Montana:Glacier National Park – Marching we will go

Glacier Beauty

Tirzah Hiking

Sisters

Family Time

We were in for a real treat in Glacier. The weather could not have been better as we had temperatures in the mid seventies each day. Glacier is known for it’s beauty and hiking, so we were able to enjoy both. We were able to go on three different two mile hikes with my parents, each being very unique and beautiful. We got to hike through a wet moss covered forest, hike along a flooded river through the mountains, and hike through a burned forest to a rock outcropping on Lake MacDonald. The kids were amazing as they played along the trail and kept close, for we had been warned about mountain lions and bears. Kendall even became my special helper, offering to carry Tirzah when I looked tired. Though we kept our eyes open and hopes high ,we were not able to see any large wildlife. There were birds in abundance and a few squirrels to excite us. Another thing that brought a good deal of excitement and screams to our group was the unwanted travelers we picked up in the woods, ticks. First Jodi found one on her skirt, then Chloe and Kendall found them crawling in their hair. All you had to do was hear the screams of “delight” to know what was happening. The positive thing about ticks is that everyone asks repeatedly for their hair to be brushed and if they can have yet another bath!
While we were in Glacier I noticed that the Middle Fork of the Flathead River was running. I did a little research and found out that this river was a fun stretch of class III whitewater. I thought the kids would like to do it in the tandem, so I decided to scout it first. The river was running really high and very swift. I ran through the first class III rapid of large splashy waves. I was having a great time looking at the snow capped mountains when my very buoyant creek boat stood up on end and was sucked down underwater into a swirling vortex of terror. In the canyon the water was so confused that there were these swirling vortexes all over. The rest of my time on the water was spent dodging them. What made things even more fun was they could appear anywhere at any moment. I thought it may terrify the kids to be sucked down into one, so I decided the river was not kid friendly at this level. It took me twelve minutes to kayak the three mile section to the bridge where my father and daughters were cheering me on.

High Water Boating

Tandem Hiking

Smile

Lake Time