Road Trip

Sunrise at Swiftcurrent Lake

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Another frosty tent, and a dark sky met us as we greeted the morning. At this point in the trip we were actually starting to sleep pretty well in the tent under the stars as the busy days and long hours were preparing us well for rest. However, it will never be easy to wake up in the dark and venture into the cold morning air.

Our goal this time was to catch the sun rising against the beautiful peaks and lakes of the Many Glacier area. I had read a few days prior that you can often get either a beautiful glassy lake surface or even fog rolling over the lake bed.

As with many mountain parks it is not easy to get around, and so we had to drive out of Glacier National Park, and then back in again at the Many Glacier entrance just north of us.

With little planning (yep… that whole planning thing) we had to rush, find our way there, and setup my gear in the dark. Trying to figure out compositions and lighting on the spot is challenging and can sometimes ruin a moment, but this view is literally impossible to ruin.

All vacations have their stressful moments, but if you’ve ever done photography or live with someone who does (sorry wife!) you’ll know that a rushed sunrise shoot 1,000 miles from home is very high stress. You always assume you have less time than you do, and I made the typical mistake of grumping out at my family and rushing off ahead of them to hope to capture the light.

In the middle of moments like this I do truly need to learn to stop and take it all in.

After profusely apologizing to my family, we did end up letting the scene play out before us. The kids throwing rocks off into the lake, and my wife and I (in between composition changes) watching the sun light up the peaks and burn its way down to the lake before us.

From a photography perspective, the sky and water were not ideal. Though the low clouds rolling over the peaks were fantastic, the sky did not have enough high clouds for color, and the lake below was being hit with a fairly strong wind, limiting the options for reflections. Overall though I was pleased with the results.

I’ll let the pictures and time lapse below speak for themselves.

Time lapse of Grinnel Point and the Garden Wall as the sun rises to meet the earth. Taken with an iPhone X and the Skyflow app.

Just before the sun officially broke the horizon the sky was a beautiful pink and blue, and a low fog rolled over the Garden Wall in the distance. Canon EOS 80D f/9 1.3s ISO-100 18mm

Normally the time for explosive color in the sky, but some eastern clouds, and a lack of clouds to the west caused the scene to fizzle out a bit. Still though these mountains are impressive no matter the conditions. Canon EOS 80D f/11 2.5s ISO-100 3…

Normally the time for explosive color in the sky, but some eastern clouds, and a lack of clouds to the west caused the scene to fizzle out a bit. Still though these mountains are impressive no matter the conditions. Canon EOS 80D f/11 2.5s ISO-100 35mm

The magic begins as the alpen glow kicks in over Mt. Gould and the Garden Wall. Canon EOS 80D f/11 1.3s ISO-100 35mm

The magic begins as the alpen glow kicks in over Mt. Gould and the Garden Wall. Canon EOS 80D f/11 .6s ISO-100 59mm

With the beautiful forest shoreline and the glow of Mt. Gould and the Angel Wing I simply couldn’t resist this composition. One day I hope to return to capture the milky way here. Canon EOS 80D f/11 .6s ISO-100 18mm

Not to be outdone by the Garden Wall in the distance, the main attraction of Swiftcurrent Lake is Grinnel Point, seemingly rising right up from the shoreline.

It is an incredibly beautiful sight to spend an early frosty morning along the shore line listening to the water and wildlife as the sun slowly slides down the face of the peaks in the distance to eventually meet the water below. Canon EOS 80D f/11 1.3s ISO-100 18mm

Almost fully swallowed by the sun now, Grinnel Point lights up like a beacon glowing across the turbulent waters below. Canon EOS 80D f/11 .5s ISO-100 18mm

Mt. Wilbur is a massive staple of the Many Glacier area in Glacier National Park. You can see this beautiful mountain towering over Swiftcurrent Lake, however it also feeds the smaller Iceberg lake (a fantastic hiking destination) just off to the right of this image. Canon EOS 80D f/18 0.8s ISO-100 35mm

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Glacier National Park - Hidden Lake Overlook

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The sunrise that morning was beautiful, and the hike to Grinnel Glacier the day before gave us a taste of the teal glacial lakes and massive expanse of granite mountains. Since it’s been a while since I’ve posted, I recommend checking out the previous posts to get caught up, but with the family up and moving and breakfast in our stomachs, it was time to explore more of the park.

The iconic wildlife of Glacier National Park had eluded us the day prior, and a tip from another photographer that morning led us to explore Logan Pass, and specifically the Hidden Lake Overlook.

The drive up the Eastern side of Going to the Sun Road was beautiful as always, and we couldn't resist stopping at some overlooks along the way.

Once at the top, we quickly realized that this hike would not be a remote wilderness hike. The top of Logan's Pass greets you with a large parking lot full of tourists and cars with a ranger waving traffic to continue down the road. Thankfully the park system offers a free shuttle that drives the entirety of Going to the Sun Road, so we backtracked down to park at Siyeh Bend (a beautiful location itself). As we waited for the next shuttle we got our day packs together, put on sunscreen and took in the views.

