Early morning sun over Glacier Lake
My friend Elizabeth McDonald called and asked if I'd like to go for a hike. She has a, ummm, bit of a reputation as a hiker. She suggested all sorts of crazy bushwacks around the Mission Mountains, a gorgeous part the Montana I haven't seen enough of. My recollections are of two hikes, one about ten years ago with Brian in which my tongue was hanging out when we got to Turquoise Lake; and one about four years ago with Brian and his friend Drew in which my tongue and tonsils and eyeballs were hanging out when we got to Mollman lakes. But I decided to go anyway, as it is just too pretty a place to ignore.
Betsy said it would be good if we started early. That's always a bad sign. "What's early?" "Uh, if we met at Clearwater at 4:30 we could be hiking by daylight." That was waaaaaaaaaaay to early, but I set my alarm for 3:00 and tried to get to bed early.
I met Betsy and we drove to the trailhead, where we started hiking in the grey early morning hours. Everything was wet from rain the day before, a blessing in this land of dry summer. After about an hour we had gained some elevation, the sun was higher than it seemed like it should be, and it was shaping up to be a glorius day. Glacier Lake was below us, and another hour would put us near Turquoise.
We got to Turquoise Lake about 8:00, not too tired, not too thirsty, and still pretty energetic. Turquoise Lake and the small lakes around it are a treat to the eyes. They are as pretty as I remembered from when Amber and Brian and I did an overnight trip there.
We turned off the trail near what our friend Land Lindbergh calls the "Dragon Lady" tree. I think it's the carcass of an old Whitebark Pine, but I'm not sure. Anyway, we went exploring from there, following a trail passed down in good oral tradition.
We crossed a few small snowfields, and a whole lot of scree and boulders. Along the way we got some outstanding views of the surrounding country.
Eventually, we came to this pretty little lake, perched up near the spine of a ridge.
We spent some time looking at McDonald Peak, thinking about different routes up it. And about how Bill Potter took some guests up the face we were looking at a long time ago.
There were more lakes dotting the landscape west of us.
Then we retraced our steps, trying to not be too wobbly.
It was a spectacular day, with spectacular scenery. It left me thinking about things to do in the future.