Marc Ankenbauer's 10+ year quest to jump in every named lake in Glacier and Waterton National Parks for charity.
168 lakes. Only 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ZERO LAKES LEFT!!!
-- Marc jumped into Fisher Cap Lake on Sunday September 8th, 2013 to complete his goal! --
Read about Marc and how this project started...

Running Crane Lake : Grizzly Bears, Icebergs and Captain Clint #161

Remember in early July when it was like 5 million degrees in the Western United States?

Obviously an exaggeration, but it did break records in Las Vegas and Death Valley of 117 and 129 respectively.

This was also when Glacier’s already hot summer took it to the next level.

It was breaking 90 daily for a couple weeks.

That is very hot here.

RC27

 

I was still recuperating from the brutal Lilly Lake outing.

And with temperatures like this, I didn’t really want to hike much of anywhere.

But I had to choose something from the list.

They weren’t going to jump in themselves. ..Now were they?

 

running crane - Glacier Explorer

 

So, my friend Captain Clint and I decided that the best thing to do on a hot day was to go swimming.

Come to find out, Running Crane Lake was the cure for this summer time scorcher.

There would be very little bushwhacking and lots of lovely clear lakes.

But there would also be absolutely no shade on an outrageously hot and sunny day.

 

RC1

 

Captain Clint, is actually a Captain.

He heads the Two Medicine faction of the Glacier Boat Company.

Countless visitors have experienced the park through his brand of intimate knowledge and sharp, witty banter.

He is one of the biggest characters I’ve ever met and we were “goinona mission”.

It was gonna be a good day…

Two Medicine to Running Crane Lake and return in a day.

And lay our overheating bodies in as many pools of water as possible.

This was our task…

 

RC2

 

We left Two Med at 6:15am and B-lined it to the Dry Fork Junction which is on the way towards Old Man Lake.

We paused to rest by the creek for five minutes before continuing on.

 

RC30

 

As we walked up hill slightly, we looked down where we were just sitting and saw a bear cruise down valley.

He was literally in the exact same spot we had just been resting five minutes earlier.

I’ll call that great timing for everyone involved.

 

RC3

 

From here on it was all off trail as we headed toward the saddle between Spot and Red Mountains.

 

RC4

 

I had been up there once before when my good friend Josh Paulson and I went to Lonely Lakes in 2005.

Josh is a well more comfortable climber than I was or still am.

I knew at the time that I had to start working on the off trail lakes and Josh helped work me into that era of the project.
He also turned me into a trekking pole believer!

Eight years later I owe the project to trekking poles, gaiters and goat trails.

Thanks for all your help and insight.

 

RC5

Josh and I in 2005.  It was windy… Really Windy…

 

This is an extremely windswept and barren valley.

In winter, the winds must absolutly howl through here.

There was a tiny rivulet stream running through flower filled scree.

 

RC6

 

Our early start allowed us to have shade until almost the saddle.

That was huge!

 

RC31

 

At the top we paused to take it all in.

Many climbers have stared down at the Lake Creek Valley, but few ever roam around in it.

Clint and I both knew how special this area and today was.

We had a lot of distance to cover, but were excited about the opportunity.

Seeing as it was July 2nd  and we had the opportunity, we both made a snow ball to throw over the cliff before dropping in.

That kind of stuff still makes two boys from Ohio and Texas smile.

 

RC7

 

We dug our heels in and scree skied directly down towards the Lonely Lakes.

Halfway down we had to choose a gulley and luckily chose correctly.

Once down at the lake we looked back at our descent and found that we took the only “good” way.

We kind of funneled down to the ideal cliff exit, which was consistent with how our day progressed.

 

RC30

 

Since our real objective was Running Crane Lake, we resisted temptation to hang out at the Lonelys and pressed up the next ridge.

 

RC8

 

We rose above Lonely Lakes which were cradled by Red Mountain’s namesake hues.

 

RC(

 

Eventually Running Crane came into view tucked high into the upper valley.

