said they usually saw two. This meant the Mother was probably on the nest.

Heading back.... We were making good time and could slow down a bit. We ran into a few other people from our boat hiking but were slower. The bugs were insane here so we kept moving. I even put on my head net it was so loud. Doug had 20 mosquitos on his back while he was hiking.

This shows you how overgrown the area was. We were hiking up to our waist. Some of the plants were as tall as Doug called Grays Lovage. It looks like Queen anne lace flower.

We waited only 15 minutes or so for our return shuttle.  It was getting cloudy by then.  Total hike was 5.5 miles. We enjoyed the cruise back to Canada.

Highline Trail/ Garden Wall Glacier National Park

This is a trail located at the highest elevation in Glacier National Park. It begins at Logan Pass parking lot. You need to get there early (before 10) as the parking fills up all day. There was some snow as we started up.  The Highline Trail runs along the Continental Divide for almost 20 miles from Logan Pass to the campground at Granite Park. We hiked as far as Haystack Butte.

This trail is also called the Garden Wall because of the beautiful green plant life and flowers along the way.

There was still quite a bit of snow along the way. We crossed 5 snowfields. The Logan Pass itself only opened on July 7.

There were spectacular views as we looked back along the trail.

Some of the trail had quite steep drop-offs. Here they had a handrail for balance. It was clever that they covered the wire with a garden hose for grip.

We saw several Marmots along the way.

Bear grass bordered the trails.

Crossing one of the snowfields. We used our microspikes several times and glad to have our poles.

At about 3.6 miles the only real climb of the hike up to Haystack Pass. Can you find the waterfall here above  the people crossing the trail? Elevation is 7024 ft at this point.

We met up with some mountain goats following us on the trail. Total hike was 7.2 miles to Haystack. You can continue onto the Loop which takes you to a shuttle stop at going to the sun road to make it a one way hike.

Avalanche Lake Hike - Glacier National Park

This is a shorter length hike (4 miles round trip) that is located near the McDonald Lake area. The trail begins at the Avalanche Creek Campground on the Going to the Sun Road. There is a really short nature trail called the Trail of Cedars that begins the same place. You can add this on if you have more time. This is one of the most crowded trails so get there before 10 or after 4 PM to get a parking spot.  There are toliets at the start. Here is a pick of how the trail begins in the forest with high trees.

You will walk among the cottonwoods and tall cedar trees. Very quickly you will pass over a bridge to get to a beautiful fast running gorge. The gorge was formed by the force of the stream cutting through the argillite beds forming bowls and chutes in the rock.

The spray from the small waterfalls provides moisture needed for the green mosses that drape the rocks around the gorge.

The trail follows the west rim of the gorge through Western Hemlock along avalanche creek.

About a mile in you can see views of Mount Cannon. Then the trail will begin to climb but total elevation is only 500 ft.

This is a nice hike through ferns and forest of hemlock, larch, red cedar, red maple and black cottonwood. Lush mosses can also be seen.

I loved how there were many waterfalls all around the lake. There were steep cliffs on three sides in this hanging cirque valley formed by Sperry Glacier. The color of the lake was a aqua blue.

Plan de l'Aiguille to Montenvers-Mer de Glace (Grand Balcon Nord) in France

We took the gondola lift up to the top of the French Alps to see Mont Blanc. The name of the lift is Aiguille du Midi. This is the top. Here is a view of what we saw. It was breathtaking. We could walk around the building to see all sides. The only peak we could not see was Mont Blanc on this day because of the clouds.

Then we rode down one stop to Plan de l'Aiguille which is about halfway. There the trail began. There is a nice cafe here and signs to point the way. It was still snowy here because it was June but we decided we could do it.

Here you can see the lift lines on the left.

This well used trail rises but mostly falls starting in the alpine  elevation.

It feels like we are on top of the mountains.

I loved all the different plants of many colors.

Some parts were covered with loose rocks and boulders to step around.

The views were stunning along the ridge.

Here you can see the steep snow covered trail we crossed.

Next the trail got steep as it wound up to the top to Le Signal for the best views. We saw some creature up here called a chamois. Its a goat like animal.

Here is the top. The next part was hardest as we switchbacked our way back down to the train at Montenvers and Mer de Glace. This is a receding glacier. We ate our lunch with the glacier view behind us. Then we rode the train back down to Chamonix. This was an awesome way to end our hiking the alps vacation.