Montana Archives - Page 2 of 4

I’m going camping for a bit. In Antarctica…

October 15, 2012 By Marc the Glacier Explorer 2 Comments

antarctica pic

I didn’t want to mention it till it was final, but…

I’ve accepted a job in Antarctica this winter.

I will be the field coodinator for a research project that travels to the far reaches of the continent.

I’ll be one of a four person crew that gets dropped off at remote, high altitude camps on the Antarctic Plateau.

We stay for about a week at each camp then head back to the South Pole to…well not do that for 48 hours.

Then we head back out to a new camp, and so begins the process again.

The camps range from 10,000′ to 12,000′ elevation and approximately 500 miles away from the South Pole.

I’m hoping it won’t be any colder than about -30F or -40F.

There is one heated 8’x16′ building called an AGO, which we hang out in.

We each have our own tent to sleep in though.

Yep, camping in Antarctica for weeks at a time.

I don’t want to even hear about how winter was cold this year.

Needless to say it should prove to be a once in a lifetime experience..

AGO camp building with our tents and bathroom tent…

While overwhelmed I know that I’m truly blessed to have been extended this opportunity.

I’m actually really excited! I think…

Thanks be to my wife who is supporting this idea, all the while doing battle with nursing school.

I love you and thanks for supporting and believing in me. You’re my hero!

With the help of my Web Design Extraordinaire Matt Mizwicki, I intend to keep new posts coming.

There may be some delays so please bear with me. I’m sure there will be pretty chaotic access to computers.

Between Antarctica updates and past Glacier Lake Jumping exploits I feel that I have plenty to write about.

My intention is to finish the Lake Jumping Project this coming summer.

We still have one more new lake story to tell and it will be coming out soon.

Throughout the winter I intend to keep telling past stories of some of my favorite lake outings.

This site is still relatively new and I’ve got a decade of stories to tell.

Although its not quite as easy while in Antarctica, our fundraising efforts will be in full swing throughout winter and headed into summer.

Thank you everyone for all the kind donations lately.

You are all Rock Stars!

Camp Mak A Dream works to breathe fun and companionship into lives that are tested daily by fear and uncertainty.

It allows them to be transported to another world if for just a moment. A world of mountains and Big Skies.

Thanks to all of you who have helped support this positive, driven organization.

I’m profoundly thankful for this opportunity. It’s more than I deserve, but I’m not sayin’ NO!

Virtually everybody has dreamt of going to Antarctica.

I mean,…thats a lot of pressure.

I joke,…But, really.

I mean its a bucket list item for over half of humanity.

Maybe not the camping part…You know…But Antarctica.

I don’t know if I had this much good Karma built up.

Thanks be to anything that deserves some thankin’!

It is never lost on me how blessed I am to have an able body and the support of some of the world’s best friends and family.

Thats all anyone can ever ask for, you know?

This year I’m going to miss the entire holiday season with everyone I love.

Do me the favor of taking notice of the amazing friends, families and opportunities you have out there.

Don’t let any of it pass by without taking notice of the good in your personal world.

That would be my request, and I don’t think I’m asking too much here people.

Have an awesome winter everyone and eat a second helping at the holiday dinner table for me.

I feel like I’m going to space.

Stay Tuned!

OH, AND LEAVE SOME COMMENTS IF YOU HAVE ANY!!!

I don’t have any photos of my own yet… I’ll let Google Images do it for me.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&cp=6&gs_id=q&xhr=t&q=antarctica&rlz=1R2GZGN_enUS504&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bpcl=35277026&biw=1192&bih=484&wrapid=tljp1350290725287010&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=Kc17UOKRBsmUiALe8IHgAg

Also, check out this site which explains the project quite well. Lots of photos of the facilities.

http://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/space-weather-monitoring-on-the-antarctic-plateau/journals/2011-11-12

The Floral Park Saga Part 2 – Gem Lake

September 27, 2012 By Marc the Glacier Explorer 4 Comments

This is Part 2 of the Floral Park Saga. Check out Part 1, if you haven’t already.

Sperry Glacier Basin is unlike anywhere I have found myself on the planet. It’s like being on an island. It’s alien, removed and high above the rest of the surrounding world.

Although, if you are familiar with the park…you find yourself surrounded by strangely familiar things.

Directly below you is a sheer cliff down to Avalanche Lake which is probably the most visited hike in the whole park. People staring up at these cliffs from below don’t even know you’re up there. It’s like it’s a secret, like you’re hiding.

The mountains you look off at are Stanton, Vaught and McPartland which are the main landscape at Lake McDonald Lodge on the Going to the Sun Road.

Off in the distance are the familiar mountains that you see from Logan Pass and the highline trail which is the absolute center; the heart and soul of Glacier.

Behind us was Sperry Glacier which we have all heard of but few seldom see and certainly not this intimately.

By this point in the trip you are looking back at gargantuan efforts that happened early enough in the trip that they seem like a different day.

The whole experience is simultaneously alien and warmly familiar to those who know.

After lunch we headed into the depths of the Glacier Basin.

It is made up of countless ribs of bedrock that lead directly towards the open expanse of familiar mountains at odd angles and eventually the epic drop into the Avalanche Lake headwall.

The basin is made of bedrock ribs that were scoured clean from by the glacier through the last eternity.

When you look closely there are striations on the all the ribs from the glacier scraping against the rock. This exotic landscape has only become visible over the last century.

The area is a washboard of ups and downs that present a unique obstacle course.

Each time you get to the top of a rib there could be anything on the other side.

There could be a perfect little scramble down or an expanse of snow completely filling the gap between ribs.

There could be a stream to cross or a melt pond that forces you to walk ten minutes around to the other side.

Countless options, over and over and over again.

It’s really the strangest landscape I have ever traveled in.