After arriving via the shuttle to the trail head for Hidden Lake we were finally starting our hike.

The crowds of people were not ideal, but we'd heard many people walking past discussing how beautiful the lake was, and even sightings of baby mountain goats! However, about 15 minutes into the hike my wife Dee stopped us with terror on her face, tears in her eyes, and some grim news. Her wedding ring was not on her finger.

We dug through our packs, pockets, and even emptied everything out onto the boardwalk, but could not find the ring. From memory, we weren't sure if it had been left back at our campsite, or at the shuttle stop while putting on sun screen, and with the massive amount of people traveling through the park our hopes of ever seeing the ring again were pretty slim. While frustration and fear levels were high, we were ultimately faced with the decision to continue on with the hike, or start back-tracking all the way to our tent. With a limited amount of time to spend in the park, the hopes of seeing Hidden Lake, or the goats, were drastically reduced.

It was a long wait for the shuttle, and the drive back to Siyeh Bend seemed to take forever, but as soon as the shuttle rounded the bend and the glimmer of the diamond caught my eye from the gravel alongside the road. I knew we'd made the right choice. Hundreds of cars, and thousands of people must have passed by that exact spot since we'd left but there it was! It was a challenging situation to face but was a great learning experience for the family, and we were all there to support each other.

Found the ring!

With the wedding ring safely back on Dee's finger we traveled back up to Logan Pass and began the hike again to Hidden Lake. While fairly crowded the hike was an easy and stellar example of the tundra you find in the Rocky Mountains. The crowds also began to thin out as usual as you progress towards the Lake, but there was never a time when you felt alone until the trail beyond the Hidden Lake Overlook. There is a fine line between our park systems protecting these beautiful locations, and making them available for all to enjoy. While this particular area had heavy traffic, when you consider how many mountain passes do not have roads and parking lots, it is a good thing that the average tourist can see this beauty.

Throughout the hike we were amazed at the massive scale of the surrounding views.

Nearly to our destination we finally came across the goats! I'd had my Canon 100-400mm f5.6 on my camera for almost the entire hike up, and when you carry that much weight in gear it is always awesome for it to pay off ;-)

While the older goats are very used to seeing people each summer, the younger goat was as curious as any toddler. It roamed and played in and out of the crowds, and at one point even walked right through a family's picnic among the trees. It was all the older goat could do to keep up and keep the younger out of trouble.

After spending some time with the goats we eventually made our way to the overlook for Hidden Lake. The clouds played out dramatic light on the grand scene before us, and ice sheets traveled on the wind over the surface of the lake below. It was absolutely stunning and the scale of the scene before us simply unbelievable. Bearhat Mountain rises half a mile above the surface of the lake and in this image, about 1.5 miles across.

Bearhat Mountain towering over Hidden Lake as the clouds and sheets of ice move across them. This image was taken as a portrait oriented panorama with 3 distinct rows. 26 images in total from a Canon 80D with an EF-S18-125 each at ISO 100 50mm f9.0 …

Bearhat Mountain towering over Hidden Lake as the clouds and sheets of ice move across them. This image was taken as a portrait oriented panorama with 3 distinct rows. 26 images in total from a Canon 80D with an EF-S18-125 each at ISO 100 50mm f9.0 1/200s and handheld. The resulting image is 19,000 x 8,400 pixels.

Days like this are few and far between, but are exactly why each of us should strive to explore more. Remove some comfort, and fill it with adventure.

Glacier National Park - Arrival and Grinnell Glacier

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Our long drive from Colorado up to Essex, MT

Our long drive from Colorado up to Essex, MT

After the long drive up from Colorado, we stayed the night in a small "town" called Essex, MT. The idea for our 8 day road trip was to hotel one night after the drive to Montana, and one night prior to driving back home from Canada to Colorado, camping all other nights in between in the beautiful national parks. Partly due to our late attempt at planning the trip (everything was quite booked up), and also partly because I got us a hotel in Kallispell, MT 2 weeks too early (read before you click folks) we ended up settling on this cool cabin based campground in the mountains just south of the park.

This wouldn't be the last time my weak attempt at planning fell apart, but each time added to the experience, and further reminded the family that winging it can work too. If you are travelling to that area and need a short place to stay, I do recommend Glacier Haven Inn. It is a bit on the rustic side, but great staff and a unique and beautiful stay. 

Glacier Haven Inn in Essex, MT

Glacier Haven Inn in Essex, MT

Leaving Essex, MT and exploring Glacier National Park on Day 2

Leaving Essex, MT and exploring Glacier National Park on Day 2

With the rising sun on Day 2 we tossed our gear into our car, and headed to the western side of the park. With no campground reservation (yep, recurring theme?) we had to ensure we were to our planned campground as early as possible to get in line for a spot. The excitement of this morning however was knowing we'd be travelling up and over Going to the Sun Road. A route many believe to be the most beautiful drive in the US. A lofty claim (I think we prefer Trail Ridge Road in Colorado), but what better time to drive it then during sunrise?

