7/8 - Glacier National Park, South End

Not much going on today.  We checked out the little town of West Glacier (which has around 230 year-round residents).  It’s a very attractive little tourist village with a gift store, mercantile (groceries), gas station and post office.  Prices are quite high which is to be expected considering this place is remote and full of tourists.  All we needed at the grocery was bananas and what few they had were $.99 each.  We were glad we’d stocked up on everything.

The weather wasn’t good for outside activities until late afternoon by which time we were through.  It was so heavily overcast the mountain views were intermittent.  So the only thing we got done was a 90 minute hike next to Lake McDonald, getting back to the truck as showers started.  Then stopped.  Thought we’d got back just in time but it turned out we could have done more, although we were certainly happy to leave our hiking “partners” behind.   We’ve been so lucky not to have been bothered by insects on this trip that we forgot our insect repellent.  It was in the truck but that didn’t do us any good.  Being so close to the lake and, it turns out, in the only rain forest in Montana, we were covered with them.  Horrid little beasts.

An overcast view across Lake McDonald with the high peaks capped by clouds.

Looking northwest across the southern end of the lake gives a good view of the damage from the 2003 Robert Fire which burned 57,570 acres.  There are countless bare tree trunks still standing, surrounded by 13 years of new growth around them.  There’s no longer much black showing.  2003 was a very dry year and the worst year on record for fire in Glacier.  135,000 acres burned…..13% of the park’s total area.  Of the six major fires that summer, Robert was the largest and it was of human origin from outside the park.  It came very close to burning the park’s westside visitor center, park headquarters, and irreplaceable historic lodges.  The town of West Glacier and the McDonald Valley were evacuated along with guests in the middle of dinner at the McDonald Lodge.  Disaster was averted by the hard and skillful work of firefighting crews who labored for weeks on end in withering heat.  Fire is a necessary part of the ecosystem here but it can’t be allowed to overrun populated areas.  The fires that summer also threatened the Going to the Sun Road and the Many Glacier valley.  It filled the park with smoke for much of the summer which must have been terrible for tourism and the businesses that depend on it.

We didn’t see much wildlife today but this little striped ground squirrel got to within two feet of me.  He wasn’t tame but neither did he seem to be bothered much by having a human so close to him.  Ground squirrels look a lot like large chipmunks but have longer tails and much more prominent stripes.  He was the epitome of cute.

This one from yesterday wasn’t included earlier because we didn’t know what it was.  These beautiful flowers were all over the meadow below the multiple waterfalls in one of yesterday’s pictures.  We learned today it’s called bear grass or Indian basket flower.  Indians used the grass-like leaves for baskets and clothing, and the thick flower stalks were cooked.  We overheard someone saying they taste like celery.  Not chicken?

The weather tomorrow looks iffy again, but better on the east side of the park than the west.  Our plans are to do the Two Medicine section which should be a 150 mile round trip.  Except for the final 20 miles, the road will be outside the park and has a 70 mph speed limit so will be much easier driving.