DESCENT TO LAKE MCDONALD FROM SPERRY CHALET-SUMMER 2007.

Our last night at the Sperry Chalet. We had a Roast Beef Dinner served by the excellant staff that works there! Albert the Baker (in the red cap) is the Pie Master!!
After dinner, it was one last evening of cards. Here, Charlie perfects the "Uncle Perry Scowl"!
They put the hex on me and I lost yet again while playing "HEARTS"!


The next morning we gathered our stuff together so we could hike back down the mountain. Time to wake up "Sir Charles"!
When we had went on our hike up to Sperry Glacier the previous day, I had worn my hiking shirt that I had worn on the short hike to Hidden Lake. I noticed it had a funky smell to it which drove me crazy the whole time out to the Sperry Glacier. I knew I hadn't funked it up THAT much when I had worn it earlier in the week. This was one of the reasons why I had SO looked forward to getting cleaned up, even at an outdoor sink when we got back!

Anyway...as I was loading my stuff into my Camelbak, I noticed my nightgown had this huge brown stain on it! (I wasn't sure what the sleeping arrangenments were going to be, so luckily I had also brought along my sweats since we were all in the same room.) As I'm staring at this awful brown spot I decided to smell it. AACCKK! It had that SAME funky smell as my shirt, only worse!!! Slowly, it dawned on me. IT WAS HORSE SWEAT!!!! EEWW!! My clothes had been crammed into the canvas saddle bags and Son of Satan's sweat had seeped through to my clothes! BLECH!!!! Nasty is the the best word to describe that rankness!

Naturally, I am last in the 6.5 mile hike back down to Lake McDonald!

Taking a short break from our downhill descent.
Once we got down to Lake McDonald, Perry drove over to Kalispell, MT to pick up my sister-in-law Peggy at the airport. She could only get 2 weeks vacation whereas the rest of us had 3. Dave, Charlie & I headed over to the Many Glacier Hotel, got cleaned up and waited for them to meet us there. Unfortunately due to flight delays, Perry & Peggy spent the night in Kalispell and caught up with us the next day. They also missed David Walburn's show in the Music Mountain House Theatre at the Many Glacier Hotel. We were first made aware of David Walburn while on our Summer 2005 trip, our first trip ever to Glacier NP. He is a singer, songwriter and performs his original music with a slide show presentation. He does 3 different shows, a Lewis & Clark, one on Montana and our favorite which is entitled "Cabin Song"; chronicling the adventures of building a cabin in the interior of Alaska right out of college with 3 good friends. We took Charlie with us and I think he was expecting an evening of "lame Parent's entertainment" or and evening of "Parent's lame entertainment" but he was pleasantly suroprised. He asked to have his picture taken with David Walburn.


The Sperry Chalet experience is a definite highlight of the 2007 Canadian Rockies Trip!

SPERRY GLACIER HIKE-GLACIER NP SUMMER 2007

We awakened the next morning ready to tackle a strenuous dayhike. We had our breakfast in the Dining Hall, grabbed our sack lunches of roast beef sandwiches, filled up our hydration packs and hit the trail.

This 8 mile round-trip day hike, took us up and over the mountain, through snowfields and gave us spectacular 360 degree views!


Charlie and I at Akaiyan Falls.

Continuing on the trail, we encounter the first snowfield. Uncle Perry and Charlie have an ultimate snow wrestling contest. Age won out over youth!


Looking back at Akaiyan Lake.



This is what we had to climb to get over the mountain. They had blasted out narrow stairs, set metal poles into the rock and put a chain cable for balance & support. Going up was not too bad, coming down was a tad scary.


Dave photographed me crossing another snowfield, approaching our destination-SPERRY GLACIER!

This where we ate our lunch, sitting on top of the world!


SPERRY GLACIER!!




Dave and Charlie with some beautiful glacial lakes. On top of the world before coming back down!


Perry and I returning over Comeau Pass.


Off in the distance, the Sperry Chalet returns to our views again.



Another relaxing evening of a delicious dinner and cards in the Dining Hall await!.

SPERRY CHALET, GLACIER NP-SUMMER 2007

Dave and his brother Perry had headed out on their short backcountry hike, over Gunsight Pass, overnighting it at Lake Ellen Wilson. The next day we were to rendez-vous at the SPERRY CHALET.
From the website:
Sperry Chalet was built in 1913 by James J. and son Louis Hill of the Great Northern Railway, the prime developer of Glacier National Park. Listed as an Historic Landmark, these rustic buildings, built of native rock, have survived their rugged environment relatively unchanged for over 90 years.

