Lupe – Page 338 – The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe

Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 127 – Hat Mountain, Anchor Hill & Custer Peak (4-19-15)

Since discovering the site Peakbagger.com in early May, 2014, SPHP has used Peakbagger.com to record many of Lupe’s climbs and explorations. Peakbagger helps keep track of which mountains Lupe has climbed along with various other statistics about Lupe’s climbing exploits. Peakbagger also maintains a data base on mountains worldwide including maps and all kinds of statistical information. Users can even add “provisional peaks” to the data base for review and possible acceptance to the permanent data base.

Even including the still provisional peaks, Lupe has already climbed nearly all of the Black Hills, SD mountains currently in the Peakbagger.com data base. Most of the remaining ones Lupe will never climb for one reason or another. Some of them, like the Cathedral Spires (6,840 ft.) and Peak 6920, are basically cliffs and require technical rock climbing equipment. Others, like Mt. Rushmore (5,725 ft.), are illegal for her to climb. A few peaks are on private property where it would be difficult to get permission from the landowner. Thunderhead Mountain (6,567 ft.) where the Crazy Horse Memorial carving is would be an example.

However, prior to Expedition No. 127 there were still a couple of Black Hills, SD mountains in the Peakbagger.com data base that Lupe had never climbed where she might be successful. Both are provisional peaks. Hat Mountain (4,883 ft.) (the one NW of Norris Peak (4,982 ft.), not the one S of Deerfield Reservoir) was one. Anchor Hill (5,720 ft.) was the other. Lupe had already made prior attempts in 2015 to climb both of these peaks. Hat Mountain was a secondary goal on Expedition No. 116 (1-24-15), and a primary goal on Expedition No. 117 (1-31-15). Lupe never even got to Hat Mountain either time, since SPHP had started both of those expeditions from too far away (rain, fog and short daylight hours also played a role).

Lupe had tried to find Anchor Hill on Expedition No. 119 after climbing to the Meade County High Point (5,460 ft.) , but the approach from Hwy 385 was confusing to SPHP and led to a dead end at the old Gilt Edge gold mine. On Expedition No. 120 Anchor Hill had been the most distant possible goal, but Lupe only reached Pillar Peak after SPHP wasted a bunch of time on another dead end down in Two Bit Creek valley. SPHP actually thought Lupe had succeeded in climbing Anchor Hill on Expedition No. 122 only to realize later that she had really climbed a slightly higher hill (now dubbed “Fake Anchor Hill”) about 0.5 mile to the NE of Anchor Hill.

SPHP resolved that Lupe was going to find and climb both Hat Mountain and Anchor Hill, or find out why she couldn’t, on Expedition No. 127. At last Lupe would have done all that she could do to climb all of the Black Hills, SD peaks currently in the Peakbagger.com data base.

At 10:18 AM, SPHP parked the G6 at the intersection of Norris Peak Road and Geary Blvd, a point just a little over 0.5 mile S of Hat Mountain. This was a much, much closer starting point to Hat Mountain than Lupe had on either Expedition No. 116 or No. 117. There were scattered little puffy clouds racing across the mostly sunny sky driven by a 25 mph NNW wind. With the wind, the 40°F temperature seemed a bit chilly. Fortunately, most of the time the forest provided considerable relief from the wind.

This time, Lupe had no problem getting to Hat Mountain. A very nice brief hike along mostly level ground through a forest crisscrossed by all kinds of little roads and trails brought Lupe to the SW slope of Hat Mountain in what seemed like no time at all. (For an even shorter hike to Hat Mountain, take USFS Road No. 721 from Norris Peak Road. No. 721 passes just S of Hat Mountain.)

The small cliffs along the S side of Hat Mountain.

Hat Mountain wasn’t really all that much of a climb. However, it still wasn’t certain in SPHP’s mind that Lupe could reach the top. SPHP had seen Hat Mountain from a distance before many times. From a distance Hat Mountain appeared round, and near the top it seemed to be surrounded by a ring of solid rock cliffs. It remained to be seen if the cliffs extended all the way around the mountain top or not. Lupe was soon at the base of the cliffs on the SW slope. The cliffs were only maybe 20-30 feet high, but there was no way up them for Lupe here.

In the cleft in the small cliffs on the SE side of Hat Mountain.

