Dennis Dixon is heading West!: Day Thirteen: Glacier National Park: Iceberg Lake and Ptarmigan Lake/Tunnel

What a day; What a day - 6 hours driving (270 miles), 6 hours hiking (16 1/2 miles)

It was fun seeing the Amtrak train station in East Glacier Park (now I know I can get here without a car)

There are these herds of black cows all over - wait, those aren't cows!

I am shocked at how radically the topography changes. I am 15 miles east of the Park, and see how flat the land is

Looking west toward the Park

Looking east away from the Park

The hike to Iceberg Lake in the "Many Glacier" area was recommended to me yesterday

It looks like a great hike, starting at 11:30 (sandwich already eaten)

The Trail is a little uphill right in the beginning, but (relatively quickly) flattens out. It is in the upper 40's and occasionally misting/light rain. Nothing heavy and no snow, even though I've got my winter coat + hat + neck warmer + gloves (um, "dress in layers" - I just put all the layers on to begin with). The views are spectacular, and it really does take a long time (days? weeks?) for the eye to become adjusted to the huge increase in scale when looking at long distances. This view

certainly reminds me of Albert Bierstadt's "Storm In The Mountains" at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts

Which brings me to my "thought of the day". Just as I learned this year that the only way to see works of art is to actually go and see them, the only way to experience our National Parks/National Forests is to actually go and see them. People knew this 150 years ago, and the artists I am exploring knew that they were communicating only parts of the reality, but that those parts were the only experiences that most people would ever get. Here in the 21st century, when the sound on our iPods is often better than the sound at a concert, and images are flying everywhere over the Internet, we have forgotten the true importance of getting out and experiencing life - viewing the painting, hiking the trail, seeing the lake and the view - hence my wife's walk of the Camino de Santiago (her update at the bottom of this post).

I did see Bighorn Sheep, and a Ranger pointed out a white Mountain Goat, and I did see a fun squirrel, I did not see any bears (and that's ok with me!)

and now I know why they called it Iceberg Lake

I had a great time running/jumping/speed walking back down the trail, so although I was sweaty, I felt great and wanted to go up to Ptarmigan Lake

You cannot tell, but this is kind of steep

The Lake is lovely

but the hike up to the Tunnel looks long

just put one foot in front of the other. When I got to the Tunnel, I turned around and took another picture of the Lake

Through the Tunnel, and you can see Elizabeth Lake in the distance

if I had gone down there, I would have been able to see Glaciers off to the left. Too bad - next trip.

I got Ranger Bill to take a picture of me

and we walked all the way back down at a good brisk pace - back at the car at 5:30.
Welcome to Montana - Please Don't Hit Our Cows

and some news from Wendy:
Greetings! Deede and I are in wine country in a town called Najera. We are at a really nice new hostel. I thought I would send some pictures but also tell you what a typical day is like. We wake up somewhere around 6am, assemble our backpacks, eat a simple breakfast of bread, butter and jam, and cafe or tea con leche (with milk). We then had out. It is usually still dark and quiet and really quite lovely. We have been walking in the cool of the morning the missed the fog cloudiness. By the time the sun has burned through, we are usually well on our way and maybe only an hour or two from our destination. The air temperature has been very pleasant. By mid day we usually have walked for two hours, had a snack and rested, walked another two hours, had another snack, and then eventually make it to a town or our final destination where we have a little bit more to eat. At our hostel, we arrive, check-in, do laundry, shower, rest and then eventually explore the town. Everything seems to close in the afternoon until 4 o'clock. Later at around 6:30 or seven, we have a Pilgrim dinner at some place that serves them. The cost is always much less expensive than in a regular restaurant. Most people don't eat until 9 PM so having pilgrims eat at 7 PM is found money for the restaurants. After dinner, we return to the hostel and pretty much go to bed. The next day we start the process all over again. Deede and I are heading out to explore Najera. Lots of love to each of you, Wendy

Tuesday, Sept. 24
Glacier National Park: Iceberg Lake and Ptarmigan Lake/Tunnel

here is today's playlist:

The Doors - L.A. Woman [I feel like I'm a Rider on the Storm]