Lake McDonald area

The anchor of the Lake McDonald area is the Lake McDonald lodge and campground. It is in fact part of a small village, where you can eat and get provisions. I took the boat ride around Lake McDonald and it was very nice (I believe it costs $16). On the southern side of the lake there is another motel/camping area (Apgar Village) where people rent boat and travel the lake at their leisure. Bonus: there is a ice cream store in there and recently there is a tent that rents bear spray.

I guess the premier hike in that area is the hike to the Sperry Chalet, with a side trip to Sperry Glacier. I did this hike as an overnight stop at the Sperry Chalet.

So you start the the hike just other side of the park road across the Lake McDonald lodge area and the hike immediately starts going up a wooden area. That is the blue path below.

I think it takes like four miles of this uphill wooded area, pretty boring, but the rewards are further up. You can two choices, you can take a very long day hike to Sperry Glacier and go back or you can stay at the Sperry Chalet overnight and extend your area of hiking on the next day. I really recommend the second because all the trail up to the chalet is uphill and then also uphill to get to the Sperry Glacier.

I spent a night at the Sperry Chalet, so I decided to hike to Sperry Glacier on the first day. This guy was guarding the way towards the glacier. So the side trail that takes you to Sperry Glacier is very scenic, you are already over the tree line and hike next to small blue water ponds until you get to a hole-in-the-rock. What I mean is that in order to get to the upper area, the park blew up a passage on the top of the rock, which looks like stairs.

Back when those steps were constructed, the glacier reached the top of the ridge. Now, you will walk on ice fields before reaching the current location of the glacier.

The glacier has receded a lot, but still it is large and the views are great:

To get to the last cairn, you have to cross 2 or 3 ice fields, which is pretty cool. I was following a group of four guys, so I used their path and their feet marks to make sure I didn't slip and make an ass of myself. The ice fields are flat enough that there is no danger that you will slip and fall off the mountain..

The pic below to the left is arriving at the last cairn; the one at the right below is from before you go up those stone stairs.

Returning from the glacier you then go down to the Chalet and that point getting a lemonade will alleviate the pain in your legs. The staff is nice, the sleeping quarters ............ tips: hang everything, else mice will find your stuff; the wall are thin, you will hear everything.

After spending the night at the Chalet, I got up very early and decided to hike to the Gunsight Pass (the red path on the map). That hike has incredible views of Lake Ellen Wilson to your right (there is a campground in there, it must be glorious to spend the night there).

After hiking the length of the lake, you have to cross a small waterfall (which will get you wet, careful, it is slippery) and then you go up to the pass. Here is a story about the pass ............... I was the only person there at that time and I started going up the switchbacks towards the pass when I turned around to look at the lake when I heard a LOUD whistle; I turned around and saw nothing, so I continued going up. I then stopped and then the whistle again; at that point I thought someone was injured and all they could do is blow a whistle (maybe trapped somewhere and lost their voice). I kept looking around but didn't see anything. The weird part is that the whistling only occurred when I stopped ......... hmmmmmmm ............. yes, a fucking pika was yelling at me, that is what is was.

​Then the view of the valley below is great ! There is a rest cabin that can be used as a refuge from the weather, but not as a camping site.

​Then you can turn around and look back at Lake Ellen Wilson -- ​>

You can reach Gunsight Pass also from the other side, a trail that starts that the GTTSR, which I plan to do (I did the part getting up to Gunsight Lake and did not go up to the pass). For now, I will just mention my hike from GTTSR to Gunsight Lake and back (about a total of 12 miles).

There is a side trip to Florence Falls. YOU HAVE TO SEE THOSE FALLS !!!!!!!!!

Also, if you keep an eye to your left early in the hike, you can see a small pond, called Mirror pond. This is the picture that inspired me to learn more about the camera, editing tools and composition. I took it JPEG, without manual settings, I can only imagine if I was careful about the settings.But look at that view, plus I was lucky that two moose were eating in the pond and never minded my presence. These are the kinds of shots that you have to be lucky to get.