Lupe started scouting around the mountain near the base of the cliffs along the S and then SE side. On the SE side was a narrow cleft in the rocks with a steep, but easy way up. In just a few minutes, Lupe had climbed up the cleft and gone on up to the summit of Hat Mountain. Success! Already, only Anchor Hill remained to be conquered.

Norris Peak (L) and Thrall Mountain (R) from Hat Mountain. — Norris Peak (L) and **Thrall Mountain (5,091 ft.)** (R) from Hat Mountain.

Norris Peak to the SE from Hat Mountain.

Success! Lupe on the Hat Mountain summit. — Quick & easy success! Lupe on the Hat Mountain summit.

Lupe wandered around exploring on top of Hat Mountain for 10 minutes or so while SPHP checked to see if there were other easier routes down. The cliffs went pretty much all the way around the summit, but they were highest to the S. In many places on other sides of the mountain, the cliffs were only 10-15 feet high or even less. There proved to be several places where there were ways up or down without any problem.

On the little cliffs at the NNW end of Hat Mountain, just above the easy way down.

Lupe and SPHP took a very easy route down on the NNW side of Hat Mountain. From there Lupe headed S along the W side of the mountain just below the cliffs. Once completely down from Hat Mountain, Lupe headed S through the forest. She eventually came to the edge of a small cliff perhaps 10-20 feet tall. Lupe then headed E along the rocky rim of the cliff. Before long the rocks and cliffs played out, but by then Lupe was already pretty close to the G6. She reached the G6 again at 11:28 AM.

On the rim rock ledge a short hike S of Hat Mountain. Thrall Mountain is the highest point seen just to the R of the tree.

Anchor Hill was quite some distance away, so Lupe enjoyed a ride through the hills while SPHP drove to Galena about 5 or 6 miles SE of Deadwood. Back in the late 1800’s, Galena was a thriving mining camp for a few years, but eventually became a ghost town. These days Galena is no longer a ghost town. There are quite a few homes and cabins in the area scattered along Bear Butte Creek. The homes and cabins vary tremendously in size, age and condition.

OK... will we even know if we hit one? — Umm …. OK …. will we even know if we hit one? Lupe stares closely at the road trying to discern any ghosts. If she saw any, she never told SPHP.

SPHP drove through Galena and continued on Galena Road perhaps 0.25 or 0.50 mile to a big wide spot in the road and parked the G6 at 12:35 PM. This wide spot was a short distance from a sign indicating the end of county road maintenance. The puffy clouds in the sky were now bigger than before, but it was still sunny out. Surprisingly, even next to Bear Butte Creek the wind was blowing hard down through the deep canyon. The plan was to hike from Galena up through Butcher Gulch to an area just NE of Anchor Hill.

Lupe and SPHP headed back up Galena Road. SPHP had seen a sign along a side road crossing Bear Butte Creek to the N for public access through private land to Butcher Gulch. Lupe took this side road to enter Butcher Gulch. Soon the private property was left behind. Lupe came to a sign for the Vinegar Hill cemetery, where a little road in poor condition led up a steep hill to the left (W). Lupe had no bones to bury, so she skipped the cemetery.

Twin rock spires on the way up the narrow rocky road in Butcher Gulch.

The road up Butcher Gulch wasn’t that great either. It was narrow and rather rocky. Pretty soon Lupe reached a fork in the road. The best part of the road swung around the hillside switch-backing above where Lupe had just been and then disappeared from view. A very rocky and narrow road continued on straight ahead. SPHP guessed that straight ahead was probably the correct choice, which it later proved to be.

Two of the three limestone walls forming a big terrace in Butcher Gulch. Part of some old mining operation?

The road up Butcher Gulch is the type of road only a shocks, struts and tire salesperson could love. Unsurprisingly, SPHP found a couple of vehicle parts for recycling along the way. Happily, this poor excuse for a road made a great hiking trail. Butcher Gulch was full of squirrels to bark at and Lupe had a blast. There was absolutely no one else around, which was perfect. In addition to squirrels, highlights along the way up Butcher Gulch included a little creek, a couple of unusual pointy up rocks, and a terrace of three limestone walls positioned one above another (probably somehow connected with some old mining operation).

The climb up Butcher Gulch was unrelenting, but Lupe did finally reach the upper end of the gulch. Fortunately, the terrible road had gone all the way up the gulch and now intersected a better road. Lupe and SPHP went across this new road and took a break up on a small hill. Lupe had her usual water and Taste of the Wild. SPHP had the usual apple and pored over maps in between scans of the nearby terrain.

Lupe near the summit of "Fake Anchor Hill". SPHP recognized this pipe with a block of wood on it from when Lupe was here on Expedition No. 122. — Lupe on “Fake Anchor Hill”. SPHP recognized this pipe with a block of wood on it from when Lupe was here on Expedition No. 122.

The highest ground nearby was a hill just to the NE. SPHP suspected this was the same hill, now known as Fake Anchor Hill, that Lupe had climbed back on Expedition No. 122. At the time, SPHP had believed it was Anchor Hill, but later concluded otherwise. After the break, the first thing Lupe did was to climb this hill to see if it really was Fake Anchor Hill. Sure enough, it was. That meant that the real Anchor Hill was still about 0.5 mile to the SW.

Lupe and SPHP left Fake Anchor Hill and headed SW. SPHP used topo maps and the curvature of the road encountered at the top of Butcher Gulch to navigate towards Anchor Hill. Everything was matching up. Anchor Hill was marked on the map as being just to the S of this same road about 0.25 mile SW of the intersection at the top of Butcher Gulch. All along the S side of the road, however, was a barbed wire fence with frequent signs saying “Danger” and/or “No Trespassing”. One said “EPA Superfund Site 2012”. Peering S from the road up through the forest, SPHP could see that Anchor Hill ended abruptly perhaps 40 feet in elevation above the road.

Anchors aweigh! Lupe learned that the original Anchor Hill has moved. The top of Anchor Hill was removed by the Gilt Edge gold mine and apparently moved S to the tailings pile seen here. The tailings pile appears to be a little bit higher than Anchor Hill ever was. — Anchors aweigh! Lupe learned that the original Anchor Hill set sail and moved! The top of Anchor Hill was removed by the Gilt Edge gold mining operation and apparently repositioned S to the big tailings pile seen here. The tailings pile appears to be a little bit higher than Anchor Hill ever was. Thus ended Lupe’s ambition to climb the original Anchor Hill.

SPHP was now certain that Lupe would never climb Anchor Hill. The top 20 or 30 feet of elevation, at least as shown on the Peakbagger.com topo map, is no longer there. The summit of Anchor Hill had weighed anchor and set sail to the S or SE where it is now part of a big tailings pile, helped along by the former Gilt Edge gold mining operation. So Lupe’s quest to climb Anchor Hill, which had been a potential goal of four expeditions, had been doomed to failure all along. There was no question of climbing the tailings pile, as it is also clearly mining property. Interestingly enough, the tailing pile looks to be slightly higher than Anchor Hill originally was.

SPHP took consolation in the fact that Lupe had now at least climbed Fake Anchor Hill to the NE twice, which was a higher hill than Anchor Hill had ever been. Anchor Hill was only a provisional peak on Peakbagger anyway. It’s hardly likely to be accepted as part of the Peakbagger.com permanent mountain data base having gone AWOL.

Anchor Hill is shown on SPHP’s old USFS maps, but why remains a mystery. There were other hills just as high or higher nearby. What was so special about Anchor Hill? One thing was special about it for sure, there must have been some gold there to encourage the Gilt Edge mine people to go to so much trouble.

On a rare decent stretch of the road in Butch Gulch.

Lupe and SPHP headed back down Butcher Gulch again on the way back to the G6. Lupe had lots of fun again. She certainly was taking the decapitation of Anchor Hill in stride. Going downhill was so easy and pleasant that even SPHP was soon in a great mood again. It was 47°F and 4:23 PM when Lupe reached the G6. Still hours of daylight left and time to do something else!

SPHP had been considering what else Lupe might do on the way down Butcher Gulch. Peakbagger.com really needed a decent photo of Custer Peak (6,804 ft.). About 0.5 mile to the WSW of Custer Peak was a 6,600 ft. high ridge from which a very nice photo of Custer Peak might be obtained. There was even time for Lupe to climb Custer Peak for the third time.

NE of Custer Peak along the road from Brownsville (Boondocks).

So Lupe and SPHP got in the G6 and headed back through Galena. After a little side trip for a photo of Custer Peak from the NE, SPHP wound up parking the G6 at a sharp turn in USFS Road No. 216 at 5:06 PM. Custer Peak was now 0.5 mile to the NW, although a much greater distance along the road. During the drive from Galena, the weather had changed. Now big clouds covered most of the sky. It was only 35°F and occasional snow squalls were sweeping over the area. The wind was still roaring up in the trees. Lupe and SPHP started hiking up USFS Road No. 216.

Lupe and SPHP followed USFS Road No. 216 up to a side road that goes all the way up to the lookout tower. About 100 feet in elevation from the top, a thin sheet of ice covered about 2/3 of the ground. The wind wasn’t too bad until the last 50 feet. There it was a steady 30 mph gale out of the N. Mentally SPHP thanked the Canadians for their traditional generosity with their healthy and undeniably fresh air, but Lupe wasn’t so sure.

At the lookout tower, Lupe and SPHP took shelter from the wind at the S corner of the tower. Lupe had icicles hanging down from the fur on her belly, but that didn’t seem to bother her. She didn’t want to stay in an extra jacket SPHP had brought along to warm her up. She eagerly ate some Taste of the Wild. SPHP ate the last apple. The view was pretty awesome. To the E of the Black Hills, the prairie was all lit up in sunlight. Bear Butte (4,422 ft.) was glowing in the light. The W edge of the Black Hills had some sunlight and fewer clouds too. But all of the heart of the Black Hills was in shadow and snow showers could be seen here and there.

Lupe on the rock wall at the ranger tower on Custer Peak. Photo looks SW towards snow squalls sweeping the region. Lupe was most anxious for SPHP to get some sense and head down out of the N wind.

Lupe could only be persuaded to pose for one photo up on the N side of the lookout tower exposed to the relentless wind. She clearly wanted to leave and head down the mountain. Lupe is the brains in this operation, so when the wind showed no signs of giving any respite, SPHP conformed to her wishes. The retreat down the mountain along the road was actually pretty pleasant soon after leaving the totally exposed summit. SPHP did manage to get a couple of photos from just below the summit looking WSW toward the 6,600 foot ridge about 0.5 mile to the WSW. SPHP was hoping to get over there for a nice photo of Custer Peak.

Still very close to the summit of Custer Peak, this photo looks WSW towards the 6,600 foot ridge. Lupe later posed for photos of Custer Peak from the snowiest high spot on the ridge seen here above and just to the left of Lupe. — Still very close to the summit of Custer Peak, this photo looks WSW towards the nearby 6,600 foot ridge. Lupe later posed for photos of Custer Peak from the snowiest high spot on the ridge seen here as a white patch above and just to the left of Lupe.

Lupe was happy going down the mountain. The wind at the top was her whole objection. At the saddle between Custer Peak and the 6,600 foot ridge to the WSW, she was quite happy to follow SPHP away from the road and up through the dense forest and maze of deadfall timber. Amazingly this little trek up to the 6,600 foot ridge proved to be the most satisfying part of the day.

Little intermittent snow showers pelted the area with round mini-ice balls instead of normal fluffy snowflakes. With the sun getting low, at times the forest seemed dark and forlorn. But a little layer of snow on the ground brightened the setting. Every now and then the sun made a brief brilliant appearance up on Custer Peak. The clean fresh snow and brisk air seemed wonderful after the warm dry Expedition No. 126 just 8 days earlier.

Lupe near the top of the 6,600 foot ridge, but before reaching it. SPHP snapped this quick photo of Custer Peak not knowing if the sun would still be out by the time Lupe could get to the top of the ridge. It was!

The climb got steeper and steeper. Near the top, Lupe and SPHP were at the edge of a little cliff along a spine of the mountain. The sun broke through and shone on the surrounding forest. The snow was pure white, the spruce tree needles bright green, Lupe’s fur a glowing golden brown, and the sky a clear light blue above. The wind was fresh and exhilarating, and not so strong as up on Custer Peak. SPHP hoped Lupe could make it to the top of the 6,600 foot ridge in time for a photo of Custer Peak before clouds hid the sun again.

Custer Peak from the top of the 6,600 foot ridge to the WSW.

She did! Lupe and SPHP were in beautiful slanting sunlight for 10 minutes or so at the top of the 6,600 foot ridge. Lupe posed for several photos of Custer Peak. And then it was over. The sun sank beneath the last big cloud to the WNW. A hoped for glorious sunset never materialized. Lupe and SPHP headed down the steep W slope off the 6,600 foot ridge. The slope was much steeper than SPHP had anticipated, but fortunately no cliffs were encountered. Heading S as much as possible, Lupe and SPHP worked their way down through the maze of deadfall timber on the W slope.

Big clue to SPHP that it might be time to head down from the 6,600 foot ridge and put an end to Expedition No. 127.

After losing maybe 200 or 250 feet, the ground began to level out. SPHP continued to lead Lupe S or SSW as much as possible. SPHP knew that USFS Road No. 216 couldn’t be too far away to the S. Lupe and SPHP had been in the area many expeditions ago. Soon No. 216 was found and could be followed all the way back to the G6. It was a great hike and over too soon. There was still some light in the sky when Lupe arrived back at the G6 at 8:04 PM. The G6 said it was 32°F. That didn’t stop Lupe from sticking her nose out the window to sniff the cold air for miles on the way home.

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Glacier Lake & Division Mountain, Banff National Park, Canada (7-28-14)

Lupe and SPHP had a great time on the easy trail to Glacier Lake and beyond. Amazingly, although it was the height of tourist season in Banff National Park, Lupe met absolutely no one else the entire day until very close to the end of the return trip. Perhaps a sign at the trailhead explains why Lupe and SPHP enjoyed a day of such unexpected solitude. The sign said that since Glacier Lake is at a fairly low elevation, the trail to Glacier Lake is among the first to be snow free early in the year. Consequently, it is a popular trail in late spring and less so later in the summer.

The turnoff for the Glacier Lake trailhead is located a short distance (less than a kilometer) NW of Saskatchewan Crossing on the W side of Icefields Parkway Hwy 93. (Saskatchewan Crossing is in northern Banff National Park at the intersection of Icefields Parkway Hwy 93 and Hwy 11 which heads E to Rocky Mountain House.) The trailhead is at a large gravel parking area still quite close to Hwy 93 at the end of a short gravel road.

Having taken a couple of gorgeous long day hikes (Iceline Trail and Cirque Peak) with Lupe involving a lot of elevation gain on the previous two days, SPHP at least, was ready for something a bit less strenuous. SPHP had noticed on the maps during previous trips to Canada a large lake called Glacier Lake in northern Banff National Park. The trail to Glacier Lake did not involve much elevation gain, so SPHP decided maybe this would be a great opportunity for Lupe to explore the Glacier Lake Trail.

Lupe set out from the trailhead at 8:54 AM. The day promised to be rather hot for the Canadian Rockies. It was already 52 °F out with totally clear blue skies and no breeze at all. Only one other vehicle was parked at the spacious trailhead parking lot. The Glacier Lake Trail started out heading SW through a forest with lots of squirrels, which made Lupe quite happy right away.

Lupe a bit N of the great footbridge across the North Saskatchewan River.

The trail was level until approaching the N. Saskatchewan River where it dropped down to the high bank on the E side of the river. At 1.1 km from the trailhead, there was a large excellent footbridge across the N. Saskatchewan. The river was flowing strongly and a beautiful icy blue-gray color. Before crossing the bridge, Lupe explored just a little bit to the N along the 20 foot cliffs above the E bank of the river, just to watch the water roar along over the rapids upstream of the bridge.

Looking upstream from the footbridge across the North Saskatchewan River.

After crossing the N. Saskatchewan, the trail climbed back out of the river gorge before resuming a level trek SW through the forest. After another 1.2 km, Lupe reached an open grassy area on a little bluff above the Howse River. From the bluff was a wonderful view to the SW of the Howse River, a big meandering braided stream in a huge flat valley, and Mt. Outram (10,646 ft.) in the distance.

Off to the NW side of the river a low green forested ridge was in sight ahead. Lupe would have to climb over this ridge to get to Glacier Lake. Unfortunately, mosquitoes, which were bothersome all day, were particularly voracious and numerous at the Howse River viewpoint. Lupe stayed only long enough for a quick photo and pressed on.

Lupe at the Howse River viewpoint. Mt. Outram in the distance. The Glacier Lake Trail climbs over the low forested ridge at the right to reach Glacier Lake.

The trail dropped down from the viewpoint to the N bank of the Howse River, which it followed W across a small meadow before leaving the river and heading back into the forest. Although the trail remained quite close to the floor of the river valley and not far N of the river for a considerable distance, the Howse River stayed hidden by the forest and never came back into view. The trail turned SW again and gradually started to climb.

Eventually Lupe came to a stream where she could cool off and get a drink. The trail climbed steadily at a moderate pace as it followed the stream, crossing it 5 times on small plank bridges. Even after leaving the stream, the trail continued climbing for a while. Finally, Lupe reached the top of the low ridge, which was the highest elevation attained on this day’s entire hike. The top of the ridge was flat for some distance. Surprisingly, the ground was damp, even muddy in places. Lupe barked at the numerous squirrels in the forest with great energy and enthusiasm. She was having a wonderful time.

Having crossed the ridge, the trail started heading down towards Glacier Lake, which was not visible yet through the dense forest. The trail wound around, still heading generally SW and lost all of the elevation Lupe had gained climbing the ridge. (Glacier Lake itself is actually 10 meters below the Glacier Lake trailhead.) Thousands of moths were fluttering around this portion of the forest.

After a while, a sign came into view ahead at a trail intersection. By the time Lupe reached the intersection, Glacier Lake was visible just ahead through the trees. Lupe was now 6.6 km from the Howse River viewpoint. The sign indicated that the trail heading S led to the Glacier Lake campground, which is located at the E end of the lake. Another trail continued WSW along the N shore of the lake. Despite the relative proximity of the campground, which couldn’t have been very far away, Lupe neither saw nor heard anyone.

Lupe, being a very intelligent dingo, headed straight on down to Glacier Lake and got in to cool off. By now it was getting plenty warm out. Moths were flying all around, and there were quite a few that had flown down and become stuck on the surface of the lake. They were fluttering madly about desperately trying to escape. There was no sign of any hungry fish willing to eat them. The fish were probably all mothed out. The lake was calm and smooth, other than the tiny ripples generated by the struggling moths.

Lupe takes a shady break shortly after reaching Glacier Lake.

Lupe was at the ENE end of Glacier Lake, which filled the entire broad valley ahead. Glacier Lake is roughly 3.5 km long and almost 1 km wide. It was a light milky blue color and somewhat opaque. Looking ahead to the WSW, the lake was bordered by large mountains. Division Mountain lay beyond the far end of the lake, and the SE Lyell Glacier on it drew the eye like a magnet. Lupe rested in the shade of a low tree branch near the shore of Glacier Lake. She snapped at flies and was bothered by mosquitoes.

Lupe was now 8.9 km from the trailhead. A sign back at the trailhead had said that a rough trail continued 4.5 km along the N shore of Glacier Lake. It was supposed to be possible to hike beyond the lake and reach the glacial moraines. The valley upstream below Division Mountain and SE Lyell Glacier looked like a great place to explore, so after a brief rest, Lupe headed out along the trail on the N shore of Glacier Lake heading WSW.

Not too far along this trail, Lupe came to a place where her barking at squirrels echoed back very clearly at her from the other side of the lake. She found the echoes quite puzzling, as she could never see this dog that barked every time she did. SPHP seemed unduly amused by the situation, so after a few minutes, Lupe continued on to maintain her dignity. She passed by a couple of old campfire sites along the way. Despite being described back at the trailhead as a rough trail, this trail was actually in pretty good condition all the way to the far end of the lake.

SW beyond Glacier Lake were views to the S across the Glacier River of these splendid mountains, one of which is possibly **Mt. Forbes (11,867 ft.)**.

Once Lupe got past Glacier Lake, the trail was no longer pinned back in the forest at the foot of the mountain along the N side of the valley. Instead it went down onto the broad flat valley floor. This was an area that was quite open, but with lots of bushes with little red berries and a few stands of trees scattered around. There were pockets of water here and there, too, where Lupe could cool off. SPHP became more cautious as it seemed like this might be a likely place for bears, although the notion that they might well prefer higher country to avoid the heat this time of year gave some comfort.

A closer look at the mountains to the S.

Beyond Glacier Lake, the trail was fainter, but still easily followed, which Lupe did until it ended suddenly at an eroded bank of the Glacier River. The Glacier River is the main water source for Glacier Lake. It was a very pretty icy blue color, but deep and swift enough to preclude any thought of fording it. Happily, a short stroll upstream along the N bank of the river soon led to another faint trail.

Lupe followed this new faint trail upstream for some distance, but eventually the Glacier River moved over to the N side of the valley forcing the trail back up into the woods at the base of the mountain. At first this trail seemed to be OK, but quite soon Lupe started coming to more and more deadfall timber on the trail. Lupe didn’t have any real problems with it, but it slowed SPHP down considerably.

Soon the deadfall became so thick that it became difficult to tell where the trail was, or if there was even still a trail to follow. At times the main part of the Glacier River moved a bit off to the S and Lupe could get back down on the valley floor for short distances, but there were little side flows and pockets of water and mucky, marshy ground which made even that route difficult. After trekking along for what seemed like quite a while, but couldn’t have involved much distance, the trail seemed to just completely end in a jumble of deadfall in the forest.

Lupe enjoys a rest on the moss SW of Glacier Lake where the trail vanished.

Lupe and SPHP stopped and had a late lunch. Lupe rested very comfortably on some green moss and enjoyed her Taste of the Wild, while SPHP paused to consider the situation. Perhaps 1/2 km farther upstream was a low forested ridge jutting out to the S from the mountain. This ridge forced the Glacier River back to the S side of the valley. It looked like once the low ridge could be reached, it was likely the rest of the trip to the glacial moraines below Division Mountain and the SE Lyell Glacier would be pretty easy. SPHP guessed the glacial moraines were at most only 2 or 3 km beyond the low ridge.

Unfortunately, the afternoon was already wearing on. Pretty soon it would be time to turn back. SPHP decided to allow another 30 minutes to try to find the trail again or some other clear route to that low ridge. Sadly 30 minutes came and went. Lupe and SPHP had not made much headway through the deadfall timber. The forest was nearly impenetrable. The valley floor was blocked alternately by the Glacier River or a slow slog around deep pockets of water and mud.

Lupe near her farthest point of advance along the Glacier River. Division Mountain and the SE Lyell Glacier tantalizingly out of reach.

Division Mountain & the SE Lyell Glacier and from the Glacier River. What magnificent sights lurked around the corner just out of reach on this glorious day?

At this pace, it was going to take a another hour just to get to the low ridge. Clearly it was too late in the day for that. Very reluctantly, and convinced they were not far from magnificent sights ahead, SPHP informed Lupe it was time to turn back. Lupe’s spirits were not dampened at all. She was going to get a second shot at barking at all the squirrels she had seen along the way!

Lupe gets refreshed in Glacier Lake on the way back.

The entire return trip was along the exact same route. At the bridge over the N. Saskatchewan River, Lupe saw the only other hikers she encountered the entire day. A couple from Monterrey, Mexico were standing on the SW end of the bridge. They said they had never been to Canada before. They and their son, who was out of sight exploring the river bank somewhere below the bridge, had flown into Edmonton and they were now touring the Canadian Rockies. The Mexicans were very impressed, both with the spectacular scenery and the annoying mosquitoes.

Good-bye to Glacier Lake, Banff National Park, Canada

Lupe arrived back at the Glacier Lake Trailhead at 7:16 PM. It was a still roasting 81 °F out. The sun was still blazing like a demon in a clear blue sky, although it would soon disappear behind the mountains. The G6 was beastly hot after being closed up all day. Lupe and SPHP hopped in and headed N on the beautiful Icefields Parkway Hwy No. 93, cruising along with the windows partially down so our heroic dingo could enjoy the wind in her face while she and SPHP gazed happily at the magnificent Canadian Rockies.

Although the round trip to Glacier Lake and beyond had been quite a long day hike of over 10 hours, it was actually a pretty easy day until the trail beyond the lake had disappeared beneath the deadfall timber. After two long day hikes in a row with substantial elevation gains, this less strenuous hike was a rather welcome relief to SPHP.

The sad part was that the most fantastic scenery near Divide Mountain and the SE Lyell Glacier proved tantalizingly close, yet just out of reach. SPHP is absolutely convinced that this area merits further exploration. It was a shame the last section of trail was such a shambles. At Lupe’s point of farthest advance, she was only 2-3 kilometers beyond Glacier Lake. Just being able to go just a little bit farther would have made a lot of difference.

Lupe suggests any other dingoes hoping to explore the area near Divide Mountain and the SE Lyell Glacier persuade their SPHP’s to get an earlier start. Better yet, obtain a wilderness pass (required for overnight stays) and make a reservation at the campground at Glacier Lake. With base camp so close, success would be ensured despite the deadfall timber. Lupe and SPHP would love to see photos any successful adventurers who get close to the SE Lyell Glacier are willing to share.

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