Birdwoman Falls

Mountain Goat and Birdwoman Falls

I found three young marmots playing in the middle of the trail. 
They were so involved with each other they didn't notice me until I was right on top of them.
Yes, I'm aware that there are only two marmots in this picture.

At around 11am I reached the Chalet.  The Chalet complex has a few buildings - an outbuilding with around 8 tiny bedrooms, a two story main building, and an outhouse.  There's no phone, no lights, no motorcar, just like Gilligan's Island.  A couple was eating lunch outside on the picnic table.  I'd had more than enough of the endless wind and decided to take a break inside the Chalet.  Inside it was dark, as the only light came in through the windows.  The main room was perhaps 40' by 20'.  A door led into the kitchen, and a signup sheet telling each party their 15 minute window in the kitchen was nearby.  There was a modest stand with high priced snacks.  A family was playing cards.  Two young longhaired dudes who appeared to be in charge were sorting through books.  A refrigerator was labeled 'storage only' since there was no power to keep anything cold.  Another two guys who'd been out in the bush for a while were eating a snack at the other end of the room.

I stared at the pricelist behind the snackbar for a while and appeared to find a bargain - hot chocolate for 25 cents.  One of the book sorting dudes came over and asked if I'd like anything.  I asked if there was any hot chocolate ready.  He told me they didn't have any way of heating anything up and that the sign was misleading.  Confused, I indicated I didn't need anything else.  A while later on the trail I realized that they were selling individual packets of dry hot chocolate mix for 25 cents,  The hermit like book sorting dude didn't enough communication skills to relate that simple fact.

I wandered over toward the two guys who'd been in the bush for a while.   They showed me their route on the topo map on the wall.  Eventually I learned they'd been hiking for most of a week and hadn't seen a single bear.  Someone in the room couldn't believe it - there were plenty of bears in this park.  I decided later that all the bears were on the east side near the Many Glacier and Iceberg areas at the moment, probably all chasing huckleberries.

After 15 minutes or so I left the Chalet and headed back out into the wind.  As I was walking out the door, the couple who'd graciously let me have their seat on the first shuttle arrived.  They greeted me warmly, and I indicated they had to be making great time.  For only the second time today, I started hiking uphill.  The Highline trail is unusually flat for a mountain trail, and had only made one very slight climb over the ridge of the Weeping Wall.

The trail was relatively steep but not hideous.  After perhaps 15 minutes it leveled out, and after a few more minutes I reached the turnoff to the Swiftcurrent Lookout. 

I could see a single hiker perhaps 5 minutes ahead of me on the trail up Swiftcurrent. This was reassuring - I didn't want to be the only one up there. There is a building on top of Swiftcurrent. It didn't look like an 1100; climb up. I paused for a minute, then continued up the trail. The ranger at Apgar indicated it would take perhaps 30 minutes to get up Swiftcurrent, then another 15 minutes down. Perhaps she could do it in that time, but I expected it would take me double that. 

The trail made a few switchbacks through the forest, then a few more through a large stand of snags that had burned some years ago. 

The wind picked up. As I rounded a corner on the west side of the mountain I was blasted by a fierce cold howling gale force wind. The temperature had to be no higher than 50, and the windchill must have been below 30. I was cold and hiked with my hands in my jeans pockets. Fortunately the wind died down somewhat as I worked my way back around the switchback. 

Soon I was above the ridgeline. The switchbacks continued, and I was often met by the icy gale force blasts as I rounded the western corners of the switchbacks. I could see several hikers coming down the trail from the top. I was slowly gaining on the hiker in front of me, but it was taking much longer than I expected to get up the mountain. I was still way below the building on top of the mountain. I decided that my perception of the height of the mountain was warped by the size of the structure - it must have been much bigger than I thought it was.

Finally I reached the top. The wind was steady but thankfully not blasting. I took my camera out and started shooting. The views were amazing. I could see so much of the park from here. I had considered hiking all the way over to the Many Glacier Hotel - it didn't look to far away from here, but I resisted the urge to hike that far. Transportation back from the MGH would be problematic at best - they run a shuttle, but it costs money, I didn't know the schedule, and may be full, leaving me stranded. The lookout station on top is labeled 'Private Residence', and in a truly unfriendly move they even went so far as to rope off the steps to keep you away from the binocular clad hermit inside. I had been assuming the structure was open and had been looking forward to a brief respite from the biting wind and cold.

Swiftcurrent Mountain Lookout
Notice the cables holding the top of the building to the mountain

I took perhaps a hundred pictures to make panoramic pictures. There were two men on top of the mountain with me, not counting the hermit in the lookout station. I took their pictures and they took mine.

Many Glacier Hotel is the in the background, pretty much in the center of the picture on the far side of the lake

Logan Pass and Birdwoman Falls from the top of Swiftcurrent Mountain

Click here for a panoramo from the top of Swiftcurrent Mountain

Click here for another panoramo from the top of Swiftcurrent Mountain

The trail now wound through another forest that had burned years ago. These snags were creaking back and forth in the wind, just like a Halloween soundtrack. It was quite surreal. 

At around 3:30pm I saw a couple headed up the trail with minimal gear and clothing. I thought they needed their heads examined. 

Finally I saw several people on the trial and knew I was near the parking lot where my warm windless minivan was waiting. It took a gruelingly slow 45 minutes to drive back to Apgar in heavy traffic. Later we ate our last meal of the trip with Kathy's parents at West Glacier.