Josh and I peered out at Running Crane in 05’ but short on time, we left it for another trip…

 

RC10

 

Eight years later Clint and I hardly broke stride past my previous stopping point.

Onward across a couple snow fields and down bright red scree filled slopes.

 

RC11

 

As the lake came into view we noticed icebergs floating near the beach.

We both looked at each other and knew that those bergs were our destination.

How often do you get to climb out on icebergs on a 90 degree day?

This was going to happen!

 

RC12

 

The snow beyond the lake had a melt spot that looked exactly like a soaring eagle.

Clint liked the Eagle…

 

RC13

 

Hot from our hike here, we jumped in immediately and dealt with lunch and photos later.

 

RC13

 

Sprawled out on the rocky shore, we ate our lunch and smiled widely.

Clint was telling an animated story and threw his hands in the air.

At that exact moment, we looked left and saw two sub adult grizzly bears running away from the lake.

I don’t think they saw us until Ol’ Captain Clint told a rousing story about lord knows what!

I’m guessing they had some swimming plans of their own and they weren’t expecting that two loud humans got to the pool first.

I certainly do appreciate them letting us continue.

Thanks guys.

 

 

Obviously, from that point on I kept one eye out for the bears and one on my icebergs.

They never returned, which is good… but what an amazing sighting.

With the time we had left we hopped up on the icebergs which had started to float around by now.

 

RC14

 

We had to jump off before the wind blew us down lake.

Ah, July 2nd in Glacier National Park.

 

RC15

 

Clint eyed a high point on the ridge off Red Mountain and we pushed for it.

The views were amazing!

 

RC16

 

The skyline to the west was the Cutbank Valley and a sea of layered peaks.

 

RC17

 

To the north was the Madwolf Circuit with Eagle Plume directly above Running Crane.

The South was Red Mountain and the ridge we had just come over.

And, to the East was the Great Plains stretching past Browning and the Sweetgrass Hills all the way to Chicago…

 

RC18

 

Red Mountain is obviously red but the Eastern part of the ridge is tan.

At one point, there is the transition and it looked like the red and tan rocks had a fight.

Fallen rock soldiers strewn about, making the transition very chaotic.

 

RC19

 

As we wondered down the ridge it had officially gotten HOT!

The sun beat on us making the idea of the Lonely Lakes extremely inviting.

We made really good time by starting early and knowing the route from last time I was back here.

 

RC20

 

Just beyond the red and tan rock battle, we found a nice ramp back down to the lakes.

Clint had beaten me to the upper Lonely Lake.

While I was still high above the lake, I watched him cannonball off a lakeside boulder.

 

RC21

 

Thus began a two hour, swim, snack, swim, drink, swim, kick it fest at the Lonely Lakes.

 

RC22

 

There is a flower filled rock shelf separating the upper and lower lakes.

Between them are two tiny ponds which we named the Upper and Lower – Middle Lonely Ponds.

It’s a catchy name.

I know.

They were comparatively quite warm, but only about two feet deep.

Clint skied down a snow bank into the Upper Middle Lonely pond in his Chacos.

 

RC23

 

The lower Lonely Lake was spectacular also.

We continued our lazy, swimming ways while tucked into a piece of shade made by the rock shelf.

We must have said, “This is amazing” 763 times throughout the day.

We just somehow earned the perfect high elevation, mountain lake swimming extravaganza!

And on a hot day.

 

RC24

 

Last time I was back here it was 50 degrees and the wind was blowing so hard that I had to put rocks on my clothes so they wouldn’t fly away.

The swimming conditions were much different.

I would like to thank Good Juju, Glacier Park and a hot weather pattern for this one.

 

RC25

 

Eventually we left our cooling salvation and headed up the rocky ridge towards Two Medicine.

We took a slight detour to check out a vegetation filled waterfall chute.

Today was a good day!

The scree was soft, the ridges sound, the views extensive and crisp, and the water cold and clear.

