Upper Two Medicine Lake

Saturday Oct 25, Patti and I hiked to Upper Two Medicine Lake.  This hike was chosen for several reasons:

1. It was opening day of hunting season and Patti felt safer hiking in Glacier Park where hunting is not allowed.
2. As a change of pace Patti wanted to hike to a lake instead of a mountain top.
3. We hadn't been on the east side of the Park this year for a hike.  Because of the shorter and shorter daylight, now is better than later for a long day of driving and hiking.

We both had hiked to Upper Two Medicine Lake before.  For me it was October 17, 2010.


As we drove along Hwy 2 through the mountains we saw lots of vehicles parked in many of the road's pullouts. Hunters were out in droves.  I later read a news story where a hunter from Minnesota and later another hunter shot at a grizzly bear that charged them near Marias Pass.  Apparently the hunters had surprised a grizzly and her two cubs who had been feeding on a poached moose and her calf.

Two Medicine Lake was mostly still as the wind was mostly calm. Unusual as the Two Medicine area is usually windy.  The upper mountains were draped in snow.   Winter is coming.

The distance to the lake is about 4.8 to 5 miles one way.  The elevation gain is not much at only 350 ft.

Red line was our route.

The temperature when we started was 37 degrees.  The sky was mostly cloudy.  It appeared like the clouds were breaking up near the start of our hike but that stopped and it was cloudy all day until shortly before we got back to Patti's vehicle.  Then the cloud bank started to leave and the sun came out.

On the trail we met Patrice.  He is originally from Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean but now lives in Seattle where he teaches at a French school.  When Patti and I saw what looked to be somewhat fresh bear scat we waited for Patrice and hiked with him for the rest of our hike.  Safety in numbers.

It was good we hiked together as Patrice had an interesting background and was pleasant company to hike with.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A9union
http://www.reunionisland.net/

Search Google images for more awesome photos of Reunion Island.


Twin Falls (between Two Medicine Lake and Upper Two Medicine Lake) is not far off the trail so we stopped to see it.  This time I noticed a user path on the left of the left falls and followed it up the twists and turns and extra falls to almost the top of the falls.

We hoped to see moose as my previous hike to Upper Two Medicine Lake had multiple moose sitings.  No moose this time.   Here are a few photos from my previous visit where I saw moose, including the last photo where the moose blocked the trail for a while.

Other than a few birds and squirrels close by the trail, the only other wildlife seen was with Patti's binoculars. While eating our lunch at the lake I used the binoculars to spot mountain goats and two bighorn sheep up on the rocky mountainside of Pumpelly Pillar

Follow this link for more photos:

https://plus.google.com/photos/109566462412251958234/albums/6076251096230010017?authkey=CIfeoriH65aZHA


For a video of Twin Falls we passed along the way:  http://youtu.be/lNyoyUA5Q1c

For a video of the falls of water shortly after it exits Upper Two Medicine Lake: http://youtu.be/q7aqIFR4ics

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Mission Lookout

Friday, October 24, Joyce, Kendra and I hiked to the Mission Lookout in the Flathead National Forest. The lookout, constructed in 1959, is at an elevation of approximately 3,700 feet. It is a 15-by-15 facility atop a 40-foot tower.

To reach the lookout:

From Swan Lake, travel south on Highway 83 for 3 miles. Turn west onto Porcupine Creek Road 10229 (mile-marker 68). After passing Forest Road 9714, turn right onto Forest Road 9803 (2.2 miles after leaving the state highway). Continue on Forest Road 9803 for 1.4 miles, to a gate. The gate may be opened. If not, it can be opened with the same combination code as the tower. The tower and parking area are located just beyond the gate.

The gate was open so we could have driven all the way to the lookout but we parked Kendra's car near the intersection of roads 10229 and 9803 and walked a little over a mile to the lookout.

We gained about 400 ft in elevation.

This lookout was also closed.  We were able to climb the tower until we reached a (combination) locked 'door' in the platform floor.  While this lookout is taller than the Napa lookout, the trees are taller.  So our view of the Swan Mountain Range from just below the cabin floor was merely ok through gaps in the tree tops.

This lookout is a rental lookout.  A fire pit is nearby.  Propane tanks are also nearby with a metal pipe going up the tower to the lookout cabin.

A sign on the tower warned of pack-rats and recommended leaving your vehicle's hood open so pack-rats would not build a nest in your engine compartment.

There is a modern restroom/outhouse at this lookout.