We were scheduled for two boat rides and a hike, so we got up at 5:30 am, quickly dressed and drove to the Many Glacier Hotel. This area is closed to the general public unless you have a reservation for an activity based out of the Many Lodge area, or a reservation for a stay at the hotel. Not knowing how any construction might affect our drive time, and knowing parking is limited, we planned extra time for our arrival. I hoped an early morning animal sighting might be the main reason for a delay, but other than going slowly due to the poor dirt road condition, we had no delays.
We backed into a parking spot near the horse corral. We made our coffee and got things together for our boat rides and hiking adventure. Walking outside and down to the waterfront we experienced really strong winds! Wow!
View from the parking lot and stairs down to the lodge and the lake. Stunning!!
The wind down at the lake was insane! No one will be renting a kayak or canoe today!
As the boat was pulling away from the dock, we saw a bear in the distance on the large hill to the right of the boat launch. He was too far to get a quality picture and we were quickly moving further away. The boat ride was express. LOL We both knew it was a fairly short ride, but thought it would be a bit more of a leisure ride. We exited the boat for about a 15 minute hike up and over a hill to a boat waiting for us on Lake Josephine.
Lake Josephine is a longer lake so this ride was longer, but still a direct “water taxi”. We learned that the hike to the Grinnell glacier just opened, but only about 2/3 or 3/4 of it. Meaning you aren’t going to get that close to the actual glacier. We weren’t going to do a strenuous hike and not receive a great glacier view. We got a partial view two years ago via the Highline Trail (our most demanding hike ever). To relive that – click here.
We chose the easier hike to Hidden Lake.
It was enjoyable – even crossing a very sensitive suspension bridge. It wasn’t high off the ground at all, but boy could it start swaying easily. There was a sign ONE person ONLY on the bridge at a time.
Made it to Hidden Lake. Very peaceful. We had a bite to eat while taking in the beauty.
This tree caught my eye. What the heck? I called it an elephant tree! LOL
We had to wait at least 45 minutes for the first boat to take people back to the hotel, but when it arrived no one was allowed to board!
They were experiencing mechanical issues and didn’t feel it was safe to board passengers. We would have to hike back, but they would refund everyone for half of the round trip ticket price. Someone asked if we could just hike to where the first boat dropped us off. They got word that the boat would wait for us there. We started off with a sizable group. We let the young’uns pass us right away, but couldn’t really stop for pictures or we’d get way behind. The trail was narrow with high vegetation on both sides. I tried to keep the last person in my sight and Barry in sight behind me. Then this appeared on our trail…
Now we’d have to run in hopes of making the boat. It wasn’t worth that! I didn’t sign up for a trail run, and I know Barry wasn’t into hurrying like we already had been doing. I mentioned that since we’ve already walked most of the 3.3 miles just to get to that boat, that we might as well slow down and enjoy the rest of the hike. He agreed. Duh! He probably was thinking that the whole time! LOL
We were so glad we did the entire hike back because the last mile was definitely the most enjoyable all along the edge of the lake, and was even a paved trail!
Another “elephant tree”!
As soon as we curved around by the hotel the winds were incredibly fierce. I had to turn away and close my eyes a lot-especially wearing contacts! It was a wind tunnel across the lake towards the hotel! I had to go to the ticket shack to get our refund for the return boat ride that we didn’t get.
It took all I had to open the door of the lodge enough to get inside! We checked out the gift shop, went up the staircase to head back to Sadie.
Since we left our bed(s) down when we drove over this morning, we took advantage of it and took a nap, and had a late lunch before heading back to the campground.
And then for me, the BEST part of the day that was totally unexpected…
Do you see what I see?
We were never out of the car, but we did move along the road ever so slowly with him!