Every time I looked for my partners I found them lit up against the most improbable of backdrops.

This is the part of the trip that deserved our time, our attention and our camera lens the most.

The moment in time meter went through the roof.

Getting closer to Comeau Pass we had to make a decision that I believe is a no brainer.

Either we were forced to hike up the Sperry Glacier which is a terrible plan while un-roped.

Or there is a well better option.

Instead we hiked downhill past the last melt pond and towards a mountain called The Little Matterhorn.

This little wonderland is filled with wildflowers and a braided stream whose destiny is to become Avalanche Lake.

We accessed an amazing ramp of rock slabs, wild flowers and marmots that led us directly towards Comeau Pass.

Our marmot friends were sunning themselves on a huge rock.

I feel this is the best way to gain the pass.

Not only is it safe and as straight forward as possible but totally AWESOME!!

We even took a moment and took the best shadow picture ever!!!

The layers of rock started looking like candy cane spirals.

We couldn’t handle how crazy this landscape is!

Depending on when Floral Park is done, the route has more or less snow.

On this day only one snow field stood between us and the pass…and in my case.

GEM LAKE.

By this time I was double timing it.

I was hoping to get to the lake while there was still sun on it.

It’s cold enough to climb into a lake on top of a huge mountain pass right next to a snow field in the middle of a wind warning.

But, the sun is imperative.

Thankfully I got there with literally minutes of sun left.

I tossed on swimming trunks and flip flops that I had carried for hours and hours, waiting for this moment.

I had to toss rocks on my other clothes so they did not fly away in the wind.

The outlet of Gem Lake is a waterfall that flows west towards Lake McDonald.

The wind was blowing so hard that it was picking up the waterfall and blowing it up into the air and landing back in the lake.
PERFECT SWIMMING WEATHER!!

The fact is, I got it done.

The lake is just deep enough to submerge my body in, certainly no laps being swam.

Just some screams as I waited for a picture or two to be taken by my wife who asked me to stay in for two pictures. She wanted to get it right…Yeah…

It was very cold, but I’m over the idea that these lakes are cold.

I just needed to hop in and get my clothes back on.

I bounced around, doing jumping jacks to warm back up. Everyone else pumped water, ate some food and helped me with whatever tasks my cold digits were having trouble with.

We were still in a rush, no matter if the dip into the lake was done or not.

Once at the pass, we still had 10 miles and 5000 feet of elevation loss to take care of on trail.

Let’s keep in mind that the sun was still starting to set.

A group picture was in order as this place, this moment was truly epic

Before I left the top I grabbed a shot of the heavily weathered sign that marks the pass.

The trail down from Comeau Pass starts by dropping through a crack in the headwall that was made in the early days of the park.

There is a cable to hold on to as you climb down. It would be bad to lose your footing since its steep enough to cause some serious damage.

We saw about 10 mountain goats as we zoomed past alpine lakes and waterfalls.

We were able to get down to the Sperry Chalet trail intersection before dark fell.

But,…then it fell. And boy did it fall…

From this point we still had six miles and 3000 feet of elevation loss to do in the pitch black. YES!!

We spooked a bighorn sheep as we slowly picked our footing in the dark.

It’s good to make noise in Griz country anyway, but in the black of night you get pretty inventive.

I’m sure every animal in the woods enjoyed our conversations, games and most off all the show tunes.

It took what felt like forever as we walked in the dark. I think we fell asleep walking a few times. I swear!

But, eventually we popped out at Lake McDonald Lodge.

Car shuttles to Logan Pass commenced.

As we got towards St. Mary there were slight traces of Northern Lights.

I had never seen them through the years and even minor ones are pretty spectacular!

All in all an amazing day!

Even deserved a two part Saga!

To Life!!!

Filed Under: Lake Jumps, Photography - Olympus OMD EM5 Tagged With: Avalanche Lake, Comeau Pass, continental divide west, gem lake, glacier national park, Highline Trail, hiking in the dark, Lake McDonald Lodge, Little Matterhorn, Logan Pass, Montana, Mt. McPartland, Mt. Stanton, Mt. Vaught, northern lights, Olympus OMD EM5, Sperry Chalet, Sperry Glacier

The Floral Park Saga – Part 1

September 20, 2012 By Marc the Glacier Explorer 1 Comment

Gem Lake sits high atop Comeau Pass.

Comeau Pass is equally high atop the single most amazing day “endeavor” I have ever been on in my life. I say “day endeavor” because it is no “day hike”.

To call it that implies that it is a straight forward walk that takes nothing more than legs, time and nice day.

Floral Park has grown to have a dubious reputation in the park. It unfortunately has been featured in magazines next to things that are just “day hikes”. This has allowed for first time visitors, newbie concession kids and weekend warriors to address it like it’s just another outing.

It has claimed lives. Please don’t ever attempt this trip solo.

THERE IS WAY TOO MUCH COMMITMENT TO DO SOLO!

My condolences to the families of those who lost their lives over the last few years.

*On to the Story*

Jump Stats

Lake Jump: #157 of 168
Hiking distance: 20 miles
-On-trail: 12 miles
-Off-trail: 8 miles
Difficulty Rating: EXCEPTIONALLY HARD

In 2006 I went with a bunch of friends and had an amazing time. It took forever and we hiked out the last couple hours in the dark, but it blew my mind.

I took a dip in four lakes, Hidden Lake, Mary Baker Lake, Feather Woman and Akaiyan Lakes…

So it seems there are five named lakes on the route

I didn’t know about Gem Lake.

It’s not labeled on the map and at the time I hadn’t looked at the USGS list of “Named Lakes in Glacier”.

Although surprised, I’ve been looking forward to doing this route again.

Thanks Map Labelers!

Often when people accompany me to an off trail lake, I feel guilty for putting people through the often brutal endeavor.

