As far as I was concerned, we couldn't leave Browning early enough this morning. We returned to East Glacier and stopped at a little cafe, Brownie's. The service was horrendous and my food was crap. Brownie’s slyly renamed the ‘Egg McMuffin’ the ‘Sunrise Breakfast’ and charged me triple for it. (However, Matthias reported eating a tasty strudel.)
There was a train station in town; I was happy to learn later in the day that I could have ridden the train directly to Glacier National Park from St. Paul, Minnesota, a 22-hour ride. I put it on my list of things to do in the future…
The air temperature in East Glacier was much cooler than we had experienced the previous several days in other parts of the park. I’m not sure if it was due to our slightly higher elevation or good luck. It was welcomed. Matthias and I visited the Two Medicine Ranger Station to pick up our backcountry camping pass; we would hike to Cobalt Lake, 5.7 miles away and 1400 feet up, and camp for one night. We then proceeded to the trailhead at Two Medicine Lake where we parked the car and loaded our packs. We were already a well-oiled machine and it took just a few minutes. Matthias stopped in at the general store and purchased some gear, including a couple of handy Nalgene-like bottles which would help him more easily filter and carry his water.
We quickly passed around the east side of Two Medicine Lake, ascending briefly through marshland, then prairie, then forest. We stopped for pictures and to catch our breath at beautiful Rockwell Falls, then we proceeded up a series of switchbacks to a great terrain full of slate-like rocks and low conifers with a stream cutting through it all. The hike took only about two hours and fifteen minutes. I recommend it to everyone! Eventually, we found Cobalt Lake framed by the Continental Divide located above and beyond it. We erected the tent, hung our food on the bear pole, and rested for an hour. Matthias loaned me Robert Byron’s “The Road to Oxiana” which I read. Matthias brought his Montana guidebook along to plan our future endeavors.
Having regained our energy, we set off again to the top of the Continental Divide. This continental divide (aka the ‘Great’ Continental Divide) is the border between the two watersheds that flow to the Pacific and Atlantic (via the Gulf of Mexico) oceans, meaning that the water that runs and falls to the east of the divide goes to the Atlantic eventually and the water on the west side runs to the Pacific eventually. We saw mountain goats and big horn sheep on our way to the top. Just as we gained the hill, I realized how underdressed I was in my shorts and tee shirt. The wind was blowing extremely hard and it was cold! Smartly, Matthias was already wearing pants and he whipped out his windbreaker. The view was stunning; you could look for miles down a different valley on both sides of the divide.
The hike to the top was only about a mile and a half. We returned to camp, read and rested some more, filtered water from Cobalt and eventually made our way down to the food preparation area to cook supper. We met the threesome that was occupying the second campsite at Cobalt; a brother, sister and friend, all likely in their 50’s on a four-night hiking journey through the area. The ‘friend’ was an outdoor (fishing/hunting/hiking) writer who maintained a couple of columns and did freelance writing to fill in the gaps. He told us all about his craft and what it takes to get started. I listened intently and took mental notes. That sounds like fun!
Matthias and I returned to our site and eventually crawled into the tent. We discussed our attack plan for the next few days. So much to see and do! We set the alarm for 6:00 AM, planned get a shower and access the internet in East Glacier the next day, then push on to Billings, Montana, with perhaps a detour or two on the way.
There was a train station in town; I was happy to learn later in the day that I could have ridden the train directly to Glacier National Park from St. Paul, Minnesota, a 22-hour ride. I put it on my list of things to do in the future…
The air temperature in East Glacier was much cooler than we had experienced the previous several days in other parts of the park. I’m not sure if it was due to our slightly higher elevation or good luck. It was welcomed. Matthias and I visited the Two Medicine Ranger Station to pick up our backcountry camping pass; we would hike to Cobalt Lake, 5.7 miles away and 1400 feet up, and camp for one night. We then proceeded to the trailhead at Two Medicine Lake where we parked the car and loaded our packs. We were already a well-oiled machine and it took just a few minutes. Matthias stopped in at the general store and purchased some gear, including a couple of handy Nalgene-like bottles which would help him more easily filter and carry his water.
We quickly passed around the east side of Two Medicine Lake, ascending briefly through marshland, then prairie, then forest. We stopped for pictures and to catch our breath at beautiful Rockwell Falls, then we proceeded up a series of switchbacks to a great terrain full of slate-like rocks and low conifers with a stream cutting through it all. The hike took only about two hours and fifteen minutes. I recommend it to everyone! Eventually, we found Cobalt Lake framed by the Continental Divide located above and beyond it. We erected the tent, hung our food on the bear pole, and rested for an hour. Matthias loaned me Robert Byron’s “The Road to Oxiana” which I read. Matthias brought his Montana guidebook along to plan our future endeavors.
Having regained our energy, we set off again to the top of the Continental Divide. This continental divide (aka the ‘Great’ Continental Divide) is the border between the two watersheds that flow to the Pacific and Atlantic (via the Gulf of Mexico) oceans, meaning that the water that runs and falls to the east of the divide goes to the Atlantic eventually and the water on the west side runs to the Pacific eventually. We saw mountain goats and big horn sheep on our way to the top. Just as we gained the hill, I realized how underdressed I was in my shorts and tee shirt. The wind was blowing extremely hard and it was cold! Smartly, Matthias was already wearing pants and he whipped out his windbreaker. The view was stunning; you could look for miles down a different valley on both sides of the divide.
The hike to the top was only about a mile and a half. We returned to camp, read and rested some more, filtered water from Cobalt and eventually made our way down to the food preparation area to cook supper. We met the threesome that was occupying the second campsite at Cobalt; a brother, sister and friend, all likely in their 50’s on a four-night hiking journey through the area. The ‘friend’ was an outdoor (fishing/hunting/hiking) writer who maintained a couple of columns and did freelance writing to fill in the gaps. He told us all about his craft and what it takes to get started. I listened intently and took mental notes. That sounds like fun!Matthias and I returned to our site and eventually crawled into the tent. We discussed our attack plan for the next few days. So much to see and do! We set the alarm for 6:00 AM, planned get a shower and access the internet in East Glacier the next day, then push on to Billings, Montana, with perhaps a detour or two on the way.
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