Since Bill had missed the Numa and Loneman hikes he wanted to go on a hike this day. He wanted hike to the Ptarmigan Tunnel but I learned from Edwina that there was a foot of snow up there in September. Anyway, by now the Park had closed the tunnel's doors.
As this was two days after the hike to Numa Ridge Lookout Arnie wasn't up for another hike so soon. After all he is 81 years old. Joyce had fallen during the Numa hike and bruised her knee so she wasn't up for another hike so soon.
Because the previous two hikes were to the tops of mountains, I suggested we hike to Grinnell Glacier. I had never been there. I tried to visit the glacier when Brian was here this past July but a dead mountain goat closed that trail in case a bear may be attracted to the goat carcass.
So Grinnell Glacier it was.
The trail length was 11.6 miles round trip.
Grinnell Glacier is located in my favorite part of the Park: Many Glacier Valley. Because this was closer to the NE part of the Park, the Sun Road was closed and we had to drive Hwy 2 around the park, we met Sue Ann at 7:30 am in Columbia Falls in order to get an early start.When I got up it was still dark outside. Venus was very bright in the eastern sky and the Big Dipper was to the east and standing on its handle. An odd view of the Big Dipper for me as I usually see it in the northern sky and relatively level.
The highway 49 shortcut between East Glacier and Hwy 89 was closed for the season.
It was over a 2 and 1/2 hour drive to the Many Glacier Valley.We started our hike at 10:15 am from the trail head on the west side of Swiftcurrent Lake. Only one other car was in parking lot.
When I left home the temperature was 14 F degrees. At the start of hike it was 30 F degrees. The warmest it got during our hike was 38 F degrees. To make it seem even colder an eastern mountain blocked the sun for a while. We could hear the wind but we were in the trees and did not feel it.
How cold was it? You can see ice on Swiftcurrent Lake around the boat dock. At the other end of the lake is the Swiftcurrent Lodge.
The mountain with snow is Mt. Wilbur.
The mountain was the moon above is Grinnell Pt.
We hiked along the west side of Swiftcurrent Lake, then along the west side of Lake Josephine. Sunlight was finally on us when we reached the end of Lake Josephine. But by this time we had moved out of the trees and now felt the wind.
The following photo is taken near the boat dock at the north end of Lake Josephine. It shows the lake, Mt Gould, and Angel Wing. The valley to the right of Angel Wing is our destination. The valley to the left leads to Piegan Pass.
Photo 1: The sun is coming!
Photo 2: boat dock at southern end of Lake Josephine. In the summer one can take a boat across Swiftcurrent Lake, then walk .2 mile across land, then take another boat across Lake Josephine. Taking the boat saves 1.7 miles of walking. I've taken the boat. To me it is not worth the price as the trail is level and easy to hike.
For some reason I had thought this hike wouldn't gain much elevation. While the gain was less than 2000 ft, it was still noticeable and we had some switchbacks along the trail as we climbed higher.
At the start of the switchbacks Bill decided to stop and turn back. He hadn't hiked in over two weeks and was starting to feel the effects. There also started to be some snow and ice on the trail. Bill had hiked this trail before so he was ok with turning around.
Sue Ann had hiked ahead of Bill and I. After Bill turned around I caught up to Sue Ann. Shortly thereafter we encountered lots of ice where a waterfall went across the trail. I tossed some rocks through the shallow ice and into the creek so we could step on them to cross the creek. I talked Sue Ann into continuing and ended up helping her cross to the other side. Then I talked and helped Sue Ann across another icy section. At the first snowfield she elected to climb up and around the snowfield on the steep grassy slope rather than follow in my footsteps across the snow.
Sue Ann said she has hiked this trail almost every year since she moved to Montana. At least 15 times. But she has never hiked the trail so late in the season.
More snowfields. Sue Ann one was partway across the next one when she felt she couldn't continue. But then she found she couldn't turn around and had to continue forward. I helped her across more snowfields and waited on other snowfields as she slowly made her way across them. The snow was hard but not slippery.
As we climbed towards Grinnell Glacier we passed above Grinnell Lake. I had visited the lake this past July with Brian. I wasn't impressed with the lake, but that may have been because I was bummed that the Grinnell Glacier trail was closed due to the dead mountain goat.