 

 

A couple miles from Two Medicine we bumped into what we believe was the same black bear from this morning.

He didn’t seem to have any time for us.

We stepped off trail behind some trees and he cruised past us bound for his next destination

Clint and I mused about how he was headed home on his work commute.

This morning he headed down valley to his 9 to 5 and tonight he was headed back up valley.

Headed back to the casa to have a bear beer and put his paws up.

I figured we should follow suit.

 

Thanks for a great time Clint.

We got a hold of a great lake trip and four bears in one day.

That is certainly a Waterton Glacier Lake Jumping Project single day bear record.

Most of them aren’t this good and it was even better with the great company.

 

RC28

 

Josh Paulson, thanks for showing me the way on this one.

You’re the man.

May you all be having a great summer and enjoying your bear beer and your commute.

To Life,

Marc Ankenbauer

 

 

 

Katoya,Morning Star, Pitamakin, Seven Winds, Upper Two Medicine Lakes : Wub comes to Visit…

In 2004 I had finally solidified a good job in Glacier National Park and was excited for it to begin.

When you start a summer seasonal job in a place like this you day dream of extending it to your friends and family back home.

Back home for me is Cincinnati, Ohio and so are some of my best friends.

My buddy Jerry decided to throw down the unfortunately large coin to get from Cincinnati to Kalispell.

He was here!

He did it.

Its so easy to say you are going to come visit, but it’s entirely different to actually pull it off.

DCF 1.0

Growing up my friends and I were really into camping and backpacking in Kentucky.

Jerry was by far the biggest player in getting us out each weekend.

He was instrumental in the fact that I am who I am and do what I do.

He was the first person to ever introduce me to the idea of actually leaving the trail.

And what would life be like, if we always stayed on the trail, you know?

 

We were hiking in the Red River Gorge with a couple friends when he suggested we navigate from the top of the wooded ridge to the junction at the bottom.. but why not explore?

Why not see what is down there instead of hiking that same trail we had hiked before?

 

This story is pertinent because in 2004 I had also recently decided to attempt to be the first person to ever jump in every named lake in Glacier.

Heard about that?

It’s kind of a big deal in my life.

 

So, the two worlds were about to collide.

DCF 1.0

 

Jerry and I got a backcountry permit to hike from the Cutbank Valley to Two Medicine.

Our permit was to stay at Morning Star and Upper Two Medicine Campgrounds.

I worked all day so we had to pound out the miles to Morning Star starting at about 6pm.

The light was already starting to get low in the sky which lit the mountains up with dark reds.

DCF 1.0

The Cutbank valley was posted for grizzly bear activity at the time.

Posting means that while Glacier National Park has lots and lots of bears, they had actually been sighted lately and often in this valley.

Jerry and I were on hyper alert but we saw nothing but prints and diggings.

I’m sure the frantic hoots and hollers helped keep the bears at bay also.

DCF 1.0

The next morning we continued our history of off trail travel.

We wandered up a beautiful little side valley to Katoya Lake.

Many years ago there was a backcountry site on the lake shore, but Grizzly activity through the years forced it to be removed.

DCF 1.0

Again there were no bears, but the pucker factor of roaming around off trail kept us vigilant.

We enjoyed a quick morning dip with Red Mountain and pristine meadows all around us.

Unfortunately we had to “keep it brief” because there were lots of miles to cover in one day.

The rocks on the lake floor must have hurt too, forcing me to make an odd airplane motion.

DCF 1.0

This was early enough in the project that I was able to hit five new lakes on this trip.

That doesn’t happen anymore these days.

After Katoya we doubled back to Morning Star to gather our things and take another swim.

DCF 1.0

 

The trail to Pitamakin Lake was filled with Indian Paintbrush and countless other shades of wildflowers.

DCF 1.0

The lake is tucked into the base of Pitamakin Pass.

At this moment I had achieved a whopping 20 lakes!