This is a once in a lifetime, bucket list trip for anyone involved.

The evening before we left, a wildfire was reported in the Avalanche Lake Valley.

It kind of spooked us, as the route goes directly through the Sperry Glacier Basin which is the head of the Avalanche Lake valley.

A High Wind Advisory found Logan pass more than brisk, but we were able to make early morning miles fueled by some of the best breakfast sandwiches I’ve ever had. THANKS PAT!

The light was amazing as we hiked up to Hidden Lake Overlook.

Millions of people have looked down upon Hidden Lake, but comparatively few ever drop down to it.

Twice I’ve been to this amazing lake, and both times were to begin Floral Park.

Once you leave the foot of Hidden Lake there’s no trail at all.

Once you begin wrapping around Bearhat Mountain you have to be able to read a map and know the route.

A lot of people expect a path, but for hours and hours you are simply on your own.

The first main objective is to gain a huge ridge that separates Hidden Lake from “everything else”.

From the top it was obvious that the fire was not going to be an issue for us as it was far away from the route.

It made for a historically memorable day though. I will always remember that I did Gem Lake on the day of the Avalanche fire.

From the top of the ridge we stared down a chasm that dropped 4000’ feet directly down to Avalanche Lake.

It made my stomach flip and flop. But, at least there were enormous gusts of wind kicking us back and forth…At least we had that, huh?

As we looked back on our last views of Hidden Lake you can understand why people linger down there.

It’s amazing! But it truly is the “beginning”.

The first time doing Floral Park, you don’t really grasp how much more is beyond this Dragons Tail ridge.

There is countless hours of ridges to drop, bear grass to side hill up and down, bedrock ribs to climb over, scree to battle, streams to cross. It is profound!

Comeau Pass looks like forever from the top of the ridge.

Then when you finally get to Comeau Pass, there is still 10 miles of trail and 5000 feet of elevation drop before you get to your car that’s parked at Lake McDonald Lodge.

There is one way down from this huge ridge and its a really steep hill of bear grass all the way down to Mary Baker Lake and the rest of the route.

It is fondly referred to as B#!ch Hill for its obviously enjoyable nature. This is the point of no return.

Once you drop this huge hill, you will never want or hardly be able to turn back.

I think this is one of the biggest issues with the route. There is a total commitment that many novice hikers are not used to.

At the bottom is lovely little Mary Baker Lake.

We quickly pulled water, shoved Gatorade and food in our faces. We had accomplished something here but there is SO much more.

The next step is side hilling up more bear grass and scree towards the Sperry Glacier Basin.

The fire burnt on the side of Mt. Brown and from our timely perch we had a great view.

Helicopters were flying around and surveying the situation.

At the top of the slope we started hitting snow and rock. We could see our entire route from the top of the ridge down that ill named hill and back up the latest slope of vegetation.

This is where the real payoff begins.

All those moments when you feel like you are not giving the route the time it deserves.

You have stored up all your borrowed time so you can spend it in this paradise of half moonscape/half heaven.

A route this long forces you to keep moving.

It’s ironic though, you want to constantly linger and take pictures.

You are in the depths of one of the longest hardest days you have ever undertaken, but you are simultaneously having your mind blown.

We could hardly even take time for a legitimate lunch, but we did so at an amazing little melt pond of glacier water shortly after having gained the glacier basin.

Pat and I have entertained making a website called “where I ate lunch today”. This would be a good entry.

But, we absolutely HAD TO KEEP MOVING.

The sun has only so long to light our way and we had to get out of the Glacier Basin and back to normal trail before it stopped.

As Robert Frost said,

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

To Be Continued…

Tune in next week….

Same lake jumping time….

Same lake jumping channel….

For the startling conclusion of…

Bear grass meets Bedrock! The Floral Park Saga!!

Update: Part 2 is available here

Filed Under: Lake Jumps, Photography - Olympus OMD EM5 Tagged With: Avalanche Fire, Avalanche Lake, Bearhat Mountain, Comeau Pass, continental divide east, continental divide west, Floral Park, gem lake, glacier national park, Hidden Lake, Lake McDonald Lodge, Logan Pass, Mary Baker Lake, Montana, Mt. Brown, Olympus OMD EM5, Sperry Glacier

Nyack Lakes – Into the Abyss – Lakes #155 & #156

September 4, 2012 By Marc the Glacier Explorer 5 Comments

Anyone who has hiked the Dawson Pitamakin loop in Glacier knows where the Nyack Lakes are, they just might not know it.

They are these two little lakes at the bottom of what looks like an impossible drop 3000’ feet below the goat trail path that is the actual trail. The only part of the Nyack Lakes that I’ve been excited about is simply to have them off “the list”.

My trusty partner Pat and I have been debating the best way to address these lakes for years now.

No option is a “good” option.

Either climb 3000’ up to Dawson Pass then drop in on them 3000’ down a constant steep slope, then climb back up that 3000’ back to the Dawson Pass trail and drop back 3000’ back to Two Medicine Lake…OR

You get down there and bushwhack out two miles of 15’ high vegetation till you meet up with the upper Nyack trail and five more miles to a camp, then another 15 miles out the Nyack Valley to the Middle Fork of the Flathead, OR

Up 3000’ to Cutbank Pass which would have been 17 miles out to Two Medicine.

I know that read like a car stereo manual but it’s as straight forward a description that I could give.

Pat came to my apartment to stay and debate out methods, set on picking one or the other.

We sat looking at each other and not wanting to pick from the quiver of awful options.

We actually still had no plans set when we woke up at 6am.

“What are doing”? I asked?

Dunno…what do you want to do?

Dunno…

Wanna flip a coin?

