On the Highline Trail near Logan Pass

We woke up at 0730. Not bad for a couple of older people after driving nearly 24 hours then hiking for an afternoon. We quickly ate breakfast and hopped into the truck. I wanted to run over to the St. Mary Back country office to pick up our permit before heading over to Logan Pass for the day.

It only took a few minutes to pick up the permit, pay our fees and learn that the trail from Two Medicine campground to Oldman Lake was closed due to bear activity. I hoped that didn’t put an end to our second backpacking trip next week. By 0830 we were on our way to Logan Pass with a detour at the Two Dog Flats Mesquite Grill for a cup of coffee for Yumi. The nice young host got Yumi her coffee for free---thereby easing the sting of last night’s shower debacle. We decided to come back for lunch after visiting Logan Pass.

When we got to the Visitor Center at 0910, the parking lot was about 1/10 full. Granted, it looked like it could rain (or snow?) but I was surprised at how few cars were in the parking lot. We decided to make the short hike up to the Hidden lake overlook instead of going all the way down to the lake figuring we’d need our strength over the next few days.

There was a lot of snow on the trail once we climbed about 100 feet from the visitor center. The temperatures were probably right around 50, a stark contrast from the warmth we experienced yesterday on the hike to Avalanche Lake. There weren’t a lot of people on the trail but Yumi managed to speak her native Japanese to some tourists visiting the park. I always got a kick out of seeing people’s faces when they heard someone speaking Japanese in Montana.

We eventually were able to navigate the slippery, snow-covered trail to the overlook when Yumi was suddenly attacked by the resident Mountain Goats. Maybe not attacked, but she was a little concerned when she saw their sharp horns getting closer to her backside.

The lake itself was nothing short of spectacular. Again, pictures viewed on the Internet did not do the real thing justice. The remaining snow and overcast skies made the lake look very cold and uninviting. I mentally made a note to try to get back up there when the sun was shining. After taking a few pictures and talking to a nice couple from Georgia, we made our way back down the snow to the truck. We figured to walk some of the Highline Trail before lunch and then prepare our gear for the 5 night backpack. Just steps before getting back to the visitor center I casually remarked how glad I was that it didn’t rain.

Nice going. In five seconds it started to rain...then it started to sleet. No big deal. We’ll go to the rest room and hit the Highline---there probably won’t be anyone on it.

Minutes later we were scrambling down to the 3-foot wide trail overlooking the Sun Road while being pelted by pea-sized hail. The funny thing was that while we were in the midst of a mountain storm, the valley to the was covered in sunshine. It was really quite a view of Mt. Gould and the McDonald Creek valley below. We went on for about 45 minutes, took some more pictures then started back. Another mental note was made to hike the entire length of this beauty.

The walk back was uneventful except for the numerous Bighorn’s lounging near the trail head. Having only seen pictures of these horned beasts I was forced to take more pictures than I probably should have. Fingers numb with cold, we got back into the truck and set out to Rising Sun and a lunch at the Two Dog Flats Mesquite Grill.

We had Mexican for lunch along with some tart lemonade. Yumi feasted on a Mahimahi Burrito with rice and beans while I had Mesquite Tacos with all the trimmings. Not the greatest meal we’d have at the park but not bad either.

Not quite ready to start packing for our hike we decided to run over to St. Mary and do a little shopping and buy some ice. After spending too much money for not enough merchandise we went back to the windy campground to get ready for the backpacking trip It was so windy that a neighbors tent had blown itself apart. Poor kids had to buy themselves another tent to finish their summer vacation

.That was their problem, however, and we had ours. We somehow had to fit everything into two packs and it didn’t look like it was going to happen---at least for me anyway. After about 90 minutes finally did manage to divide the gear and food somewhat equitably though I had to strap the tent outside my pack. Everything on the gear list was checked again just to make sure. The back country is no place to discover you forgot dental floss or a fingernail clipper. We were ready.

To kill off some more time we decided that we should probably send off some postcards lest we make it home before the postcards made it to their respective mailboxes.

Dinner that night was going to be pasta and Italian sausages. Instead of grilling the sausages we decided to just pan fry them rendering the grill, charcoal and lighter fluid useless as well as being a total waste of space in the truck. Oh well. A salad complemented the meal.

Afterward we decided to drive back to Rising Sun for no particular reason other than to see if they had some hair conditioner at the camp store. Much to our surprise they had a bottle. We called home, bought a snack and drove back to St. Mary for the night.

While Yumi was getting cleaned up in the ladies room, I started a fire of small twigs just so that I could say we had a fire one of the nights, anyway. Of course, she took some time as lades often do necessitating the scavenging of more wood for the fire. This is where our neighbor from across the road came in handy. Violating every rule in the book, this gentleman proceeded to procure every bit of combustible fuel that was available within 100 feet of the camp site---most of it illegally procured, I might add. Maybe he was trying to repay us for the excess food we dumped off on them? I don’t know but whatever his motivation he was making Yumi very uncomfortable. She just wanted to go to bed despite it was only 2200.

By 2230 we were both asleep. Despite the strong winds blowing through the tent, we both slept soundly. Tomorrow would be a long, busy day.