Coming around a bend I met a medium sized mountain goat. We were both surprised to see each other. It moved off the trail then cocked its head as if to try to understand why any human would be up here this time of the year. Its coat was long and white and waved and moved in the strong breeze. Usually I see the goats during the summer when they are shedding their winter coats and they don't look as nice. I tried to take a photo but my camera was acting up and would not take a photo. The goat got bored and moved on before the camera would work.
Photo 1: getting closer to Grinnell Glacier. Note: the wall of mountains is the east side of the Garden Wall and are the Continental Divide.
Photo 2: looking back at Grinnell Lake, Lake Josephine, and Lake Sherburne. Swiftcurrent Lake is hidden by the mountain on the left.
Near the campground below the glacier we again had trees. The area was covered in snow. With all the snow we lost the trail until we saw the campground. Then it was 0.4 mile to the glacier over a treeless area. We lost and found the trail repeatedly as we followed snow and bare ground. I think the bare ground with small loose rocks was slipperier and more dangerous than walking on the snow but Sue Ann didn't want to walk on the snow unless she had to.
Once when she was hiking down over the snow to where I was Sue Ann started to move too fast and I had to catch her to stop her. Another time while waiting for her a strong gust of wind blew me back and down the snow and mountain side until I stopped myself. I, and the snow, wore her down until she felt more comfortable on the snow.
Over the years Grinnell Glacier has melted and shrunk until there are two separate glaciers now. The second glacier on the western side is called The Salamander. The lake at the bottom of Salamander Glacier was completely frozen. I think it was solid ice with no water underneath, but I am not positive.
Notice the snow (glacier) in the upper left of the photo matches the snow (glacier) seen several photos earlier.
We had reached the frozen lake at 1:15 pm. The wind blew and it was cold! We walked briefly on the lake. My camera took a couple photos before refusing to work again. Due to the wind and cold we didn't stay long and we headed back down the trail as this was no place to sit and eat our lunches.
As we hiked back down to the campground we met a man hiking up to the glacier. He was dressed for winter. As we talked he turned his head sideways to take a sip of water from a plastic tube for a Camelback under his clothes.
Sue Ann greeted him with "Another idiot coming to see the glacier!"
Sue Ann and I disagreed as to the direction of Grinnell Glacier and the lake. We were both right and wrong. She was right about where Grinnell was located and I was right as to where the lake was located.
During the hike back over the snow and ice I held Sue Ann's hand most of the time for stability and to ensure she moved quickly across the snow and ice. It was easier to cross if one had confidence and did not psych themselves into fear and uncertainty.
Once we crossed the last of the snow and ice sections we stopped to eat. We were both starving. Once we stopped to eat clouds came over from the north and blocked the sun.
The wind was still blowing and we got cold so we didn't stop for very long and eat. I wore a hooded coat and used the hood. I had forgotten my gloves but fortunately Bill had an extra pair as merely keeping my bare hands in my coat pockets did not keep them warm.When we were back along the lake we were again in trees and out of the wind more often than not. Also the sun came back out. It was still cold, but not as cold.
At the parking lot Bill's car was gone!
Would we have to walk on the road and around the lake to the hotel? A minute later he drove up. 
It was 4:15 pm. Bill had brought brownies that his wife had made for us. They were yummy as we sat in Bill's warm car and warmed up.
There was still only one other car in parking lot. Probably for the guy we had met on the trail. The only other vehicle in the Many Glacier Valley that we saw was a van for the Swiftcurrent Lodge's winter caretaker.
We drove to the end of the road. The Many Glacier Inn was all boarded up with large numbers painted on each board that covered the windows and doors. The better to easily reuse them each winter.
As we drove back along Hwy 89 we met horses on the road. That was different as usually it is cows that one has to watch out for on the road.
On the way home we stopped near the Issac Walton Ranger Station along Hwy 2 and checked the Scalplock Trail to see if the swinging bridge was still up. The Park usually rolls the bridges up for the winter. As we hiked down the trail Sue Ann and Bill wanted me to go ahead as I had more energy and could move faster. They then turned around and went back to the warm car.
The trail was covered in a thick layer of Tamarack needles. A faded orange color. Pretty. I saw tracks on the trail where an animal slid to a stop with all four legs. Hmmm... One track looked to be a hoof. Good, as that was better than a track with claw marks. I found the bridge was still up.
It was getting dark when we arrived back in Columbia Falls at 7 pm.
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