Red Eagle Lake

On July 10 Patti and I hiked to Red Eagle Lake on the east side of Glacier National Park.

The distance we hiked was 20 miles total.  We were both tired by the time we got back to Patti's car.  My feet especially were sore.  We had not done too much hiking this year so 20 miles was a little on the high side for us.  Due to how tired we were on the way back we decided not to take the Beaver Pond Trail that goes by the 1913 Ranger Station.  We can see the ranger station another day.

The elevation gain to Red Eagle Lake is 300 ft.

This area was extensively burned in a massive forest fire back in July 2006.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv-8gykpHWw

As you can see there is lots of green from the new growth among the many dead trees. I never hiked on this trail before the fire so I didn't know how closed in it was, but judging from all the trees the views were limited back then.  Now, I think this is a fine trail to hike in the Spring or Fall.  There are views and the sun would be welcome.  In mid Summer I think this area would get too hot during the day for an enjoyable hike.  The day Patti and I hiked was a cool day even if it was in July.  This year was a late Spring and a cool Summer so the sun felt good on us this day.

My photos were not good in capturing the wildflowers, but there were many flowers blooming which made for a pretty hike.

Red Eagle Lake is in the valley in the center of the photo.  The mountain left of center is Curly Bear Mountain.  The mountain right of center is Red Eagle Mountain.  St Mary Lake (hidden) is to the right of Red Eagle Mountain.

We crossed Red Eagle Creek twice.

Red Eagle mountain in the background.

These rapids are just downstream a short distance from Red Eagle Lake.  One has to go off trail to see them.

Red Eagle Lake from near the campground at the foot of the lake.

Red Eagle Mountain.  We spoke to a couple camping at the campground who told us a man hiked/climbed to the top of Red Eagle Mountain a few days earlier starting from this campground.  He said it was extremely windy at the top.

Beargrass and a bug.

Patti and I hiked to the head of the lake then beyond to reach Red Eagle Falls.  Past the lake we came across two young male moose in a swampy area.  One moose can be seen left of center behind some trees.  He moved away from us when we came into this area.  I guess that is better than him running towards us.

This is the first waterfall we came across. It is off trail.  Due to the terrain the sound is mostly muffled hiding its power.  When hiking south there are only a few places to catch sight of the falls from a distance on the trail.  Coming from the south (from Triple Divide Pass) it would be very easy to miss these falls as they cannot be seen from the trail.

The second waterfalls.

Here are three videos of the various waterfalls:

Outlet from Red Eagle Lake.  59 seconds long.                   http://youtu.be/avXGkbBgLgk

First set of Red Eagle Falls.    57 seconds long.                   http://youtu.be/nYnHdjROrUM

Second set of Red Eagle Falls.  2 minutes 11 seconds long.  http://youtu.be/5eqL1MPrB8E