Lake Ellen Wilson Part 1

June 2019.
I spent my 29th birthday in Montana backpacking through a very small portion of Glacier National Park. Decided on a 20 mile hike to Gunsight Pass.

This hike had many “firsts.” First time hiking through snow with zero snow gear. First encounter with a bear. First time seeing a moose. First time sliding down a mountain. First time getting hit in the head with a rock. First time hitching a ride and the driver was from my hometown. I could probably go on.

I arrived in Kalispell at Glacier National Airport. My friend (now boyfriend) Donald was already there and we took a Lyft with, Sam, a very exuberant adopted Korean that lived in Kalispell his whole life. Sam was the first to introduce us to bear grass. A sprawling, patchy perennial that sprouts long stemmed white flowers. He was so excited as he pointed them out along the road because they only bloom every few years and usually not at such low elevations. It was a topic throughout the hike and his excitement was passed to me.

We took a Lyft because there are no shuttles or buses that run from the airport to the park. They want you to rent a car. Sometimes there’s a free shuttle that runs from the hotel next to the airport, but no public transit was available until the next week. So, we were left with our feet and hitchhiking.

We arrived through the west entrance of Glacier NP and stayed in Apgar Campground next to Lake Macdonald the first night. Donald and I hadn't really discussed details in advance so we needed to take stock in our items. We both prioritize food and love to eat, so we ended up with a little extra food for our 2.5 day hike....

Our food mound

Teehee. Whoops. This is not typical but not unheard of either. Donald and I both have experience in backpacking and can pack accordingly when needed. But it was a shorter trip and my birthday so we decided to indulge. I've been trying to use my dehydrator to make my own meals instead of buying freeze-dried packages because they pack lighter and hydrate faster. I let Donald use the dehydrator and he made a yummy sweet potato paste that we would turn into our morning porridge.

Because there are Grizzlies roaming the park (~800 of them), you are required to hang your food, toiletries and even fuel (fuel was new) in a bear bin or Kevlar bag.  There is a designated food poll for you to hang your stuff and a food prep/eating area at each site.  You can only eat in one area to contain the potential food spills and scents to one area. Don’t want any visitors!

But really, we are the visitors. This is grizzly bear territory and they are free to roam. And right now, just after winter, they are active and hungry. But bears don't want to eat you. They'll usually scatter away if they hear you coming. Either way, everyone recommends bear spray and we got some. To be held on your belt at all times. One store, the only store, Glacier Outfitters, will rent you almost any gear needed including bear spray. Basically a large pepper spray.

We decided on this trail because it had both beginning and endpoints along the "Going to the Sun Road" that cuts through the park. The trailhead was 6 miles from camp and we were 7 days too early for the shuttles. We ended up walking for 15 minutes before we got picked up by an older man and his two adult daughters. The daughters were visiting from Colorado and had spent a lot of time in the park with their father. They would randomly drop their finger on the map and go. We gave our thanks and began our hike at a late 12:30pm.

Yes, we started past noon for a 10 mile hike. But, we figured since it didn't get dark till 10pm we had plenty of time. Which we did.

So we began the hike at Sprague Creek and hiked 4 miles through dense forest with lots of lush ground cover and burnt Pines from the fire a few years prior.

You don't really have an opening until 4.5 miles in when you can see the valley. You can see your trail up ahead to Sperry Chalet that has a killer view and a roaring waterfall in the distance. They are rebuilding since the original Sperry Chalet burnt down in 2017 when a forest fire went through the park. Since you are not allowed to camp or stay in the chalet, most people just turn back but we pushed on another 4 miles to Lake Ellen Wilson.

We hit our first patch of snow a few miles after the Chalet.

We knew we could be encountering snow. In late June, they still had snow falling just a week before we got there. They were still in winter permitting season meaning they were only letting one group per campsite at a time. Ranger Doug, that issued our permit, told us we were probably the first to be camping at the lake this season and would have the whole place to ourselves. No one seemed to really know what the conditions were like and if the pass was actually passable. So he issued our permit for two nights at the lake just in case we got up there and decided it was too dangerous to hike through.

We passed more patches of snow and some beautiful purple mountains.

Eventually you round a corner and come into the bowl of the valley where Lake Ellen Wilson lies.

There were probably 4-5 snow patches we had to cross which we were excited about but also made the last 2 miles that much harder. We didn't have cramp ons but thankfully rented poles that were much needed and very useful.

When you don't have spikes or crampons to give you traction, you have to dig your boots into the snow for stability, doubling/quadrupling your steps. Your poles act as extra limbs to give you more stability and arms can get tired from thrusting them into the ground. By this time in the day, the snow was a little slushy and it wasn't that steep so it wasn't terrible. But it was still tiring.

We were enjoying the amazing scenery around us but I was ready to make camp. Day 1 of any hike is strenuous as your body reacquaints itself with the weight of your pack (for me at least). And since we had a late morning I think that energy carried into the rest of the day. This was me an hour earlier..

chillin hard

Once we made it to camp, I was ecstatic and awestruck. The scenery was beautiful. We were surrounded by waterfalls from melting snow on walls above us. The streams fed into a deep blue lake with patches of forest pines and bear grass.

A big snow patch crept its way closer to the lake and ran right through the campsite that made getting to the pit toilet a little inconvenient.

The path to the campsites blocked by snow

We thought all the campsites were covered with snow so we pitched the tent next to the lake. Looks great. But we ended up moving to a dry, flat campsite we found.

Then we made dinner: freeze dried chili mac, spicy veggie soup we prepped prior then added ramen noodles and beef jerky :) Dark chocolate covered almonds for dessert.

A great way to spend my birthday.
We stayed up reveling at the scenery and how bright the sky stayed until 11pm.
Then we made our way to the tent to finally lay horizontal.

A very good day.