Day 16 and going strong! I guess I slept wrong last night because I woke up with a crick in my neck. I still worked out, but it made me cranky. We finally left the house around 10:30 am because when Keith was flushing the black tank this morning (here we go again!), Keith noticed a leak. Every time he would open the value to flush the black water outside, fresh water would squirt out of the fittings under the sink inside. So, I tightened all the fittings and that seemed to be the problem. Then Keith unscrewed a few of the panels so we could dry it as well as we could. Access is limited, but we did our best. I guess as you travel down the road it makes sense that the fittings would loosen as well. However, all cleaned up, lunches packed, camel packs filled, and we were on our way.
We had plans A and B today in Glacier National Park:
A: Avalanche Lake Trail and Lake (A 4.6-mile trail round-trip to a mountain surrounded lake with 3 waterfalls feeding it in the distance)
B: John’s Lake (a 2.3-mile lake round-trip) followed by a visit to the rocky shores of either Lake McDonald for a “swim” or trapesing through one of the rivers of McDonald Creek
We needed two options because when passing the trailhead parking for Avalanche lake trail yesterday, people were waiting on the side to try to get spots and walking from very far outlooks down the road (adding probably a mile to your hike which I didn’t think the girls could do). So, we weren’t sure we could get a spot so we had this other hike planned (which we will probably do later this week). We passed the parking the first time with no luck but on our way back we asked some people, and they were leaving! Felt very fortunate to get a spot. It was about 11 am.
The hike passed old cedar trees, a fierce gorge of rapids, huge boulders, small creeks with little bridges, and fallen trees. The girls begrudgingly climbed the trail on the way there, it was uphill most of the way and leaning into lunch time. We coaxed Anna with applesauce and spotting Western Chipmunks (they have long tails!) and were all along the trail. Anna even screamed once as it scared her scurrying across the path. When we made it to the lake, a collective “WOW!” escaped our mouths.
Things we did:
- Found parking at Avalanche Trail head!! =0
- Hiked 4.6 miles to and from Avalanche Lake
- Saw a rainbow in the mist of the amazing gorge that reminded me of water parks
- Discussed safety near the gorge
- Saw rainbow rocks in the river and lake
- Saw Western Chipmunks
- Saw Daddy Long Legs
- Saw Horse flies
- Saw a Pit Toilet (ewh…opted to hold it)
- Saw an Acorn Woodpecker (beautiful blue body and black head) – very cool!
- Walked along Avalanche Lake and practiced skipping rocks
- Had a picnic on the Lake
- Dipped our feet in the freezing water
- Saw three (or four if you ask Anna) waterfalls coming into Avalanche Lake
- Heard the noise a Western Chipmunk makes (Kind of like a prairie dog!)
- Ran down the downhill paths and quickly made our way back (downhill is easier on the girls)
- Discussed why trees fell uphill in a section of the trail (Our hypothesis: An avalanche from the other mountain went through the valley and came up the other side of the mountain a little making the trees fall upward)
- Discussed safety near the gorge (again)
- Ate leftovers
- Booked our next next stay near Grand Teton National Park (Fireside Buffalo Valley)
- Went swimming
- Got ice cream (again)
- Went to the playground
- Had showers
- Keith and I tried to watch a bad rom-com on Netflix and then switched to Gunpowder Milkshake (TBD)
WOW! this was full of amazing sights and scenery. I love the family photos, Tara’s scarf (hope the crick in neck is gone–ugh)-Keith in the river like a real fisherman, and someone who is carrying a very heavy backpack (ruby) for a little person. Also-Willow with the stone on her head is priceless.
I’m ready for a nap after this day! 🙂 PS glad you gave gorge cautions twice!
She wanted to carry the backpack…it didn’t last long lol!
You ALL MADE it–I’m one proud OMA. I don’t like uphills either, but the rewards are almost always worth it. The girls are almost ready for Hole in the Wall –LOL. Check out the route we took–Keith we started at the base of Waterton Lake and hiked out to Bowman lake. What memories we have!!
Opa and I ate our lunch on a rock by this lake. Check out my FB cover picture. Now you are veterans of “longish” hikes.
YAY! They did great! – especially on the way back (downhill) lol
Big nosed trees crack me up ?