Sure…

So, Pat flipped a two Pence piece that oddly enough was sitting on my table in which I haven’t a clue where it came from but at 6am, you just flip the coin. You don’t ask questions.

Three flips, landed on the “squiggly thing” twice. This meant we camp and make it a two day endeavor…

So, obviously at the last moment we decided we were going to hike in and out in the same day.

Uh…6000’ feet elevation gain, 6000’ elevation loss.

14 hours later, we were done. Never to go back again.

If you ever ponder this, Stop It.

Go somewhere else. Fast.

We caught a boat ride from a friend across Two Medicine lake covered in fog but calm as glass.

It was truly an amazing sight.

It was a great way to start a terrible death march.

A hard frost had settled on the valley the night before leaving frozen leaves and visible breathe.

Two moose hung out a mile above the north shore of Two Medicine Lake.

They were not too happy to have us push past. One started to follow me.

When in doubt, NEVER mess with Moose.

They kill way more people a year then Grizzly Bears. They just freak out and stomp on you till you are mush.

The north shore trail was posted for Grizzly activity, so we made a whole lot of noise at this early hour.

The walk up towards the Dawson Pass was great, cool and the lighting was amazing.

When we arrived at pass, we also saw about 10 bighorn sheep.

Two even butted heads silhouetted by a sea of mountains.

Pretty beer commercial of them.

Above Dawson Pass is a shoulder of Flinch Peak and from there extends a flat almost goat trail that leads four miles along the continental divide.

Most hikers enjoy the views as they stroll effortlessly along the spine of the continent.

We, instead surveyed for a good route down to two arbitrary bodies of water at the bottom of a truly enormous valley.

As we sat enjoying a snack and making decisions, two CDT hikers passed by.

A French Canadian guy was hiking with an older fella with a ZZ TOP beard and a Mountain Hardwear kilt.

Off course he did, why wouldn’t he?

We exchanged plans. They told us that they would watch as we descended the slope.

If they saw anything catastrophic, they would hit the emergency button their SPOT locator. We hoped they would not have to do it, but always nice to have people watching out for you.

The whole time I planned this trip, I figured that I would have two nasty marshes to jump into if I waited too long into the season.

In hind sight I think we stumbled into the best possible scenario.

There is a series of cliffs that a month earlier would still have been running water and making everything slick along with steep.

Instead we found a perfect set of cliffs.

Every time we looked further down slope it seemed they we would cliff out and when we got to there, it was a manageable way to continue.

Thus we dubbed them the illusion cliffs.

The brush on the other hand was horrendous.

Fifteen foot high alder bushes interspersed with prickly whatnot.

Pat forgot to wear convertible pants. So, when it got nasty, I tossed on my pant legs then threw the gaiters over them.

He is an animal, but his knees were on fire throughout the whole bushwhack and what he said was way into the night.

We plodded though a thick curtain of brush for about an hour.

We tripped a few times over invisible downed trees and Pat even bent one of his trekking poles.

After a while you pretty much lose your mind.

It’s impossible for me to explain the weirdness that ensues when you have been being ripping through mile after mile of plant material.

You have to constantly be yelling so you don’t surprise a bear…

Bushwhacking is a part of this project that never ceases to seem odd.

Why on earth are we doing this?

We are so far beyond the middle of nowhere, screaming and hollering and somewhere , somehow…

We find this fun. We are happy.

Happy screaming at the top of our lungs such inane things as “Bob Saget” and my uncle’s friend Joe Buckles name.

Or, how about Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes like “get on the choppa”!!

Odd…

Well, eventually we popped out of the brush into a huge marsh.

But, like I said, it was perfect. It was all dry.

It would have been awful, almost impossible earlier in the season.

So, I put on my water shoes and Pat his Croc’s and we started plodded through foot deep mud enroute to the lakes.

Nasty as it may have been, it worked.

I hopped in the upper lake which was so much nicer than I had ever expected.

I stayed in my swimming trucks and we just pushed down the creek to the lower lake, and hopped in.

Pat has the luxury to pick the lake he wants to swim, since he is just along to make sure I don’t kill myself.

He picked the pleasant lower one with a great view of Mt. Tinkham in the distance.

We enjoyed a short 30 minute lunch, swim, water pumping, video filming and pixie sticking….

Huh?

Pixie Sticking?

Well, no matter how much water you drink to rehydrate, you are also losing salts.

So, we bring Gatorade mix with us.

There is simply too much time involved in mixing it, so we just pour the powder in our mouths and wash it down with a swig of water.

Like eating pixies sticks.

More or less, it works.

I kinda like it, really.

I can’t express how disheartening it was to sit by these lovely little lakes looking up at the ridge we had to regain.

We just did it. Why did we have to walk back?

I mean, REALLY?

Uh…

I actually see trips like this as being a good analogy for life.

I can’t just build a house.

I can’t not do it.

You just, pick yourself up and keep going.

Hard as it may be, you gotta just do it.

So, we headed out towards the task at hand.

We kept trying to figure out where the trail was…

Somewhere above that grey strip of rock. A few hundred feet above it.

Did I mention…Uh…

Also, I can’t find my bear spray.

Yeah…

I couldn’t find it.

I hopped the creek and went back looking for it, but no luck.

So, off to the thickest of the thick and now… also defenseless.

So, I stayed that much closer to Pat who had the sole bear spray.

So, We Yelled LOUDER AND LOUDER!!!! BOB SAGET!!!! JOE BUCKLES!!! HEY OH!!!!

The brush seemed a bit better headed up hill for some reason, but I think it was that we were just over it.

Climb over a down tree, Check.

Walk directly into Alder bushes and brush seven feet above our heads…Check.

Just, HOME!

The rock and cliffs though seemed well worse headed up hill.

Loose scree, talus slopes, the illusion cliffs…

Onward!!

All a race with time as we just simply didn’t have that much daylight left.

