A midweek fall hike up to Blue Glacier. I took my time and did it in four days. After the first three miles, I had the river valley almost entirely to myself until the last night.
It the rained heavily my first day, and all the stream crossings were very high. There are logs you can use for the crossings, some easier to use than others. At around mile 14, a little before Martin creek, there is a mule carcass right by the trail a bear has been snacking on. He growled at me and ran off, but ran further down the trail and I had to spend about ten minutes screaming at him before he finally took off for good. On the day back I just made lots of noise and did not see him, so just be aware.
There was no snow on the trail up to Blue Glacier, although there was a very pretty dusting on the mountain tops. I hiked it in the morning after camping at Elk Lake the night before, and there was frost on the ground, slippery rocks, and the ladder down the wash out was frozen and very slick. I managed to see the glacier on a mostly sunny day, and it’s stunning. There’s something to be said for having to work hard for your alpine views!
It’s a nice time to be in the woods if you don’t mind the rain. The bigleaf maples have all lost their leaves, leaving a nice red blanket over the ground, and there’s a ton of interesting mushrooms!
Comments