It felt monumental at the time.

DCF 1.0

There is a second and almost mirror image lake next door called Lake of the Seven Winds.

We climbed over the small wooded ridge that separates the two and enjoyed a nice snack and swim.

Luckily, it was a warm and pleasant day for swimming.

I was very thankful for that.

Four lakes in a day would be tough if the weather was nasty.

DCF 1.0

Finally we pushed up trail towards Pitamakin Pass and its huge views.

DCF 1.0

From high above it’s pretty wild to see two lakes separated by such a small amount of land.

DCF 1.0

Near the top we bumped into a large group of Bighorn Sheep.

They stood their ground, so we had to slowly push past them to finally get to the top.

kat 14

The trail leads further uphill from Pitamakin Pass to Cutbank Pass which opens up to the western slope of the Continental Divide.

kat 15

From Cutbank pass you can see how Pitamakin Pass separates the Oldman and Cutbank Valleys.

DCF 1.0

The next five miles could very possibly be the most spectacular in the park.

The trail is essentially a goat path skirting along Mt. Morgan and Mt. Flinch with gargantuan views!

We stopped countless times to take in the grand expanses of the Nyack Valley.

kat 17

The trail hit a saddle on the continental divide and stared down at the Old Man Lake drainage.

kat 18

It was a perfect place to take a lunch break and enjoy the afternoon.

If I only knew then how many times I would find myself in the Old Man Lake valley in the coming years.

At the time it was new terrain for two old friends from the flatland, and a nearly perfect perch to enjoy a bagel.

kat 19

As we took in the whole scene we noticed a rock with ripple marks in it.

Long before the area became mountainous it was covered by an ancient inland sea.

Wild to find a rock with ripples in it thousands of feet above the valley bottom.

kat 20

As we hiked along, we stopped periodically on the cliff edge to celebrate that we were given the chance to be alive on a day this great.

DCF 1.0

Before we dropped off Dawson Pass we looked back once more on the thin trail that led us there.

kat 22

As we hiked downhill we looked for wildlife, but all we found was a snowfield that looked like a woman in a white dress breathing fire.

Years later I would start calling this snowfield Millie’s Wedding Day for a friend of mine’s grandma.

 

kat 23

After dropping all the way to the valley bottom we still had to limp our way back to Upper Two Medicine Lake Campground.

Shortly after getting to the campsite, night fell.

Stars filled the sky like cheese cloth while we ate everything we had in our food bags.

 

We took our leisurely time in the morning and enjoyed the sights.

Over breakfast we scanned the enormous walls of Mt. Sinopah and Mt. Helen for wildlife.

kat 24

I took an early morning dip before breaking down camp.

Rounding out my new lake number to 22.

That feels like forever ago now.

kat 25

Not excited for the trip to end we lingered by the lake.

Taking just one more picture and soaking it up for all it was worth.

kat 26

We arrived at the Two Medicine Lake boat dock with some time to kill.

While we waited for Sinopah, the Glacier Park Boat Company tour boat to come and pick us up we took one last dip.

We launched off the dock repeatedly till our chariot arrived.

kat 27

We kicked back and let the boat cut out the last few miles in style.

It dropped us off at the dock near the Two Medicine Camp Store

I believe I remember there being excessive amounts of Huckleberry ice cream involved at this point.

kat 28

It was spectacular having my friend visit me in one of my proudest moments;  I had secured a job I was truly proud of in what might very well be the most amazing place on earth.

I had one of my best buds accompany me on my first off trail outing in this new lake jumping project I had started.

It was great to have a familiar face along as I began what would prove to be the most difficult, time consuming and bizarre endeavor of my life.

Thank you my friend for the walk.

To Life!

kat 29

 

Old Man Lake – With a National Geographic Film Crew – #117

Big News !!So, in the future when you hear about some knucklehead roaming around in the middle of the mountains trying to jump in every named lake in Waterton and Glacier National Parks……..It very well may be while watching a documentary about Glacier on the National Geographic Channel.
 