At one point, when I was just beat and staring uphill at Pat whose young legs carry him faster up the steep slopes, he yelled out.

TRAIL!!

Pixie Sticks or not, I had started getting cramps in my hamstrings. His shouts of joy pushed me uphill and on to the trail though.

We had an hour and half before complete darkness. We had to drop 3000 feet in 4 ½ miles…And we had to haul it.

Dig for that extra energy that really doesn’t exist. Just the thought of missing our friend’s boat pick up spurred us on. We didn’t want to do even more miles and in the dark.

So, ONWARD!!!

As in hurry as we may have been, we had to stop for a couple pictures on Dawson Pass.

Not often are you sitting on top of a huge pass at sunset.

Normally you make sure you aren’t stuck in that situation.

So, you have to click a few. Thanks Pat, for making me stop a minute.

Amazing View!

So, we ripped it out. Somewhere along the way we decided that we were going to scream like the guys selling beer at a baseball game.

Instead of beer and peanuts, we were selling Tepid Huckleberries…

Don’t ask. I don’t know.

So, as we bombed down the pass towards Two Medicine Lake, we were selling “TEPID HUCKS” in our best Brooklyn accent. I bet the poor people staying at No Name Campground hadn’t a clue of what these two Looney’s we yelling about…

But we liked it.

Got to the boat dock at dark, picked up and by our friend and whisked away to a grilled cheese sandwich and cold lemonade…. Well, and a beer.

But, oh the Lemonade!!!

To Life!

So how about you? Have you ever had to do something that you knew you were gonna hate, but then it ended up being pretty good? If so, tell me about it in the comments. (Did I mention I’ve got a new commenting system *hint *hint.)

Filed Under: Lake Jumps, Photography - Olympus OMD EM5 Tagged With: Bighorn Sheep, Bob Saget, bushwhack, continental divide east, continental divide west, Dawson Pass, Dawson Pitamakin, glacier national park, Montana, moose, Mt. Flinch, Mt. Tinkham, nyack creek, Nyack Lakes, Olympus OMD EM5, pixie sticking, two medicine

Aurice Lake Grizzlies – The Passing of a Legend

August 21, 2012 By Marc the Glacier Explorer Leave a Comment

Photo by Chris Lombardi

Aurice Lake and Two Medicine Pass will be etched in my brain for the rest of my days.

Where were you when the last tragedy of your life struck? At home, at work, stuck in traffic?

Poetically when my Uncle Marty and outdoor mentor passed away, I was high atop Two Medicine Pass.

I’ve been wondered lately…Where exactly I was at the moment he died.

Photo by Chris Lombardi

Was I sleeping in my tent at Cobalt Lake?

Photo by Chris Lombardi

Was I trudging up the pass with my heart pounding in my chest?

Photo by Chelsea McCann

Was I sitting on the continental divide looking off at a sea of peaks?

Photo by Chris Lombardi

Or, was it the exact moment when we surprised a grizzly bear sow and cub above Aurice Lake?
Personally, I like that one.

Behind Mt. Rockwell is a sidestep route to Aurice Lake.

It was a perfect day if not a tad hot.

Pat, Chelsea, Jess, Chris and I ambled along high above the Park Creek valley.

We pushed along the route of wild flowers, bear grass and burnt trees; waiting to boot ski down a scree slope to the lake edge.

Photo by Chelsea McCann

As we rounded the bend, it sounded like someone slipped down the steep slope of vegetation.

Instead, it was the two bears churning soil and huffing as they tore up the hillside towards the vertical rock walls.

Photo by Chelsea McCann

We could see the Aurice Lake below, but couldn’t see where the mother grizzly had secured her cub.

We knew there wasn’t more than 200 feet of vegetation above us before it became sheer cliffs.

So, they couldn’t be any more than that short distance from us.

Photo by Chelsea McCann

Never a comforting feeling and certainly not a situation you need to continue pursuing.

She deserved her peace.

This is one thing I’ve learned through the years.

Just because we feel it logical to traipse around in the complete middle of nowhere doesn’t mean the wildlife should have to suffer.

Photo by Chris Lombardi

Sometimes you let a good mother alone.

She did exactly what she was supposed to do.

At that point, what makes it ok to continue pushing her even further from her comfort zone.

She had found a perfect little niche far away from the main human traffic.

She’s teaching her cub to eat natural foods instead of going the easy route of human garbage and opportunism.

She deserves that peace that she sought.

Photo by Chris Lombardi

This is the moment that I hope signifies when my uncle left this world.

He began all of my travels, my love affair with far away, wild places.

He taught me to camp in bear country.

How to appreciate being a moment in time in a place in which humans are only a temporary visitor.

He taught me that I’m a part of this world, not the only or most important thing in it.

That when you are extended the opportunity to exist in such amazing places, you are then responsible for taking care of them.

Humility in the face of something well larger than us.

Photo by Chelsea McCann

He may have never known that this is what he taught me.

He knew that he was the spark that sent me exploring the amazing pockets of the world that we have left.

I told him that, often.

He was the person that introduced me to the greatest exercise program in the world.

Hiking.

He knew that he had totally transformed a heavyset city boy who was struggling with direction and identity.

He knew, but it’s always nice to tell someone again.

What they mean to you.

What they taught you.

What you do that makes you think of them.

Photo by Chris Lombardi

So, Uncle Marty. You changed my life and helped me live so much bigger than I ever thought possible.

By just being you.

You were a genuine man, an adventurous traveler and an absolute character.

I never made it to Aurice Lake that day, but I will be back…

Today was for the bears and something bigger than me.
To Life

Filed Under: Lake Jumps, Miscellaneous Tagged With: Aurice Lake, Bears, Cobalt Lake, continental divide east, continental divide west, glacier national park, Grizzlies, Montana, Olympus OMD EM5, Tribute, Uncle Marty

Low Light/Night Photography – Olympus OMD EM5

July 31, 2012 By Marc the Glacier Explorer 1 Comment

Its obvious why Glacier National Park is an amazing place to take photos during the day.

