August 17, 2015 through August 22, 2015
We began our two-day journey to Glacier National Park where we would be joined by more of our children and their families. The intermediate stop was Idaho’s Farregut State Park just North of Coeur d’Alene. The park is a gem. It is a very large park on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille, and adjacent to Bayview – a small, quaint fishing/resort village. Here we met up with Rene, Mark, Cameron, Avery and Ryan, who had driven in from Redmond, Washington.
All camp fires and briquettes were banned in the Northwest– only propane fueled devices were approved. It certainly eliminated the beauty and warmth of an evening fire, especially when temperatures dropped into the 40’s. The kids love camping and especially S’mores. We adjusted by roasting the marshmallows for the S’mores on our propane BBQ. Delicious!
On leaving our campsite the following morning, we did a ‘fly-by’ of the park and decided to come back to Farragut for a destination experience – sometime in the future. Hmm, the list of all the places we want to come back to keeps growing.
Taking a momentary diversion, the fires in this part of the country are the worst I’ve seen. They are having a huge impact on our trip. Currently there are more than 100 wildfires burning in Northern California, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Washington. We’ve seen blue skies only for a few hours. The sun alternates between deep orange and red. It is hard to breathe. According to the national Air Quality Index, the areas we are visiting are either yellow [ Moderate Health Concern] or orange [Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups]. We bypassed several red [Unhealthy] sites. In Washington, three fire fighters died last night. Everyone is hoping for rain to stop the burn and to clear the air – but hope is not supported by any forecast. Some roads and campgrounds in our itinerary are closed. We are evaluating our plans on a day-by-day basis and making changes as necessary. Everyone is advised to avoid any hard physical activity. Most of us are coughing, short of breath, and having difficulty sleeping. Should we continue this trip? We ask this everyday.
To reach the West Glacier National Park entrance, we selected the northern Montana route. The beauty of the area – while still grand – is shrouded by dense smoke. Applying our Buddhist philosophy, we’ve resolved to see the beauty as it is – and not reminisce about what could or should have been. Still…..it is sad.
Lake McDonald at dusk.
McDonald River
When we arrived at our campsite at Fish Creek on the West side of Glacier National Park, two more families – Bill, Kelly, Alex, and Erin who flew in from New York City, and my brother Marcel, Sandi and Danielle who drove in from Utah, joined the gathering. I guess 15 makes this a PARTY! Since the status of no-fires was in full effect, we adapted our gourmet camping menu accordingly – still delicious – then early to bed to stay warm.
Renee
The Gang of Five: Avery, Cameron, Ryan, Erin, Alex
Bill and Mark
Kelly
Marcel – ready to hike to Hidden Lake
Sandi and Danielle
Roselie hiking to Hidden Lake
Andre and Brent
Our campsite was located near the shores of Lake McDonald, and was adjacent to a creek of glacier water. Water is a huge magnet for our 5 – 12 year-old group. The Gang of Five spent many hours playing in the icy water or skipping rocks on the lake Why don’t kids feel the cold water?
Playing in the creek by our campsite
Mountain Man Breakfast: SPAM and Eggs.
Our main venture from the West side was to take the 53 mile-long Going-to-the-Sun Road to St. Mary on the Eastern border of the park. This precarious road, built during the 1930’s, represented an engineering feat. No vehicle larger than a pick-up truck is allowed and must fold in their outside mirrors. Two years ago, I scraped my right mirror on a rock cliff. I now fold in my mirrors! The ever-present shroud of smoke, made the sudden-drop offs less menacing, and mostly hid the views. Many of the waterfalls and ‘weeping walls’ were dry.
View from the road to Logan Pass
Smokey view from Logan Pass
Logan Pass panoramic view
Mountain goats at Logan Pass
Hidden Lake from viewpoint.
At Logan Pass, we hiked [4 miles, 700 ft. rise] to the view-point of Hidden Lake. What beautiful vistas and wildlife – mountain goats, marmots! While cold and very windy, it was an exhilarating experience. Leaving Logan Pass, we drove East to St. Mary, through one of the burn sites. The road reopened just two days earlier. All pull-outs and view-points were closed. Rangers constantly patrolled the road to make sure no one stopped or left their vehicle. The beauty of the forest we saw just two years ago, was gone. In its place were fields of black ‘toothpick’ poles. Is this another planet? On the positive side, after just 3 days, small green plants were beginning to carpet the ground – signaling the rebirth. It will be 40-60 years before the forest returns to its former look. In the meantime, it will go through several metamorphosis as different types of plants will thrive and have “their day in the sun”, until other plants and eventually the lodgepole pines take over.
Burned sticks.
Five new Junior Rangers! Congratulations!
St. Mary is suffering. Tourism is way down. Most of their annual income comes from the 2 1/2 month summer season. This year there is a very restricted menu of activities for visitors – so they don’t come. Most trails have been closed due to fire, or bear activity – Black and Grizzly bears. The 20% of normal precipitation this past winter deeply effected the huckleberry crop – a main staple of bears in late summer and fall. To find food, the bears are moving to lower elevations to feast on other berries such as thimbleberries. Unfortunately the lower elevations are also abundant with people. Every group is encouraged to carry Bear Spray, to move around in pairs, and to make lots of noise.
Ranger Humor: How can you tell the difference between Black bear and Grizzly bear scat?
Answer: Grizzly bear scat contains little bells – Black bear scat does not.
[What? I don’t get it? Generally speaking, human noise warns bears and gives them an opportunity to move away. They prefer to avoid human contact. One unwise suggestion is to tie a small bell – available in any park concession to your back pack. Since it tingles as you walk, in theory the sound alerts the bears. BUT, this is not a human noise the bears recognize. So what is it? It’s a dinner bell for Grizzly bears! Get it?]
Dinner at the McDonald Lodge
We ended our tour of the West side with a family dinner at the McDonald Lodge – a beautiful setting and ….of course – great food.
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