Out West Adventure: Part 2--East Glacier National Park, Day 1

Wed. June 26: The wind continued to howl overnight and it got into the forties but we didn't hear it rain much. As the day started out the same, it seemed a good day to drive north the hour and a half or so to the “Many Glacier” part of the park. The road there was windy and rough but it opened to wonderful vistas of rolling plains to the east and jagged, snowy peaks to the west. Most of the way we had the National Park on our left and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation on our right. As we passed through St. Mary’s I had enough phone signal to get a voicemail message from Aaron Kabodian telling us a new phone number to reach him (but not actually saying it), post a picture of West Glacier on Facebook, and get a phone call from Aram Kabodian, wondering if we realized that we were close to Aaron. We let him know that we had exchanged phone messages and texts and he gave us the correct number for Aaron. We really hope something works out so we can see him on Friday evening.

Entering the park at Many Glacier we drove the length of Sherburne Lake and then climbed the hill behind the Many Glacier Lodge to the parking lot. We explored the hundred year old Lodge, built by the Great Northern Railway on the shore of Swiftcurrent Lake, for a bit, including the wonderful display they have showing century old pictures of many of the glaciers in the area alongside pictures taken recently showing the shocking and dramatic recession or complete disappearance of them. Of the hundred or more glaciers that were here in the eighteen hundreds only 25 remain. Computer models a few years ago predicted that there would be no more active (moving) glaciers by 2030. Recent activity suggests they won't last that long. All this shows that, though the earth has had colder and warmer periods for millions of years, human activity has drastically accelerated global warming and is taking us to the warmest global temperatures ever. We had already learned that the Grinnell Glacier trail was still closed because of dangerous snow conditions which left only the Swiftcurrent Lake Trail around the lake for us to do in the time we had. It was an easy, level 2½ mile walk but a light drizzle became heavier and continued most of the way around the lake before the sun came out near the end. Once again we were passed by people who said they had seen wildlife, this time a moose, but we never saw him. By the time we completed the circle we felt we had earned our lunch, which we ate in the Dining Room of the Lodge. The menu included lots of information of the building of the Lodge as well as the complete restoration which was done in 2010. Afterwards we drove to the end of the road to get our Passport stamped at the Ranger Station before driving back to Two Medicine Lake. 

Snowy mountainside across from Swiftcurrent Lake

Grinnell Glacier then...

...and now

Grinnell Glacier from beyond the Grinnell Lake then...

...and now

Swiftcurrent Lake

Swiftcurrent River

Many Glacier Lodge from the other side of the lake

Many Glacier Lodge from the parking lot

Just beyond the gate there is a short hike to the Running Eagle Falls, named for a famous Blackfeet woman warrior. The falls is interesting because most of the water comes from behind the water that comes over the edge of the falls. That is why it is also called Trick Falls. We found out that by the end of the summer there will be no water coming over the top, only out of the lower falls. We're glad we saw this more interesting phase. The other part of the trail has interpretive signs explaining how the Blackfeet used the indigenous plants for healing. Before dinner we had time to sit by the lake and chatted with a fisherwoman from Las Vegas. The wind was still blowing really hard but we were somewhat protected in our little cove. After our nice lunch we were satisfied with soup and half a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner. The evening program was “Native America Speaks” for which a Black Feet elder named Ernie Heavy Runner talked about how important animals are and have always been in their culture. After dishes and making lunch for tomorrow we went to bed early so we can get up early to drive to the Saint Mary’s part of the park tomorrow.

Running Eagle Falls