From sunrise to sunset the vivid mountains, lakes and streams are constantly evolving with the changes in light.

Night photography is widely overlooked in the park, since most peole are either indoors or asleep.

The park is kind of a scary place to just roam in the darkness.

The dark clear nights in Glacier National Park give the Olympus OMD EM5 a perfect test piece for low light and night photography.

Later summer the skies get smokey from fires west of the park.

But, early summer skies are one of the most amazing things I’ve ever witnessed.

The high resolution screen is amazing to see the photos on, you can see more detail than on my laptop.

My friends came to visit and camped in the park giving me a perfect fire, low light backdrop to work on.

Many Glacier Hotel is one the most beautiful hotels I’ve ever seen. Its also very busy and because of that you never really get good pictures. Its impossible to not have some random couple in your photographs.

I got the chance to stay the night in Many Glacier Hotel when my sister in law and her friend came to visit.

I waited till all the visitors went to bed and I roamed the halls with my Slik tripod. I set it up in every hallway and lobby.

It was an amazing opportunity.

Thanks Mary and Laura!!

The Hotel has so much character to capture.

The Lucerne Room was lit up but vacant.

I got some photos that even the famous Glacier National Park singer/story teller David Walburn might be interested in.

David, I’ll get these shots off to you soon.

This was the first night photograph that I tried to capture.

Its just the St. Mary Grocery Store sign but focusing on it allowed me to pull night stars all around.

This is Abigale.

She finally stood still for long enough to allow herself to silhouetted against Waterton Lake.

The moon was setting one night right behind the continental divide in Two Medicine.

I don’t understand why the moon moves so fast in Montana but you can literally watch it move. This was 30 seconds later.

And, 30 seconds later…

Gosh, Montana…How do you do it?

Lets ponder it over two of Brian Roys and Matt Wibbenmeyer’s homebrew porters.

This is my bid for the new “Car Port Brewery” bottle lable.

What do you think? Tell me in the comments.

To Life,

Marc

Filed Under: Photography - Olympus OMD EM5 Tagged With: Car Port Brewary, continental divide east, David Walburn, glacier national park, Many Glacier Hotel, Montana, Night/Low Light Photogrpahy, Olympus OMD EM5, Photography

Ipasha and Margaret Lakes – Good Livin’

July 24, 2012 By Marc the Glacier Explorer 14 Comments

Margaret and Ipasha Lakes delivered beyond our expectation which is a tall order.

I’ve been here and working on this project for a decade now and that gives you a long time to create expectations. This area truly awed us.

My trusty off trail companion Pat and I saw a three day weekend of hot, sunny days and decided to pounce. We hauled it in through 85 degree weather to Glenns Lake Foot Campground and posted up for two nights.

We even ended up with a little grotto to rinse off just by our campsite.
In the morning over oatmeal we decided a little whisky in our coffee couldn’t hurt anything.

Aside from ruining our already lousy coffee we felt no ill effects.

We were the first people heading up trail in the morning which brought us face to face with many a spider web, some still being staffed. Be sure to keep your mouth closed.

There was a great patch of grizzly bear hair on one of the DNA traps. That’s one of the best samples I’ve seen through the years.
Above Mokowanis Lake we had to leave trail and continue up valley.

The heat was filling the waterfalls to capacity. Above those falls was the hidden treasure we had waited eons for.

On the way we did some filming using my new Olympus OMD EM5. I’m so happy with how small but powerful it is. I hope you enjoy what it’s been producing too.

Margaret Lake simply put, punched us directly in the mouth.

There was grizzly bear digs everywhere, so we were far from alone.

The only animals we really saw though were a group of Bighorn Sheep up on the side of Mount Merrit.

We decided it would be better to push up to Ipasha Lake so we could take our time back at Margaret.

Nothing but an hour of alder bushes and crazy thick ground cover in-between us and # 153 or # 16..

Depends on if you are counting up or down, the math gets confusing now a days.

Ipasha was a beautiful body of water.

Cold and blue with chunks of ice still hanging on the walls of Ipasha Peak.

Clouds were collecting around Mt. Cleveland and seemed to be coming from the north. We decided that it might be a better idea to scoot back to Margaret Lake so we didn’t get stuck any further from camp if the sky opened up.

Comparing the terribly thick alder we just pushed through to the cold water of Margaret Lake, we decided it was worth trying to walk the lake.

There was a small shelf of rock that we walked which kept us out of the schwack, but it was SO COLD!! We couldn’t stay in the lake any longer than it took to find even the smallest little beach of rocks. We stopped and freaked out letting our ice cube toes melt back to flesh. Then repeated the process over and over.

It was better than the alder. Virtually anything is better than the alder…Trust me.

Pat pointed out while we were walking the lake that technically I had now been in Margaret Lake.

While that was true, there is no way that could suffice. I wanted to go swimming.

There’s an amazing point of rock that juts out into Margaret Lake but to get to it you have to ford the outlet of the lake.

The creek was moving way to quick so we actually had to wade across the lake portion so we didn’t get swept away.

It was well worth it.

The weather had calmed down, the sun came back out and we had a perfect spot all to ourselves to take in the majesty of this seldom visited area. So many remote peaks that I’ve had to imagine this whole time.

Mt. Merrit one of the six 10,000’ peaks to our left and way off to the north was Mt. Cleveland the highest point in the park. Ipasha Peak, Mt. Kipp, Pyramid Peak and the Lithoid Cusp ringed us while we jumped in water like we were in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Note to those reading, you have to be careful jumping off cliffs in life in general much less in this remote a place. Normally I just get a shore to walk into, but we had this perfect little point so we had to take advantage. Just be careful out there folks.