What?Yeah!!!No…Really…What?
 
A very nice guy I know that holds a pretty high position in Glacier was contacted by National Geographic because they were doing a documentary entitled “Wild Spaces – Glacier National Park”. It is an installment of a series about the wildest National Parks in the country.
They were hoping to find a good human interest story about the park and he passed my story on to them.

They then contacted me and we worked out the specifics.

Actually it was funny, I checked my email one day and this was the subject title.

FW: National Geographic – Man who jumps in lakes.

I stopped for a moment and thought…Wait, that’s me…..

I was absolutely floored when I read the email. As you can obviously imagine.

They wanted to make sure they were doing a lake that I had never done before and capture the whole process on film.

That is not that easy to accomplish these days, as most of the lakes that I have not been to are getting to be extremely removed and inaccessible.

Luckily, for the last few years while I was making major strides in the project there has been a lot of grizzly activity at a lake called Old Man Lake. The campground at the lake has been closed for the last couple years, so I have been essentially ignoring it.

We really lucked out. There is nothing as beautiful and simultaneously still on a trail as Old Man Lake.

So, I drove to East Glacier on Wednesday and met Brian and Chad at the Two Medicine Grill for breakfast. Brian was the producer and Chad was his assistant.
We got to know each other a bit and off we went.

Perfect day for a swim. It was warm, blue skies, and not too much wind. Just enough to keep the bugs from being real bad.

They would stop me at a section and set up their video camera. Then they would have me walk across a foot bridge and then pan out to all of the mountains as I walked into the far distance.

The hardest part was a bit when we hit flat trail and the producer wanted to ask me some questions while we walked backwards. He was walked slowly backwards and would ask me interview questions with the camera in my face.
He would like what I had to say, but I would say “um” or walk off screen in the wrong direction, or look at the camera instead of him.

He would then have me say it again.

But the problem is that I don’t know what I said. I would then start to preface what I said earlier.
I realized that restating something with the same enthusiasm and as genuinely, over and over again is very tough. I give credit to actors.
I can’t recreate and plan spontaneity. It goes against the main tenants of the word spontaneity. Odd.

We got it though. When it comes out on video, hopefully you won’t even notice a difference. I did though.

We got to the lake and shot an interview and the actual swimming portion after lunch.

Actually, I did not eat lunch till after the shoot. I felt like if there was ever a moment in time that Marc Ankenbauer did not need to have a big lunch it was right before he took his shirt off for a documentary for National Geographic.

I was all fine with all of this. I mean it was a great honor and a once in a lifetime experience.
But, come on. Any of you out there that would like to be the big, bald, kinda frumpy bald guy with a farmers tan that was filmed for an hour with no shirt getting in and out of a mountain lake in broad day light.
I imagine if everything goes right and I make the editing process; you may very well be watching the sun bounce off of my white Montana farmers tan chest for many years to come in syndication while sitting around on a lazy Sunday afternoon watching TV on the couch.

Eeehhh..

It is what it is and I am very lucky to have gotten this much exposure. (Literally and figuratively) Ha-ha..

I was able to explain that I was raising money and awareness for childrens cancer. I’ll do most anything for that kind of help.

Anyway, back to the scene. All went wonderfully!!. They really went all out. They even submerged themselves with an underwater camera and had me swim over them and swim at them. Crazy. I still can’t believe that this happened. Know?

I mean they had me in a 40 something degree lake for about an hour off and on. Getting out, getting back in. Getting back out again. Swimming back and forth and back again.

Camera’s are funny things I’ll tell you..

I was told that this will not even air on National Geographic Television until about November of next year. We have plenty of time to wait.

Anyway, that is my story. Old Man Lake was number 117 in all. I have 51 left and it is high season for busting out some more.

I hope the summer is treating everyone very well.
Get out there and enjoy it. You will have your winter coat on before you know it.

To Life,
Marc