THE SMURF
“Oh, if you're ever unsatisfied with the way life's
treating you
You know you can count on me to take good care of you
I love you honey oh yes I do you know that's true of course
And if your dog or cat ever dies, I'll buy you a ewe”
From
“My Sweet One”, by Phish
We were up at 6 the next
morning for the drive to the Two Medicine section of the park. We were planning on a long loop hike
combining Dawson and Pitamakan Passes.
The hike is 19 miles, with an elevation gain in the neighborhood of 3000’. However, it’s possible to shave 2 ˝ miles
off the hike by taking a boat across Two Medicine Lake. Christy and I both felt that 16 ˝ miles
would be plenty. To have time for the
whole hike though, we had to be on the first boat of the day.
We arrived at Two Medicine
Lake at 7:30, which was comfortably early for the first boat of the day, which
departs at 8. Well, I thought it
departed at 8. When we arrived, we
discovered that the first departure was actually at 9. My wife, who is not particularly fond of
getting up early, was not amused.
Since we had more than an
hour to kill, we drove back down to the trailhead for Running Eagle Falls. It’s not a long drive from the lake to the
trailhead, but it felt like one, since Christy was glaring at me the entire
time. By the time we got down there, I
was ready for a short hike. Christy
opted for a nap in the car.
An easy walk on the nature
trail brought me to the falls. Running
Eagle Falls isn’t particularly big, but it is unique. In the summer, when water levels are low, the stream runs under a
natural bridge before spilling over a nice cascade. In the spring, when there is more water, the creek rushes over
the top of the same natural bridge, creating a much taller waterfall. Today though, it was fascinating, and quite
scenic. I told Christy she didn’t miss
much.
We headed back up to Two
Medicine Lake at 8:30 and bought tickets for the 9:00 boat. While we were waiting, we enjoyed the views
of Sinopah and the surrounding peaks reflecting in the still water of the
lake.
We boarded right at 9, along
with a number of other hikers. The boat
was about half full, and most of the passengers were only taking the boat
one-way. There was one gentleman on the
boat wearing a 3-piece suit though.
Apparently he thought a boat ride across Two Medicine Lake was a formal
affair.
We hit the trail around
9:30, winding through the woods as we climbed gently away from the lake. Once past the side trail to No Name Lake, we
reached the Huckleberry buffet. It was
the first ripe Huckleberries we’d seen on the trip, and we weren’t about to
pass up the opportunity to supplement our breakfast, which had consisted of
cold bagels eaten in the car. We
would’ve made great time to Dawson Pass, except we kept stopping to graze.
Before long, I noticed that
my hands had turned blue. Considering
how I was shoving the Huckleberries into my mouth, I was pretty sure my face
was, too. Being that I’m rather short
in stature, anybody that passed us on the trail that day probably took me for a
Smurf. I’m not sure what they would’ve
thought of Christy. She’s taller than
me, so I don’t think anybody would’ve mistaken her for Smurfette.
The trail steepened as we
neared the pass. We picked up the pace
(having finally left the Huckleberries behind), but that didn’t stop a
shirtless man in his 70’s from blowing past us like Lance Armstrong breezing by
Eric Cartman on a Big Wheel. Christy
and I are strong hikers, and it’s not often that we get passed, particularly
while going uphill. The fact that it
was a senior citizen was all the more surprising. Still, I’m glad he went by quickly. Although he was certainly in great shape for his age, everybody
eventually reaches an age where they shouldn’t be walking around in public
without a shirt on.
We reached Dawson Pass at
noon. I suppose we made pretty good
time, having covered 5 miles and gained 3000’ in 2 ˝ hours. Popeye the Sailor Man was nowhere to be seen
though.
We stopped at the pass for
lunch, despite the fact that we were bloated from eating all those
Huckleberries. Stopping had more to do
with appreciating the moment than actually eating (although we did eat, oh
yes. Ever since our hike through Floral
Park, we’d been feeding non-stop). The
views from here, from the southwest to the northwest, are fantastic. Across the Nyack Creek valley from us, we
spotted a small remnant glacier. More
peaks and glaciers marched away to our north.