Sick shots though, huh? Thanks OMD EM5!

We had to eventually head out, but it was hard.

This was GOOD LIVIN’. I had tried to get to this spot for years.

I’ve even been snowed out trying to get here with my brother about five years ago.

The weather could literally been anything and it was calm, warm and inviting.

We must have been really good to a puppy or picked up the right amount of litter or something. We did not deserve how good the living was at this moment.

Can’t stay here though.

So we pushed on towards camp, undoing all of our efforts.

We headed back down the headwall towards those amazing waterfalls and a cup of red wine in camp.

The next day we more hot, sunny weather and time to kill. We did some filming at Cosley Lake.

We ate jelly beans and floated around like porpoises.

Eventually you always have to do the push out to the trailhead.

Hot is great when you have lakes everywhere, but open meadows and uphill is less pleasant.

Luckily through the years I had met the Belly River Rangers and they were able to scrounge up two cold glasses of lemonade before we headed uphill to the car.

It was a hot slog up the last few miles to the Chief Mountain Trailhead

Spectacular trip. One of the epic ones.

In moments like this trip you just wish you could snap your fingers and extend it to all your loved ones and everyone who can’t make it to places like these. I felt like this trip was a gift and its always more fun to give a gift then receive one.

Alas we have to just enjoy the moments we are given, and be thankful for them.

TO GOOD LIVIN’!!
And…TO LIFE!!

P.S. – I’d love to hear what you guys think about this post and Glacier Explorer so far. Please let me know in the comments below.

Filed Under: Lake Jumps, Photography - Olympus OMD EM5 Tagged With: belly river, Bighorn Sheep, Chief Mountain, continental divide east, Cosley Lake, glacier national park, Glenns Lake, Ipasha Lake, Ipasha Peak, Lithoid Cusp, Margaret Lake, Montana, Mt. Cleveland, Mt. Kipp, Mt. Merrit, Olympus OMD EM5

Cutbank Bear Grass – Olympus OMD EM5

July 17, 2012 By Marc the Glacier Explorer Leave a Comment

On the eastern front of Glacier National Park is a remote valley known for Grizzly bears, flowers and the mountain that splits the continent.

Cutbank is a beautiful, mostly flat creek valley draining the first trickles of the Atlantic Ocean. From deep in the Cutbank valley is Triple Divide Peak which you can pour water on top of and it runs to the Pacific, the Atlantic and Hudson Bay. The exact spot in which the continent gives way in all directions towards the ocean.

What I found as I walked in this amazing place was Bear Grass.

Bear grass is a beautiful white bulb on top of a hollow but stiff stalk. They only bloom every 5 or 7 years approximately.

So sometimes the summer really doesn’t have much bear grass.

Other Summers its AMAZING!!

This seems like one of those summers.

The Olympus OMD EM5 and a light weight Slik tripod allowed me to get the best pictures of bear grass I have ever taken in my life!!

Currently I only have the 12-50 kit lens, but the Macro function on this thing is ridiculous!

I can’t believe I’m getting shots like these.

I’m very happy with the cameras ability to focus on exactly what you want to pop with detail.

I was also able to get this great blur shot of the creek.

The dramatic effect has allowed for a dream like, stylized photo. I’m completely enamored by this art setting.

But with a camera this good, you need to be capturing reality in its finest moments

Have any of you photographers out there experienced any times when nature offered you some unexpected great shots? If so, tell me about it in the comments below…

To Life,

Marc

Filed Under: Photography - Olympus OMD EM5 Tagged With: Atlantic Ocean, Bear Grass, camera, continental divide east, Cutbank Creek Valley, glacier national park, Hudson Bay, Montana, Olympus OMD EM5, Pacific Ocean, Photography, Slik tripod, Triple Divide Peak

I got a new camera! Olympus OMD EM5

June 18, 2012 By Marc the Glacier Explorer 6 Comments

In attempts to document the Waterton Glacier Lake Jumping Project I have purchased the Olympus OMD EM5.

It is the most high tech Micro Four Thirds camera that Olympus makes. It might very well be the lightest, most powerful and versatile camera ever made. Or at least from my perspective.

I needed a camera that has

Multiple quality but compact interchangeable lenses,
A large sensor,
HD video
Super durable exterior and hopefully weather resistant
Small enough to take on a multiple day off trail mountaineering adventure.
I wanted the quality of a good DSLR but the size of a large point and shoot.

Enter the Olympus OMD EM5.

Until now to photograph extreme outdoor adventure either meant being bound to a sub par point and shoot camera or being burdened by the size and weight of a good DSLR.

When I tried to transition over to a DSLR, I realized that it would both hold me back with its unwieldy size and rob me of the opportunity to access it quickly and keep moving.

To be opportunistic when hiking, I like to keep my camera in a case that I strap to the shoulder strap of my backpack. This allows me to take the camera out, capture the shot I want and not lose time. Photographs or not, I’m often in a race with daylight. I can’t afford to stop, remove my pack, get my DSLR out, etc…

This new super camera had to be powerful and it had to be small!!

I got my new EM5 two days ago and I LOVE IT! It’s amazing! I believe it’s the exact camera that I was looking for. Luckily I was looking now and not a few years ago. Welcome to 2012.
So, the photos that you will be seeing in the blog/stories will be taken with the OMD EM5 if the post happens from this point on…June 3rd, 2012.

I have the luxury to test out one of the most technologically advanced cameras in history in one of the most amazing places on earth.

Many photography bloggers are super excited about the technological powerhouse aspects of the EM5. Most of these people would also celebrate the small stature of the camera, but they will still be using it in a studio or whatever setting they normally photograph.

