Visions of the packed parking area at the Avalanche trailhead in our minds, we pulled out of the campground at 6:45am for our second day of adventure at Glacier National Park. We hoped that the pouring rain would also work in our favor.
The heavy rains didn’t seem to discourage any of the other park visitors, but the 10-minute head start did help enough, as we snagged one of the few remaining parking spaces at the Avalanche Lake trail head just after 7 am Wednesday morning.
The Avalanche Lake hike is advertised as a 2.1 mile (one-way) hike. But that doesn’t account for the .6 mile boardwalk hike that travels over Avalanche Creek. Once you reach the trail head for Avalanche Lake, the sign reads 1.8 miles. Which would make the hike 2.3. I don’t know what to say, other than that we hiked just over 5 miles total, and we made it to the lake. Well, two of us made it to the lake. Mike and our youngest turned around about 1/3 of a mile before the lake. No shame there – the hike was beautiful, but the trip out is up, up, and up some more. And it was pouring. Not just raining, but 50 degrees and pouring. Kudos to making it 4.75 miles in conditions like those at 7 years old!
Avalanche Lake was breathtaking. I know I’m overusing that word on this trip, but truly – walking onto the shore of that lake gave me goose bumps. There are waterfalls running down the mountains surrounding the lake, and the whole scene is one of complete solitude.
Our 10 year-old and I power hiked the trail back to the parking area, hurried by our desire to get back to the other half of our party, and also our desire to stay warm in the cold rain that just wouldn’t quit. We met up with Mike and our youngest hiker back at the truck, and headed out of the park for the day.
Whitewater Rafting the Middle Fork Flathead River
We had to make a quick pit stop for a gallon of milk on our way back through West Glacier to our campsite. When we pulled into the general store parking lot, we were flagged down by a couple of Glacier Rafting Company employees asking if we were rafting with them that day. Their job was to park rafters in the appropriate part of the parking lot. I told them that no, we weren’t rafters, but just cold hikers needing a gallon of milk. But also said that maybe we’d like to be rafters. And 10 minutes later I had a 3 pm whitewater tour booked, but no milk.
I did buy milk before we got home. It was only a half gallon and it was priced at $6.99 (oh. my. goodness.). But what money can’t buy is the excitement from our crew about our impending whitewater experience. Well, I mean, money did actually buy it, because whitewater rafting was not free. Not free, but very worth every penny!
We checked in 30 minutes before our scheduled trip, just like instructed. The temperature was a balmy 52 at this point, ha – but the rain had finally cleared and the skies were blue and beautiful. It was just cold. And we were about to raft in glacier water. And my fingers still hadn’t recovered full feeling or mobility since the morning’s hike. Brrrr.
I was starting to question our judgement in taking two kids whitewater rafting 8 miles (2 1/2 hours) in these conditions, but whoa – they know how to dress people for cold whitewater rafting adventures at Glacier Rafting Company! We were all outfitted in wetsuits, booties, fleece jackets, rain jackets, and pfds in minutes. We boarded the bus, and we were on our way.
Our tour included four rafts, and our raft guide was Matt B., and we adored him. He pointed out points of historical and geological interest on the river, pointed out wildlife, and filled us in on the local fishing scene – where to fish and what one can expect to catch on the Flathead Middle Fork.
But the really fun, memorable stuff were the eight rapids our raft crew of 9 navigated, including “pinball” through 70′ deep water, and the last rapid (that I can’t remember the name of) that our youngest got to “ride the bull” through. (He sat at the front of the raft through the rapid, and it was the thrill of his life. After being knocked by the water back into the raft, he said, “whoa – that bull is ANGRY!”).
Somehow, my hands (and entire body for that matter) were LESS cold post-whitewater adventure than they were post Avalanche Lake hike. Nonetheless, a local Huckleberry Cider draft and steamy hot cheese pizza never tasted as good as it did on the way home that night.
Back at the campsite, with a fire roaring and live acoustic music in the background, we decided we hadn’t had our fill of Glacier National Park yet, and booked our third Going to the Sun road pass for our third, and final, full day in Glacier.
