Scott has been talking about taking me to Glacier ever since we were married 28 years ago. He went as a teenager and has raved about it ever after. So the stars aligned last month that we could spend two glorious days in the park. It’s in northern Montana on the border with Canada and we didn’t get to see near enough of it, but what we did see was awe-inspiring and amazing. Just like he said. I think he would editorialize something here along the lines of “I’m always right” or “You should always listen to me”. In this case, a big yes! I was totally awestruck as we drove the Going to the Sun Road which clings to side of the mountain over a VERY LARGE valley. I was amazed at how deep it was from the top to the bottom. We stopped at various pull-outs to gape and take photos.
At Logan Pass we found a parking place and got out to do some hiking. Scott especially wanted to do the Garden Wall hike because he remembered that from his earlier trip. We started off on the trail and look who we met? He was fairly unconcerned at our presence and posed for some photos with us. The Garden Wall is a rather precarious trail in some places that is narrow and has a hand-hold. When other hikers were passing us going the other way, we plastered ourselves to the wall so they didn’t fall off the edge as they passed. Since I’m a total klutz, I watched my footing at all times and stopped when I wanted to gaze up at the amazing wall of plants. There are seeps and waterfalls throughout the rock that allow an astonishing amount of plant life where in most places the cliffs are just bare rock.
After enjoying the lovely plants on the Garden Wall trail, we went to the Visitor’s Center and decided to conquer the trail to Hidden Lake. Somebody had said that I didn’t need to take my hiking boots on this trip because we wouldn’t be doing heavy-duty hiking and my tennis shoes would be fine on the trails. Hmmm. This trail took off straight up from the center on a boardwalk with steps made for giants so we thought victory would be ours if we could just step tall enough.
We got to the top of the very tall ridge and discovered that out of sight there was a more challenging trail ahead. Mostly because it was covered with……snow and ice. That only mountain goats could navigate without slipping and sliding. Unfortunately, my tenny runners have zero traction, so every time we came to an ice patch, I got Scott’s hand in a death grip and he kept me mostly vertical as I slid all over the place. Exhausting! But eventually, we made it to the overlook and saw a beautiful lake hidden in a small valley surrounding by towering peaks. Hence the name, Hidden Lake!
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