Hidden Lake and Sunrift Gorge

Went for a run towards Johns Lake this morning.  Started on the cedar trail for a bit and then headed towards the lake.  I was pretty worried about bears since I was all by myself, running, and had no bear spray. Probably not the smartest but I wanted to maintain the shape I was in for entirety of this trip.

Run: Johns Lake

Trails Used:  Avalanche Campground to Cedar Trail, to Avalanche Lake Trail to Johns Lake

Distance: 4.91 miles

Difficulty: Easy
Overall average: 5.5 mph
Overall Time: 0 hrs, 53 mins
Total Ascent: 856 ft.

 

Started the morning off at Lake McDonald Lodge for breakfast.  Save your money and go somewhere good when you leave the National Park system.  This makes three for three of yucky meals in the National Parks!  This was by far the worst.

 

 

 

 

They had an inedible, rubbery, barely warm breakfast buffet.  Luckily, they let the kids onto our ticket ($13.70 each) so we didn't have to pay for them too.  Then I would have felt really bad.  It is a shame since the lodge itself has a nice ambiance. 

 After breakfast we headed out on the bus for Logan Pass.

 

The views 

 

from the top of Logan Pass are outstanding.  This mountain feature is called The Wall:

 

It was a cool and windy day to do the Hidden Lake overlook but we decided to go ahead with it.

 

 

The kids had a great time hiking through the snow, sliding on their butts, and throwing snowballs at each other.  It almost made them forget they were hiking.

 

We saw many mountain goats.

 

 

 

They didn't seem to find it worrisome that all these people were up there climbing around.  I got some great photos of everyone around the goats.

 

 

Overall, the trail was wet, snow packed, and busy.  The view was nice

 

but not too different from what we can see in Colorado so I don't know if I'd recommend the trail or not.  There are so many cool trails to do in Glacier I would personally opt for another.

 

Hike: Hidden Lake Overlook

Trails Used:  Hidden Lake Overlook Trail

Distance: 2.85 miles

Difficulty: Moderate (it is tough walking through the snow)
Overall average: 1.5 mph
Overall Time: 1 hr, 53min
Total Ascent: 680 ft.

When we were done hiking we headed down the east side of the pass for the first time just to check some things out.  We learned that the bus that was so awesome on the west side is awful on the east.  We ended up waiting 40 minutes in the cold wind at the top of Logan Pass before we finally were able to get on a bus.  We took it to the Sun Rift Gorge stop

 

 

and walked down to the Baring Falls.

Hike: Sun Rift Gorge

Trails Used:  Baring Falls Trail

Distance: .43 miles

Difficulty: Moderate
Overall average: 2.0 mph
Overall Time: 0 hrs, 12 min
Total Ascent: 313 ft.

 

 

Had to wait another 20 minutes to catch the bus back up to Logan Pass.  On the west side it seemed like there were buses every 5 minutes.  C has still yet to figure out which way the binoculars go.

 

 When we finally made it home we had taco noodles.

We put the kids to bed and started packing everything up for the big move to the east side the next day.

Lots of good hikes for July in Breckenridge

Mohawk Lakes

Beautiful hike! We didn't make it too far due to my kiddos. I did get to see one of the falls but would have loved to do all the hike in order to see the lake and views from the top. The water was roaring! This is a hike w/ a ton of old mining equipment and cabins...historical as well as scenic.
Hike: Mohawk Lakes (w/ the family)
Trails Used: Mohawk Lakes
Distance: 1.6 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Moving average: 1.0 mph
Moving Time: 1 hrs, 34 min
Total Ascent: 904 ft.

Foxy Fox!!
I know this isn't about a hike but we had the opportunity to see 4 baby fox and their mother for the entire week right outside our door. Very cool!Baldy Mountain
We hiked partway up to Baldy Mountain behind the house and saw lots of flowers, goats, and great views!

Views of Breckenridge Ski Area

Alpine Forget-Me-Not

Marsh MarigoldPrairie CinquefoilOne Headed DaisyAlpine SunflowerDwarf CloverSandwort

Purple FringeSnowball Saxifrage Sky Pilot

Hike: Baldy Mountain (not quite to the top)
Trails Used: ski hill and up, emmett load and down
Distance: 6.66 miles
Difficulty: Difficult (Steep)
Moving average: 2.2 mph
Moving Time: 3 hrs, 01 min
Total Ascent: 2170 ft.
Iowa Mill, Boreas Pass, Down to Town, Up to House
My next hike was from Boreas Pass down to town, over to Carter Park, and back up to the house. Talk about wildflowers and aspen! I ran across some old mining equipment too!

SnailsIndian Paintbrush

Oregon Grape Holly

Rocky Mountain ColumbineFlaxWild Iris
Broadleaf Arnica
Subalpine ArnicaWild GeraniumRosePotentillaCarter Park flowersLupineRed ColumbineScarlet Gilia

Hike: To Boreas Pass, Down to Town, Up the Bike Trails
Trails Used: see above
Distance: 11.06 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Moving average: 3.1 mph
Moving Time: 3 hrs, 39 min
Total Ascent: 2432 ft. (picture doesn't include from house to Iowa Mill in the beginning)

Meadow Creek
Our next hike was a new one for everyone. We drove into Frisco and hiked from one highway exit to the next. You wouldn't have known during the hike. We were far away. At times we were in 4 ft. of snow, our feet soaking wet, and were rarely on a trail. Our guide, Rusty (a 60 year old local), told us it was the most snow he's seen in July in all of his years hiking here!

Some of the many creeks/rivers we passed, crossed, or saw:
These unique columbine were near the beginning of the hike.A major obstacle to cross w/out falling in or getting wet!The only way to get down w/out falling on your face. It was fun too!These mushrooms were growing right next to the snow in the picture above. Finally, we got past all that snow.
Of course w/ all that water we saw there were wildflowers. But not as many as you might think since the ground was still cold!  Marsh MarigoldAlpine SpringbeautyThe snow was melting in unusual undulations...Three of us climbed to the top of a pass to see the view. It was well worth the effort through all the snow.Even better, we were able to slide down on our butts afterwards!
We took a break and Rusty spotted a hard to find orchid growing all by itself.  A fairy slipperPeek a boo Mr. Elk. If only my hands and camera would work faster. I might have gotten a cool picture! It's a bit like 'Where's Waldo?'.Hike:Meadow Creek
Trails Used: Meadow Creek (that's when we were actually on a trail)
Distance: 11.85 miles
Difficulty: Moderate (except for length of hike)
Moving average: 1.5 mph (oh my god was this slow)
Moving Time: 8 hrs, 09 min
Total Ascent: 3996 ft. (picture doesn't include from house to Iowa Mill in the beginning)
Other Hikes:

House to Iowa Mill, Ski Hill, True Romance, Sally Barber, up, back to House
Distance: 5.79 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Moving average: 2.3 mph
Moving Time: 2 hrs, 33 min
Total Ascent: 1295 ft.
Boreas Pass to Iowa Mill, down to House
Distance: 5.64 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Moving average: 2.8 mph
Moving Time: 2 hrs, 02 min
Total Ascent: 1411 ft. House to Iowa Mill, Ski Hill, True Romance, Sally Barber, heart attack hill, House
Distance: 5.69 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Moving average: 2.7 mph
Moving Time: 2 hrs, 05 min
Total Ascent: 1336 ft.
House to Iowa Mill, Ski Hill, House
Distance: 3.32 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Moving average: 3.5mph
Moving Time: 56 min
Total Ascent: 726 ft.