Everyday this week I will be documenting the events of the previous week in which my brother Patrick and I spent at Glacier National Park with my Dad. We'll take it day-by-day as it happened, just 7 days after the fact.

Friday September 18, 2009

Friday morning we hit the breakfast buffet at the hotel to load up on healthy food, like fruit and oatmeal. Okay, there was some waffles, muffins, and bacon in there as well. We didn’t have much to take with us for lunch that day, so it would be nearly our only food for the day until dinner that night. Our waitress that morning happened to be on of the college kids we had seen shortly after our bear encounter the evening before.

Many Glacier Hotel and Swiftcurrent Lake, as seen from near the parking lot through a fish-eye lens. Click for larger image.

Today’s agenda called for hiking to Iceberg Lake and back, a 5 mile jaunt each way. Neither Patrick or I had ever been on this trail before, so we chose it over going to Grinnell Glacier. Even though Grinnell Glacier is one of my favorite places, Patrick was there last year and I want to go there next year with Laura and Hannah so they can see it. I knew it was going to be a long day as both of my feet were hurting and I think I had strained a muscle in my upper left leg, almost my hip, climbing to the Swiftcurrent Look Out. Every elevated step I took with my left leg was pretty painful. Thankfully, most of the Iceberg Lake Trail was relatively flat. Unfortunately, flat isn’t always flat. The head of the trail was about 150 yards of fairly steep climbing. After that it was a real gradual rise, but that is all it took for me to feel the pain in my leg. It was again a sunny day, but not as warm as our first two days. It wasn’t quite as cool as I would have liked, but all in all, it was a pretty nice day weather-wise.

Day 5's hike to Iceberg Lake. Click for larger image.

Our hike was mostly uneventful. It crosses a small waterfall area, and winds it’s way to the lake. A steep up and down near the end of the trail brings you in to the lake with it’s shiny bright blue water and steep surrounding cliffs. Halfway there Dad had asked if I brought my fish-eye lens. I hadn’t. I decided to leave it in the car so I didn’t have to carry any more than was needed. The 70-300mm lens was on the camera most of the trip, and is great for capturing wildlife. Unfortunately it was a terrible lens choice for Iceberg Lake. The mountains around the lake are so steep, so tall, and go around most of the lake to the point where it is impossible to capture the area even with a standard wide angle lens. With my 70-300, I was only able to focus on the details, like the tops of the mountains and the ice at water level.

Close up of Iceberg Lake and it's surroundings. Click for larger image.The top of the mountains surrounding Iceberg Lake. Click for larger image.

I used the opportunity of resting at the lake to eat a banana while I soaked my burning feet in the ice cold water of the lake. The water was so cold, I couldn’t stand to keep my feet in it. I found that getting one of the rocks wet worked just as well. Iceberg Lake reminded me a lot of Grinnell Glacier, except for two things. One, it is much smaller. Two, there is no ice floating in the water. The rise in temperatures has melted the icebergs in this lake. That’s the reason I want Hannah to see Grinnell before it resembles Iceberg Lake.

Iceberg Lake. Taken with iPhone.
After watching some goats and sheep at the start of our hike back, insects and squirrels were our main source of entertainment. It didn’t take us long to get back to the car where we headed to Babb and the Babb Cattle Baron Supper Club for some buffalo ribeye steak.

A squirrel grabbing a snack along the trail. Click for larger image.

After dinner it was time to head back to Dad’s cabin on the west side of the park. Dusk is a great time to catch the animals coming out for a walk to find some water or food before it becomes too dark to see them. We stopped several places as we headed back, but only one was productive. A handful of elk were in a grassy field with the leader of the herd, a male with a giant rack, chasing of a younger foe. They were a good distance away, and with light quickly fading, I was unable to get any usable shots from the scene. Dad had his video camera setup and thanks to the night vision setting on it, also spotted a couple of coyotes circling the group.
We made another quick stop at Wild Goose Island, well, because you have to. I got what might be one of my favorite shots there, seen below. That was taken with my fish-eye lens, handheld with a pretty high ISO. I wish I had had my tripod with me... there’s always next year.

Wild Goose Island at night. Click for larger image.
Logan Pass was the next stop, as Dad wanted to check out the stars in absolute darkness from there, plus we had to pick up the Jeep. The skies were clear and moon free, which made for some great star gazing. The Milky Way was clearly visible, and there are so many stars it is difficult to find constellations. The occasional satellite also makes for an interesting sight.

Logan Pass night sky. Can you spot the Big Dipper? Click for larger image.
After some photography there we talked Dad in to leaving before the road closed in half hour intervals for construction. This marked my first time driving down Going-to-the-Sun Road. It’s not hard, but pretty interesting at night. You’ll have to ask Patrick what he thought, but I know I liked driving better than riding with Dad!

Back at Dad’s I set the camera up once again to take a few shots of the night sky from his backyard, as seen below. After a couple Mike’s Hard Lemonades, we called it a night.

Dad's backyard at night. That's his cabin lit on the right, with backlighting of the tree provided by Columbia Falls and the Milky Way. Click for larger image.