Day 7

Today, we visited the Many Glacier part of Glacier National Park. It was about a 35 minute drive from our campground. The morning started out very foggy, but we could see through the fog that there were clear skies above. While we were driving along the access road to the park, we ran across this fellow and two of his companions, foraging for berries and such along side the road. Unfortunately, they were a bit camera shy and wouldn't come out from behind the bushes ... then again, maybe that was a good thing!

Our plan for today was to join a Ranger led hike to a place called Iceberg Lake. The hike was about 10 miles round trip, and had an elevation gain of about 1200', making a relatively easy hike. With clear blue skies today, despite forecasts of rain, the beauty of these mountains and valleys is simply indescribable.

As we approached Iceberg Lake, we spotted two elk high up on the slopes. The first one had just walked on the snow pack and the second one is visible a little behind the first. The Ranger who was leading our hike said that it was rather unusual to see elk in this area, particularly so high up on the slopes. Mountain goats are normally seen here, but today, there were none.

The flowers and plant life in this sub-alpine area were beautiful. This little meadow overlooked a smaller lake, seen in the background, just before we reached the overlook where we first saw Iceberg Lake. Unfortunately, some people just don't seem to pay any attention to the signs asking people to stay on the trails so that these delicate plants can survive, and be seen by other visitors.

Sadly, based on where we were, and the position of the sun in the sky at the time, the lighting at Iceberg Lake wasn't great, and my pictures didn't come out as well as I would have hoped. Next time I'll have to be a little more attentive to these things!

The hike back was much more difficult than the hike in, despite going downhill on the way back. The sun was high in the sky and was VERY strong, and the flies were absolutely merciless. I'll probably be waving my arms in front of my face for two more days!

As we were heading down, someone spotted a moose well off in the distance, beside a small river. Even with my 300 mm zoom lens, it's tough to make him out, but he's the brown spot in the center of the picture below.

Tomorrow, we're going on an all day whitewater rafting trip. The weather may not be too great, but since we'll be on the river anyway, it really shouldn't matter.

Time to make dinner, maybe play a game or two, and then call it a night. After today's hike, I'm not ashamed to say ... I'm REALLY tired!