Coram, MT - Jammin'

Jammin’ - and, no, I’m not talking about peanut butter and strawberry on toast. I’m talking about the kind of ‘jammin’ that tourists do in National Parks whenever they see a bear or an elk or a bison or whatever. There you are driving along a park road when you spot dozens of cars parked higgeldy - piggeldy along both sides of the road with people standing around with cameras all looking in the same direction. Of course, you park too, get out your camera and rush to join the crowd to see what wildlife is roaming around.

Well, today, we were jammin’ all day: we went from a ‘reflection’ jam in the morning to a ‘mountain goat’ jam in the afternoon, with a ‘big horn sheep’ jam and a ‘moose’ jam in between. We could have been part of a ‘cow’ jam but it was late in the afternoon and people were getting jaded.

We decided to make this day a road trip day to the other side of the park to see and hike to Grinnell Glacier, one of the premier hikes to the premier glacier. Up at 5:30, breakfast and we were on our way up the Going to the Sun road. Beautiful road with absolutely smashing views down into the valley and across the valley to the snow-capped peaks. We stopped at Logan Pass, obviously the lowest point between the high mountains on either side but yet it is on the Continental Divide. We got out to stretch our legs and take in the views - oh yeah, we checked out their facilities also.

We saw people heading up what is called the Hidden Lake trail over some snow falls. Difficult to walk on since they are very slippery and, with use, very slushy. We have micro spikes so it might not have been as difficult for us and, maybe, we’ll try it when we return this way in the afternoon. (Actually we didn’t get back here until 7:00 in the evening, a bit late to start a hike.)

We turned the opposite direction and saw some big horn sheep lolling on the mountain slope. Pretty far away and they blend in so well with the rocks but still cool.

But, we also saw this one circling the parking lot. He’s giving me his best pose. Note that it hasn’t shed all of its winter hair yet. Makes him look a bit scraggly but he is a marvelous specimen.

On the other side of the pass, Gary put the car into low gear and began our descent. They are working on the road on this side and much of the road surface is gone and all that is left is rocks, dust and dirt. Yech-h-h. Our car is already so dirty that a little more dust won’t make a difference but it will need a hefty cleaning and waxing next week.

The views of the mountains aren’t as good on this side as the other but still impressive.

After a stop at a park convenience store, we turned north and headed over to the Many Glacier side of the park. As we were driving in, we saw our first ‘jam’, a reflection jam. Now, most jams are for wildlife but you can see by the picture why people were stopping.

One guy was so excited that he jumped out of his truck, left it in gear and it rolled about 4 feet before his wife’s screams brought him back to attention. He turned, rushed back, grabbed the door, opened it, jumped it and stopped it. No damage to the car in front of him but it was close. One young man who lives in the area says he’s been along this road many times and has never seen this lake so glassy that it makes reflections.

We found our hike and, after changing into hiking gear, we took off. We knew that we would not be able to get to the end of the trail where Grinnell Glacier is because the last mile is still closed. There is lots of snow still resting on the slopes, just waiting either to melt of to fall off in an avalanche. I don’t want to be on it when it makes its decision.

I’m sure that most of you know that Glacier and Yellowstone are known for their bears both black and grizzly. My favorite line from the Glacier brochure is: ‘All the Native Carnivores Survive Here.’ Oh, boy. We each have bear bells and Gary also carries bear spray as a final resort. Most hikers we see also take these precautions but we do see a few, you know, the ones without water too, who travel along the trails without these. I will admit that the bells do break the great solitude that one can find hiking and are not one of the sounds of nature that come with hiking. (Whenever we come near someone else, we quiet our bells.)

We curled along Lake Josephine before we began our climb up above Grinnell Lake and the glacier above. While we’re on the hike, I thought I’d share some information I’ve read about glaciers in Glacier NP and why Glacier NP is listed in several lists of ‘Places You Should Visit Before They Disappear.’ In 1850, European explorers documented some 150 glaciers in the mountains of Glacier. In the early 1960’s ariel surveys slowed 50 glaciers, today there are 25. With carbon dioxide levels increasing daily, the glaciers are also disappearing faster than ever. Between 1966 and 2005, Grinnell Glacier lost almost 40% of its acreage and, if carbon dioxide levels increase as they have been, scientists predict that the glaciers in Glacier NP will be gone by 1930. Get here soon to see them.