I could hardly wait to hike in that direction, just to get closer to
them. Fortunately we had a beautiful
cloud and smoke free day to enjoy one of the most scenic hikes in the park. Even the wind, which is notorious here, was
mild.
While we were eating, we
noticed something odd. A steady stream
of insects was flying by, heading out of the Two Medicine Valley, over Dawson
Pass, and down towards Nyack Creek.
They looked kind of like Dragonflies, but I think they must’ve been
something else. We literally saw hundreds
of them during our brief lunch. Is
there an insect that looks like a Dragonfly that migrates?
After lunch we headed north
on a rugged path that contours around the west side of Flinsch Peak. After a moderate climb, the path leveled,
but it still required caution. The trail
is narrow and rocky, and is frequently covered with loose pebbles. There’s a pretty serious drop-off below the
trail, and Christy was a little nervous as we hiked along here. It was in one of these tight spots that we
encountered the sheep.
There were four or five ewes
walking down the trail towards us, along with a lamb. They didn’t seem inclined to yield the right of way, so we
scrambled up the rocks above the trail to get out of the way. As soon as we’d gone to the trouble to do
that, the sheep left the trail and climbed up above us. We waited until they passed by before
returning to the trail and resuming the hike.
We maintained a leisurely
pace along here, as we weren’t in any hurry to reach the end of this stretch of
trail along the Continental Divide.
Beyond Flinsch Peak, we were treated to our first views of Old Man
Lake. The lake sits in a steep cirque
far below the divide. As we hiked
north, the Pumpelly Glacier drew closer.
It’s one of the larger glaciers remaining in the park, and it made a
fine contribution to the fantastic scenery.
All too soon we reached the Pitamakan
Overlook, which meant that we were nearing the end of our stroll along the
ridgeline. It was late afternoon, and
we still had 7 miles or more to go, but we couldn’t simply pass the overlook
by. The overlook is situated at a corner
on the ridge behind Mount Morgan, and it offers the best views of the entire
hike. From here we could see a vast sea
of peaks to the north, northwest, and northeast. After studying the topography for a minute, I spotted the
pinnacle of Triple Divide Peak. Triple
Divide Peak is unique, in that rain that falls on it runs to three different
oceans.
We took a break there. It was a break we didn’t really need, but
the overlook is one of those places to be savored. I posed for a few photos (and posed is the right word), and
managed to prevent Christy from taking another nap. Finally some other hikers came along, and we relinquished the viewpoint
to them.
We descended to a junction
with the trail to Nyack Creek, and, a few yards later, to another trail down to
Morningstar Lake and Cut Bank. Just
beyond, we began descending endless switchbacks, down into the basin of Old Man
Lake. Eventually we bottomed out, but
we decided to skip the side trail to the lakeshore. Even I tend to pass on the side trips when I’m already hiking
more than 16 miles.
The hike along Dry Fork back
to Two Medicine was a bit of a trudge.
I was expecting a downhill run, but much of the course was flat, and
there were even a few short but tedious climbs to keep things interesting. There were more Huckleberries to amuse us,
but we really didn’t have much time for grazing. Eventually we crossed Dry Fork, and found out how it got its
name. There was no water running
through the streambed, although a sizeable stream drains Old Man Lake farther
up the valley. Apparently the creek
goes underground at some point.
It was after 7pm when we
finally reached the Two Medicine campground.
From there, I had to walk another ˝ mile or so to retrieve the car. Christy was more than glad to wait for me in
the campground.
It was almost dark when we
returned to Rising Sun. That didn’t
stop us from feasting on grilled steaks and potatoes though. That meal, along with a few beers, seemed
more than justified after our 17 mile day.
Afterwards, we attempted to stay up to watch the Perseid Meteor
Shower. I spotted a few shooting stars,
but I couldn’t keep my eyes open for long.
I actually considered sleeping there in my camp chair, because I was too
tired to get up. I eventually made it
to the tent, where I stayed well into the following morning.
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