Ralphie Rough Road

Part III of the Glacier National Park series:

If you missed the last Travel Thursday post, click here to read about our hike to Iceberg Lake.  

Our intention was to get to bed early in order to enjoy our last full day in the park.  Fate had other plans.  That evening as we were enjoying a nice campfire, a young couple approached us and asked if they could camp with us.  The campground was full.  Shane & I are always open to making new friends so we offered part of our campsite up.  Instead of going to bed early, the four of us stayed up until 1 am chatting.  Johnny and Erin were in their early 20’s and this was their last trip together.  After this they had agreed to part ways, but remain friends.  Johnny was headed to San Francisco and Erin was headed to Montana State University.  She planned to hike the Pacific Coast Trail in 100 days the following summer between semesters.  It was such a joy to talk to them.  (I wish I had taken a photo of them.)

The next morning, we shared our breakfast with them and opted for a relaxing day instead of hiking the Highland trail, near Logan Pass.  At this point we had decided to stay an extra day. After breakfast, the “kids” were off to hike near Logan Pass and we were off to Lake McDonald, Glacier’s largest lake.  After finding a cozy spot on the lake, we spent the day relaxing, acting like kids and enjoying the breathtaking scenery that surrounded us.  It was one of the best days I have ever spent doing absolutely nothing.

Serenity all around us.  Notice the clarity of the water.

Better than a day at the spa.  I could have stayed here forever.

Shane’s rock guy.  We played with rocks just like kids.

Back at camp, a 4 mile trek to Avalanche Lake awaited us.  With the trail head next to our campground we set out for an early evening hike.

The trail followed this beautiful stream most of the way.

Avalanche Lake was set in a cirque with 3 large waterfalls cascading down.  The lake itself was small, shallow and quite still.  The scenery was a bit underwhelming, but only because of everything else we had seen in Glacier NP.  Still, it was a nice, fairly easy hike before dinner.

My wide angle could not capture the whole scene.

I loved the stillness of the lake, allowing me to capture the reflection of the surrounding mountain.

The lake was full of old logs.

The reflection of the surrounding mountain in the still lake.

About 1/4 of the lake and surrounding mountain is pictured above.

Dinner & Wine

With a full day of hiking planned for the next day, we hit the bed early.  The plan, arrive early at Logan Pass to secure a parking spot!

Up next on Travel Thursdays, the final post of the Glacier NP series.