Here’s a picture I took and you can very definitely see that high snow shelf, called the ‘Salamander’ because it looks like a salamander on its side. The salamander’s nose is facing left and the leg is hanging down below it. (It is center right near the top. Gem glacier is the triangular shaped glacier at the top on the left.) The Salamander used to be part of Grinnell Glacier, attached by a snow bridge from the nose down the cliff but, when this snow bridge which connected them on the left side melted and ran off, this was renamed the Salamander. You can’t see what is left of Grinnell Glacier in this picture because it is behind a rock ledge. Because the trail was closed beyond where I took this picture, I couldn’t see it.

Below is a series of pictures that I got from the glacierhikers.com website showing how Grinnell Glacier is disappearing. The Salamander is the higher parch of snow in each of these pictures and the snow/lake below it is Grinnell Glacier. You can see they are connected on the left in the 1938 picture.

In 1850, at the end of what has been referred to as the Little Ice Age, Grinnell Glacier measured 710 acres, including the area of The Salamander Glacier. By 1993, Grinnell Glacier measured 220 acres and The Salamander measured 57 acres.

It’s sad to think that our children and their children will not have the marvelous experience we have of seeing all these glaciers. The National Parks will still be magnificent but the glaciers will be gone.

Huff, puff, huff, puff, we’re still climbing which is pretty dull. How about some information about George Bird Grinnell, after whom the Glacier is named? He was quite a naturalist back in the late 1800’s. He accompanied Custer on one of his expeditions, the one to the Black Hill, as a naturalist. But, when Custer asked him to come along on his Little Big Horn expedition, he declined. Lucky him. Just like Waylon Jennings, Buddy Holly’s bass player, gave up his seat to the Big Bopper, who was ill, when they were flying out of Clear Lake.

As a naturalist, he also studied Yellowstone and his articles on the poaching of animals in the park helped Americans understand conservation more. In the late 1180’s he traveled into the St. Mary’s region of Montana and discovered the glacier that now bears his name. He also participated in naming many of the other features in the park and was later influential in establishing Glacier National Park in 1910. He also helped organize the first Audubon Society and was a member with Theodore Roosevelt in the Boone and Crocket Club, dedicated to preserving America’s wild lands.

Whew, we’ve reached the sign which tells us that the rest of the trail is closed. Time for lunch and a chance to get some pictures of the Salamander. On the trail we met a retired NP ranger who had started with Glacier 50 years ago today. To celebrate, he was hiking up to the glacier. (His wife, who is not enamored of bears, had declined the opportunity.)

We enjoyed the views for a while and then began the climb back down to our car. We took a detour to walk near some lakes in the region and saw this moose just wandering through the water. No moose jam here (that comes later), only 8 people at the shore watching.

We finished walking around the lake, visited the lodge, bought a soda, packed the car and we were off only to encounter our second jam of the day: a real moose jam. But it was for a mother and her young. Pretty spectacular.

back up the Going to the Sun road for our return trip. Dusty, hot and long, we finally made it up to Logan Pass. We got out and noticed a ‘jam.’ Sure enough, a ‘big horn sheep jam’ with people running hither and yon. Nothing like a good jam and I ran over with my camera, I saw no sheep but I did note that there were several photographers with huge lenses and tripods trying to get a good shot up the mountains. They should have been looking into the parking lot because, all of a sudden the sheep ran into the parking lot, wandered around a bit, ran out but this one lone old ram was left. Unfortunately, big horn sheep like the antifreeze in the parking lot and lick it up.

We stayed for some pictures. Note how close lots of the crowd was getting. Did the old grandfather sheep mind? Nope, he just kept licking the parking lot.

As we were leaving the parking lot, we saw our 4th jam, a mountain goat jam. We couldn’t find a spot to park so I got this picture out of the window. Note that fancy collar the left sheep is wearing, the park rangers must be tracking it. OK, that’s is our 4th jam of the day. We’ve run the gamut.

On the way down, we saw this truck trying to get a good picture under the weeping wall.

It is difficult to take a bad picture in Glacier National Park. It’s not the photographer, it’s the sights. What a beautiful park, from the mountains to the lakes to the glaciers, to the tall lodgepole pine to the wildlife. Every view is amazing.

8.6 1545’