I trust most EM5 users can’t truly take advantage of the small size of the camera as much as I can. I will drag it up one mountain, down another and through the woods to Grandma’s house. I am going to put it through its paces with stills and video. Let’s find out what they baby can produce.

So keep stopping by here at www.glacierexplorer.com to see what this brand new tech marvel can do in wild Montana!

Wolf Tracks and Burts Bees

Filed Under: Photography - Olympus OMD EM5 Tagged With: camera, DSLR, Montana, Olympus OMD EM5, Photos, Videos, wild

Goat Lake – The right around the corner adventure

February 1, 2012 By Marc the Glacier Explorer Leave a Comment

Some days during the Waterton Glacier Lake Jumping Project have been really, really tough. More difficult physically than anything I’ve ever done in my entire life. These endeavors normally end in a mind blowing paradise, though.

Some are aweful. Bogs filled with stagnant, stinky water with leeches swimming around. These tend to be pretty close though. In life you pay one way or the other.

Sometimes, like in Goldie Locks…They are just right.

An off trail trip to a destination that you know is hardly ever visited. It’s also a pleasant adventure. A logical route that is neither the world’s worst bushwhack nor a simple on trail hike.

Enter, Goat Lake.

Goat Lake is a spectacular spot tucked into a pocket in Goat Mountain. It has always been intriguing to me. Its so close to the main day use areas around St. Mary and Rising Sun, but no one ever goes there.

I got the chance to enjoy this trip with two good friends.
Pat who has been on more of the top end, ridiculous, off trail endeavors than anyone else.

Chelsea who has been a huge supporter of the Waterton Glacier Lake Project through the years. I was very proud to have her along.
She was really excited too, and in the end she did spectacular. I was glad to be able to provide such an appropriate adventure to someone that cares so much.

This was one of the only day endeavors that I had left.

It was a perfect late August day. Sun was high in the sky but not oppressively hot. Late enough in the season that the heavy late season snows were gone and the waterfall chute was dry enough to be safe.

We branched off of the Otakomi Lake trail and headed up an avalanche slope towards Goat Mountain.

We had to cross Rose creek to get to the avalanche slope that started the off trail portion of the hike.

We followed the open slope and pushed up towards the mountains above.

I’m in there somewhere. It was pretty thick but nothing we have not dealt with before.

Looking into the Goat Lake hanging basin

We had to side step for a while through loose scree, chunky talus and off angle bear grass clumps.

Talus slopes filled with wildflowers

We fed into the falls that drain the lake and found a nice game trail through a few shelves. Once we gained the hanging valley with the lake in it the views were remarkable.

It’s a mountain that I’ve looked at a thousand times, but once you are up in the bowls of the mountain you never know what things will look like. Everything was very windswept with nothing but very low lying sub alpine firs.

Luckily there was a route around the trees though, since sub alpine firs will tear your clothes to shreds. I guess evolution of a three foot tree that lives in 80 mph winds is to become stiff as a rock. Avoid them as much as possible.

So, we kept to the left of the stand and pushed further into the basin. We gained a few rises and eventually dropped into a paradise like lake bowl.

Two thousand foot cliffs on all sides but one, the only way in or out. We all dropped pack and hopped in. Lake 148 for me, about 40 for Pat and one great first for Chelsea. Great day.

Lunch was enjoyed and the sun kept us warm.

Often the most unfortunate part of these lake excursions is that we tend to be there for 15 minutes. Hours and days to get places you will never be again and in the end you spend 10 minutes calculatedly hopping in an obscure body of water. Often in very unpleasant weather conditions.

This day was for enjoying. Joking, laughing and simply making the most of the gift we earned.

Eventually we meandered our way back out in reverse.

We took a bit more wooded exit instead of the original avalanche slope.

Chelsea and I waded across Rose Creek to get back on trail.

Pat chose a bit more adventurous route. He chose to cross a huge downed tree, 15 feet above the creek.

Looking back up valley it all made sense. The lake is up in that hanging valley on the left. If you ever go, I hope you get as amazing a day as we did.

When we got back we enjoyed burritos from Bad Frog Cantina and played some bean bag tossing game(corn hole) back in St. Mary.

Great trip. Thanks Pat, Chelsea and great weather. Onward to the next lake.

And if you enjoyed this, there are plenty more stories. Also if you are interested in what I’m doing, why I’m doing it and how to help out Camp Mak A Dream, check out my website www.glacierexplorer.com

Filed Under: Lake Jumps Tagged With: bushwhack, continental divide east, glacier national park, Goat Lake, goat mountain, Montana, otakomi lake trail, otakomi trail, rocky mountains

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...

I’m going camping for a bit. In Antarctica…

The Floral Park Saga Part 2 – Gem Lake

The Floral Park Saga – Part 1

Jump Stats

To Be Continued…

Nyack Lakes – Into the Abyss – Lakes #155 & #156

Aurice Lake Grizzlies – The Passing of a Legend

Low Light/Night Photography – Olympus OMD EM5

Ipasha and Margaret Lakes – Good Livin’

P.S. – I’d love to hear what you guys think about this post and Glacier Explorer so far. Please let me know in the comments below.

Cutbank Bear Grass – Olympus OMD EM5

I got a new camera! Olympus OMD EM5

Goat Lake – The right around the corner adventure

This project is for charity…

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About Marc

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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...

Jump Stats

To Be Continued…

P.S. – I’d love to hear what you guys think about this post and Glacier Explorer so far. Please let me know in the comments below.

This project is for charity…

Get Glacier Explorer in your email box!

About Marc

Featured on…

168 lakes. ZERO left to go!

Friends

Sponsors

Blog Categories

Recent Posts

Post Archives

Site Navigation

Most Popular Tags

Friends

Sponsors

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...