Best road or not, it certainly did not disappoint. The views here are gorgeous in ways the Colorado Rockies cannot be. A combination of the mountains my family knows so well, mixed with glaciers, waterfalls, and green valleys. While it was a shame to rush the drive to get to our campsite, sunrise was the perfect time to tour this road, both for the beautiful light it offers, but also the lack of traffic and tourists. A lesson we repeatedly used throughout the rest of our road trip was to rise early and enjoy the parks as they were meant to be seen. 

Pulling into camp that day was fairly uneventful, we did manage to secure a campsite at Rising Sun, our first choice "Many Glacier" was closed to tents due to grizzly activity. The campground is well maintained and beautiful, as well as being centrally located to activities both on the western side of the park, and the stunning scenery up in the Many Glacier area. As a tip for those visiting this campground, reserve a site ahead of time towards the western end of the campground. While we did end up getting a site as an early walk in, we also got placed in a spot that had almost no shade, and no breeze. Not an issue if you only plan to sleep each night, but a rough time if using the campground for mid day leisure. It wasn't until about 6:30 pm (in July) that the sun finally hit a nearby peak offering up shade. 

The star of the hike "Mr Awesomeness" got comments from nearly every hiker we passed.

The star of the hike "Mr Awesomeness" got comments from nearly every hiker we passed.

With a day and a half of travel behind us, and our campsite set, it was finally time to hit the trail and experience the hype for ourselves. Grinnell Glacier was our goal. The hike begins in a colorful forest in the Many Glacier area of the park and passes along the shorelines of Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine, both are beautiful turquoise lakes fed by the glaciers up above. As you climb up out of the basin along the cliff edges the views open up to stunning scenes of the mountains. Eventually Grinnell Glacier lake presents itself as you round a bend, and it suddenly becomes clear that everything up to this point was oh so worth it. 

Despite running on little sleep, and lots of hot sun we were able to push through and achieve our goals. The trail sadly was closed about 3.5 miles in due to some unsafe snow conditions, and I believe the kids could have ran laps with the mountain goats, but the adults were spent and ready for some rest.

In the next post I'll go over some more of Glacier National Park with sunrises and wildlife to come! Eventually sharing our absolutely stunning trip in Banff National Park in Canada. Stay tuned and thank you for letting me share!

Glacier National Park and the Canadian Rockies

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My love for hiking, and photography is not always intense.

It is easy in this digital age to be saturated with amazing images of awesome places, and lose the desire and drive to create. It is easy to fall into the routine of waking, working the 9-5, sleeping and repeating, stuck and disappointed in a success you are not achieving, staring at follower counts and inventory not sold. 

I have no answer. This post does not contain a fix. However, I was recently inspired in an unlikely way by the YouTube channel of a long distance hiker John Zahorian. John has hiked over 10,000 miles in some of the most beautiful locations this country has to offer. His videos are a vlog style format but peaceful and realistic, with some excellent videography. I highly recommend this video he posted on his record breaking hike of the Colorado Trail. Watch through to the end. Well worth it.

Great Divide Trail

Great Divide Trail

A recent series he released (first video here) focused on the Great Divide Trail. A route that begins in Glacier National Park at the border with Canada and Montana (where the CDT ends) and continues on into the Canadian Rockies. Hearing someone who has hiked so many miles describe this trail as the most beautiful hike he's ever seen, triggered both the hiker in me and the photographer.

I have seen some of these locations pop up regularly in Instagram feeds, knowing that someday (in the never sense) that I would get out there and explore them. Well... This video series did me in. For the first 2 days after watching I worked through multiple scenarios trying to figure out how I'd take that much time off of work, and from my family, or even how I'd handle such a long hike, through such an intense landscape. I have experience hiking and backpacking, but nothing so large an undertaking. 

Lets face it, jobless, divorced and eaten by a bear might not be ideal.

The plans (if you can call anything I do a "plan") morphed from a solo, plaid-clad, grizzled hike through the Rockies, to a family car camping trip.  Less ambitious than John's adventure, but finally inspired and excited to bring my family along on the trip of a life time. 

The result was an amazing 8 day road trip from Colorado to Glacier National Park in Montana, and then up through Canada to Banff and Jasper National Parks. As a native to Colorado I thought I'd seen the best of the Rockies. At every step and the further north we went, we were consistently amazed.

This trip was unlike anything I'd seen before. 

The next several posts I do here will go into more detail of our adventure and share with you some of the photography I captured along the way.

With any luck I can hopefully be that source of unexpected inspiration you weren't quite looking for ;-)