Lincoln Peak Summit and Critters

Glacier National Park, Montana

Woke up to rain falling at sunrise. Normally not a problem but I was sleeping under the stars with no tent. Slid under a tree and packed up quickly to keep my stuff dry. About the time I got everything put away it rained a little harder for a while then stopped as quickly as it started. a short time later the skies were back to blue with a few puffy clouds. From camp we went uphill and after reaching the saddle climbed Lincoln Peak. Not a hard peak but one with great views of lakes and 2 valleys.

On the way to Gunsight Pass we passed a wonderful lake and then started climbing back to about 7,000 feet in elevation. Along the climb we first saw a really big Grizzly. I can't get over his size and power as we watched him dig up the ground and eat. He was the first Griz of this trip, but would be far from the last one we would see.

A few 100 feet up the trail from where we were watching the bear I got to take some photos of this Marmot that seemed to be posing for me. While he was staying still in the open he was very watchful of our passing by. I think this is the best marmot picture I have ever taken.

Not all the views were of animals along this stretch, the surrounding landscape was exceptional, although with the big grizzly moving slowly towards the same pass we were, I really did keep a watchful eye on him the most.

Once over Gunsight Pass, the views changed some, there was a smaller griz feeding on the slope above us and the first Mountain Goat of the trip on the slope below. All the wildlife kept our eyes scanning all the terrain around us.

Of course the views stayed as wonderful as they had been. Gunsight Lake was a gem below us and along our route so we knew there was a long decent ahead of us to finish the day.

The last surprise was that the backcountry bridges had already been removed for winter. Made for some cold feet crossing the outlet of the lake, but the water wasn't to deep nor the rocks overly sharp. Matt made it look easy but my feet started to cramp from the cold water about the time I was finishing my crossing. No fish kills downstream so we must not have been to stinky yet.