Saturday, June 30, 2018

Sun Point to Virginia Falls, Glacier NP

As we drove along the Going to the Sun Road to Sun Point to hike this afternoon, we saw this grizzly bear walking through a field. We were happy to be in the car  (zoom photo)


We hiked from Sun Point along St Mary Lake to Baring Falls, St Mary Falls and Virginia Falls. This was a 6 mile round trip hike with about 700 ft of elevation loss/gain.
Lovely lupine along the shore of St Mary Lake.

views along St Mary Lake
Baring Falls was about 0.3 miles down the trail
Evidence of the fire from 3 years ago along St Mary Lake.
more views along St Mary Lake

Wildflowers were plentiful
many tiny wildflowers were growing on the side of this rocky wall

So glad we took the longer trail along St Mary Lake to St Mary and Virginia Falls for the views and wildflowers.
lots of beargrass in bloom
view of the bridge going over St Mary Falls
St Mary Falls
wide angle of St Mary Falls


Gorgeous blue water flowing from the falls down St Mary River
beautiful cascading along Virginia Creek as we continue up to Virginia Falls

Lower view area of Virginia Falls
Virginia Falls from the upper view area
Small ground squirrel pausing in the rain

the hike back was as enjoyable as the hike in.
View along St Mary River
wide angle view along St Mary Lake

another view along St Mary Lake, it was interesting to see the views change as the clouds moved around.
views and wildflowers

a few of the wildflowers we saw in bloom today:











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iceberg Lake, Glacier NP

We drove out to the Many Glacier area of Glacier National Park to hike the Iceberg Lake Trail this morning. We parked in the main area (not at the trailhead in the campground), so we hiked about 10 miles round trip with 1,400 ft of gain.
The first 0.2 miles is very steep, but the trail gains elevation at a more gradual incline for the remainder of the hike.
The majority of this hike is out in the open, with views in every direction and many, many wildflowers in bloom.
I'm not sure which peaks are which, so I will just post lots of pictures (which do not do justice to the beauty and grandeur of this place)



Iceberg Lake is located around the corner to the left of the far ridge line of Ptarmigan Wall.
There are many creeks from the snow melting.

About 3 miles from the trailhead we had a glimpse of Ptarmigan Falls through the trees (probably the best view from along the trail).
Looking down from the top of Ptarmigan Falls
The trail continues over the bridge above Ptarmigan Creek
Upstream of Ptarmigan Creek from the bridge crossing
Iceberg Peak is obscured by clouds.
Continues views from here to the lake

A small lake at the foot of B-7 Pillar and Ptarmigan Wall
We had a couple of snow fields to cross as we neared Iceberg Lake.
Lots of glacier lilies in bloom
Icebergs floating in Iceberg Lake
(last week the lake was completely covered in ice. We were so blessed to see it partially melted)
Pano of Iceberg Lake, a wonderful spot for an early lunch break!

The views were a little better on our hike back down the trail.


We saw some mountain goats high up on Ptarmigan Wall near the high snow spot!
Wildflowers and views, a glorious day hike!








a few of the many wildflowers we saw in bloom along the trail today: