{"id":3450,"date":"2016-09-03T08:10:36","date_gmt":"2016-09-03T14:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=3450"},"modified":"2019-03-16T10:15:13","modified_gmt":"2019-03-16T16:15:13","slug":"glacier-national-park-to-howard-lake-mt-8-18-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=3450","title":{"rendered":"Glacier National Park to Howard Lake, MT (8-18-12)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day 11 of Lupe’s 2012 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast.<\/em><\/p>\n

When Lupe set out on her 2012 Dingo Vacation, SPHP had hoped she might make it as far as the west coast to see the Pacific Ocean.\u00a0 It hadn’t been certain, though.\u00a0 An alternate plan had been to just go as far as Glacier National Park in Montana.\u00a0 Lupe woke up on Day 11 of her 2012 Dingo Vacation at the Sprague Creek campground along Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park, having arrived the previous day.<\/p>\n

The prior day’s events had changed everything, however.\u00a0 SPHP had finally realized that U.S. National Parks are not dog friendly.\u00a0 Glacier National Park was full of great trails to\u00a0spectacular mountains, lakes, streams, and even a few remaining glaciers, but regulations prohibited Lupe from going on any of the trails.\u00a0 Dogs weren’t permitted, even on a leash.<\/p>\n

So, Lupe was going to leave.\u00a0 Before she did, she was going to see the Trail of\u00a0the Cedars nature trail.\u00a0 The evening before, a ranger up at Logan Pass had told SPHP that the Trail of the Cedars nature trail was the only trail in Glacier National Park where dogs were allowed.<\/p>\n

Except they weren’t.\u00a0 When Lupe, Lanis and SPHP arrived at the start of the Trail of the Cedars, there were no pets signs – just like everywhere else.\u00a0 The ranger had been wrong.\u00a0 Lupe wasn’t even allowed here.\u00a0 Nearby, on the opposite side of Going-to-the-Sun Road, there was an observation deck with a view of McDonald Creek.\u00a0 The rushing creek was very clear and pretty.\u00a0 The observation deck was as far as Lupe\u00a0got to\u00a0explore in Glacier National Park.<\/p>\n

\"Lanis<\/a>
Lanis on the Trail of the Cedars. Lupe wasn’t allowed on it, and Lanis didn’t go very far.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"McDonald<\/a>
McDonald Creek was a wonderful clear blue-green color.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Dancing<\/a>
Lanis and Lupe dance on the McDonald Creek observation deck. SPHP cut in for a couple dances with Lupe, too.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"McDonald<\/a>\"McDonald<\/a>\"Lupe<\/a>\"McDonald<\/a>And that was it for Lupe in Glacier National Park.\u00a0 Since she couldn’t do much of anything here, it was time to start heading farther W!\u00a0 Due to the park regulations, it was\u00a0settled – Lupe was going to see the Pacific Ocean!<\/p>\n

Lupe, Lanis and SPHP were soon heading W out of Glacier National Park.\u00a0 In Kalispell, Lanis stopped at a gas station.\u00a0 SPHP gassed up the Element.\u00a0 Lanis spent a frantic 20 minutes looking for his cell phone, only to discover that SPHP\u00a0had been\u00a0sitting on it.\u00a0\u00a0Next was a\u00a0stop (one of many on\u00a0Lupe’s 2012 Dingo Vacation) at the local McDonald’s.\u00a0\u00a0From the Dollar Menu, Lanis got a giant soft drink, Lupe got a chocolate sundae, and SPHP got a caramel sundae.<\/p>\n

As usual, SPHP spoon fed Lupe her chocolate sundae, as Lanis drove W out of Kalispell on Hwy 2.\u00a0 Lupe always had to devour them rather quickly, since the chocolate sundaes tended to melt fast in the summer heat.\u00a0 Fortunately, Lupe was consistently willing to apply herself to the task at paw.\u00a0 The sundaes never really had a chance.<\/p>\n

Once\u00a0both sundaes were gone, SPHP checked the road atlas.\u00a0 In the Cabinet Mountains of NW Montana, there was a lake shown S of the town of Libby.\u00a0 The lake was back in the Kootenai National Forest along a gravel loop road W of Hwy 2.\u00a0 The lake wasn’t a very big one, but it still looked like it might be interesting.\u00a0 There was a campground shown, too.\u00a0 Maybe Lupe could have some fun there?<\/p>\n

Six miles in on the gravel loop road, there was a side road going to\u00a0the Lake Creek\u00a0campground.\u00a0 A mile off the main loop, the side road ended at a rather nice level campground with a big open area.\u00a0 There was no lake, but there was a stream.\u00a0 This was\u00a0the rather confusingly named Lake Creek.\u00a0 Lake Creek looked like it sometimes had a lot of water in it.\u00a0 There was some water in it now, too, but most of the creek bed was dry.<\/p>\n

Lupe, Lanis and SPHP had lunch at the Lake Creek campground, and did a little exploring along Lake Creek.\u00a0 Even though there wasn’t any lake, this campground was pretty nice.\u00a0 It felt quiet and remote.\u00a0 Only two spots were taken.\u00a0 For a little while, Lanis and SPHP debated whether or not to skip looking for the lake and just\u00a0stay here.\u00a0 Lupe\u00a0was busy sniffing\u00a0around.\u00a0 She seemed happy enough at Lake Creek.<\/p>\n

In the end, Lanis and SPHP decided to\u00a0move on and continue looking for the lake.\u00a0\u00a0By now, signs had revealed that the lake Lupe was looking for was Howard Lake.\u00a0 The main loop road went on and on.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A black bear ran across the road, and quickly\u00a0disappeared into the forest again.\u00a0 It was an exciting moment!\u00a0 This was\u00a0the first bear Lupe had seen on her 2012 Dingo Vacation, despite all the warning signs about bears back in the Beartooths, Yellowstone and Glacier.<\/p>\n

After some confusion and needless backtracking, Lanis and SPHP finally found Howard Lake.\u00a0 By now it was late enough to camp, so a site was selected.\u00a0 Lupe’s tiny house was set up again.\u00a0 Howard Lake was only 33 acres in size.\u00a0 It seemed to be a favorite of the locals.\u00a0 It was a fishing lake, and there were a number of small boats with people fishing in them.<\/p>\n

\"Howard<\/a>
Howard Lake was only 33 acres. It was a popular fishing lake for locals. Lupe cooled off swimming and wading at this small beach.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although only one picture still survives from Lupe’s time at Howard Lake, she did have a number of adventures there.\u00a0 She cooled off swimming and wading at the small beach.\u00a0 She went with Lanis and SPHP following a wide trail (which apparently used to be the old road) through a tall cedar forest on the W side of the lake.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe was thrilled to find that the cedar forest\u00a0was full of squirrels.<\/p>\n

Later, while Lanis spent some time resting in Lupe’s tiny house after all the driving he’d been doing, Lupe and SPHP went and explored part way along a mysterious trail that climbed into the forest W of the lake.\u00a0 A sign said this was Great Northern Mountain Trail No. 117, but neither Lupe nor SPHP knew where it went.<\/p>\n

The trail gained elevation, and then leveled out.\u00a0 Up here there were quite a few dead trees in the forest.\u00a0 Some had fallen across the trail.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP worked their way around them.\u00a0 Some higher mountains came into view to the N.\u00a0 The trail turned and went into a dense part of the forest.\u00a0 By now, the sun was starting to get low.\u00a0 The cedar forest became darker, denser and progressively more mysterious.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP met no one.<\/p>\n

Finally, Great Northern Mountain Trail No. 117 came to a junction.\u00a0 There was a sign, but nothing on the sign meant anything to SPHP.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP took the left branch of the trail for a little way, but it was going to be dark soon.\u00a0 SPHP hadn’t brought a flashlight.\u00a0 It was time for Lupe to turn back.\u00a0 On the return trip, she had fun\u00a0barking at squirrels.\u00a0 By the time\u00a0Lupe\u00a0arrived back at Howard Lake, it was\u00a0already pretty\u00a0dark.<\/p>\n

As soon as Lupe\u00a0reached the campground, a big German Shepherd spotted her.\u00a0 Lupe snarled at him and fled.\u00a0 The German Shepherd gave chase.\u00a0 Lupe raced in circles between the trees, frequently zig-zagging and doubling back desperate to escape.\u00a0 She is very fast for her size, but the German Shepherd was young, huge, and had much longer legs.\u00a0 Lupe was too agile for the German Shepherd to catch her, but he was keeping up\u00a0a hot pursuit, and frequently getting very close.<\/p>\n

SPHP called to Lupe.\u00a0 She came running.\u00a0 SPHP picked her up and carried her to the safety of the Honda Element.\u00a0 When the German Shepherd finally realized the game was over, it went away.\u00a0 Lupe could come out of the Element again.\u00a0 Lanis and SPHP were cooking beef stew.\u00a0 Carolina Dogs love beef stew!<\/p>\n

\"Dancing<\/a>
Dances with Dingoes, Glacier National Park.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Next Adventure\u00a0<\/span><\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Prior Adventure<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose\u00a0from\u00a0Lupe’s 2012 West Coast\u00a0Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a>,\u00a0Dingo Vacations Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a> or Master Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Day 11 of Lupe’s 2012 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast. When Lupe set out on her 2012 Dingo Vacation, SPHP had hoped she might make it as far as the west coast to see the Pacific Ocean.\u00a0 It hadn’t been certain, though.\u00a0 An alternate plan had been to just go as far as Glacier … Continue reading Glacier National Park to Howard Lake, MT (8-18-12)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[429],"tags":[105,106,498,26,492,499,104],"class_list":["post-3450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2012-west-coast","tag-american-dingo","tag-carolina-dog","tag-dances-with-dingoes","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-glacier-national-park","tag-howard-lake","tag-lupe"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/P1030702.jpg?fit=1651%2C1238&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3450"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20767,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3450\/revisions\/20767"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}