..:: avalanche hunter ::..

I guess you could call this the weekend of fire and ice. Yesterday's post told you all about my "burn session" -- setting my front yard on fire. That was fun in a devious, anarchist kind of way.

Actually it really is a good thing to do. A good controlled burn keeps the heavy under-growth to a minimum, minimizes future fire hazards and adds nitrogen to the soil, plus it make things look a lot better and saves me from having to do a lot of hard labor. :-)

Now, as fun as it was spending all of Saturday hanging around the house burning stuff, today I was ready to venture out and enjoy a little bit of Montana's stunning back-country.

This weekend was absolutely phenomenal! After eight long months of winter cold and clouds - (okay maybe we had a few sunny days in between there but not enough) - I had some serious cabin fever that I had to work off this weekend and what better place to do that then in stunning Glacier National Park!

My mission for the day is to hike as far into the park as my time will permit, with my ideal destination being Avalanche Lake. Avalanche Lake for those that do not know, is a beautiful little tarn tucked away in a monolithic corner of Glacier's breathtaking mountainous terrain. One of those magical little spots which makes you feel like a more fulfilled, enlightened and more complete human being, just for witnessing its beauty and magnitude.

I have made the hike back into Avalanche Lake many times in previous years, in fact it is one of my favorite hikes in Glacier Park, but I have never been back their this early in the season.

You see, today I am "Avalanche Hunting." I am on a mission to see some live-action avalanches up close, (well relatively close), and in person. I could not think of a better place to accomplish this feat, then the place called "Avalanche Lake".

Unfortunately after entering the park I discover that the road is still closed at the Lake McDonald Lodge gate. That means about a six to seven mile hike lies ahead just to reach the Avalanche Lake trail head. I only have a handful of hours available to me today, so Avalanche Lake is unfortunately not an option, but I am still excited to get out and do some hiking, even if it is just an afternoon stroll down Going to the Sun Road.



The sun is warm, the sky is blue, the surrounding mountains are like whipped cream and chocolate chips. The birds are singing and the conditions are perfect for avalanche viewing. Even if I cannot make it all the way back into the Avalanche Lake, the mountains at the Avalanche Lake trail-head should serve up some beautiful avalanche displays, so that is my new desired destination.

The hike down Going-to-the-Sun road to the Avalanche Lake trail-head is an easy one, but it does take a while. But who cares really, it is so beautiful today, where else would you ever want to be?

I didn't see too much wild life along the way, but I did pause to snap a few pictures of this beautiful little bright-colored moth.



Finally after about two hours of walking, gawking and taking pictures, me and my crew reach the trail head to Avalanche Lake.

Just as I had expected, the conditions are perfect for avalanches today, and Clements Peak is serving up a display.




If you have never had the pleasure of seeing or hearing the spectacle of a live avalanche, let me just say it is incredible. It sounds like a cross between a crack of thunder and the roar of a 747 racing down the mountain, amplified by a continuing ricochet effect as the sound waves echo off all of the surrounding mountains in the vicinity. It really is quite spectacular.



While kicking back and watching the avalanche action, I met an old dude who had trained his optical scope onto what appeared to be a petrified mountain goat standing high up on the side of one cliff. He was almost invisible to the naked eye, unless you looked really carefully. But the kind gentleman allowed me to take a peak through his scope and even take a picture through it with my camera.



The poor little mountain goat appeared to be scared stiff with all the avalanche activity hapening all around him. I wonder if he had a bad experience earlier in life. Perhaps he got blindsided by a
wall of falling snow once before and barely lived to tell about it, and now he figures, "during avalanche season, one can never be too careful."

I don't know what his story is, but he definitely didn't seem to want to move from his secluded little crevice in the rocks.

This post has grown into a much longer blog entry then I had anticipated, and I don't personally like REALLY long posts, so I better cut this off now, before it gets outta control.

But let me leave you with this... if you have never experienced the excitement of "avalanche hunting" up close and in person, I highly recommend it. The sound alone is something that will echo in your memories for a life time, and if you can manage to do your 'avalanche hunting' on a beautiful blue-bird day in Glacier Park Montana... well consider yourself blessed.