Charles and I left St Mary's Campground at 6AM, drove over the Going To The Sun Road and arrived at Lake McDonald at 7:15. We grabbed a quick bite of breakfast and checked in at the stable by 8AM. We were allowed to wear our Camelbaks but had to pack our clothes and other items into the saddlebags that would be slung over our horses. I grew up in the inner city and have had practically NO experience with horses. If reading all of those horse stories as a young girl would've enabled me to be knowledgable, I could be an expert! As the Trail Boss was explaining the directives and "driving instructions", his horse was stomping and throwing his head all over the place. I thought, "Wow, that horse is a handful, I hope mine is as docile as a carousel pony!" To my disbelief, he singles me out and motions me to come over and get on SON OF SATAN, I mean..."BLAZER", the VERY horse he's on! The whole 6.5 mile ride up to the chalet I fought that horse! Even on the really steep parts of the trail when he should have been "focused", all he did was eat! He grabbed not only grass and ferns but he was even eating seedling pine trees! Charlie, who was right behind me on his horse SHORTY (the biggest horse at the stable) asked me if I was "riding a horse or a pig?" The Wrangler In Charge later told me that BLAZER had been a free-range rescued mustang. That didn't change my opinion of the demon horse however!



Once I was free of the devil horse, we checked into the chalet. Our family was given a room that would sleep the 4 of us, within the actual chalet. Charles flops on Uncle Perry's bed!


The Sperry Chalet is only 1 of 2 remaining backcountry chalets built in the early days of Glacier National Park. The Great Northern Railroad funded the building of the chalets for early tourists, before the "Going To The Sun Road" was put in. There are 3 seperate buildings-a dormitory, kitchen and restroom facility. This is the dormitory.


This is a picture of Charles in the Dining Hall with his piece of home-made Apple Pie! The chalet is only open 10 weeks in the summer and has a staff of 9 people to work it. They do everything from cooking, including a baker, to housekeeping. The staff was wonderful to say the least, it was a very first class experience! Our cost included dinner that evening-turkey with all the trimmings, a made to order breakfast and a sack lunch! By the way, I had home-made peach pie!


Charles and I were at the chalet about an hour before Dave & Perry caught up with us. There are resident mountain goats all over this mountaintop. They are accustomed to people but are still wild and skiddish.

One of the locals hanging out on the deck of the chalet!

After Dave and Perry cleaned up and we had relaxed, we gathered in the Dining Room to await our Turkey Dinner complete with Pumpkin Pie for dessert! The chalet only operates on propane power and all supplies as well as garbage are packed in and out, on horseback. The staff cleans up after dinner and the dining room is opened back up, for a couple of hours to the guests. Coffee and tea are served and it is lit inside for reading, playing games, visiting or playing cards as we did.




After breakfast the next morning we will collect or sack lunches and head out to Sperry Glacier.

DEADWOOD FALLS HIKE-GLACIER NP SUMMER 2007

Glacier NP is my favorite park that we have been to so far. I love the mountain vistas, the "Going To The Sun" road, the history and well, it's in MONTANA! I have said before that I have been to a lot of different places but the feeling that swept over me the first time I went to Montana, was like no other. It's as if my spirit knew that this is my home!

The hike to DEADWOOD FALLS wasn't a long hike by any standards! Dave and his youngest brother Perry were going to do a short backcountry hike up Gunsight Pass, camp overnight at Lake Ellen Wilson and the next day they were to rendez-vous with Charlie and I (who were going up on horseback) at the SPERRY CHALET.

Perry, Charlie and Dave at the Trailhead.


The Great Northern Railroad built a chain of chalets in the earliest days of the Park as a means of attracting visitors. There was no "Going To The Sun" Road at that time, so riding horseback was the only means of seeing this "Crown Of the Continent". Out of all the chalets built, SPERRY & GRANITE PARK are the only 2 that remain. Charlie and I decided to hike in a short way with Dave and Perry to Deadwood Falls but after a half mile in, Charlie decided to go back to the van. The 3 of us hiked the remaining 3/4 mile of the trail, part of it running parallel to Reynold's Creek until we reached our destination.



Reynolds Creek as it prepares to enter the small gorge leading up to Deadwood Falls.

The creek runs through this gorge....
and collects in this deep pool before going over the 30 foot Falls.


After a short break and snapping off pictures, I kissed Dave goodbye and told him that I would see him the next day at SPERRY CHALET.

Upon leaving the guys, I had to hike back to the van, ALONE! I had been under the impression that I was going in with them, a short walk to the watherfall, not 1.3 miles. Thus, I had brought no daypack and no bear spray! Dave laughed that this would probably be a good time for me to sing, (the only time I wouldn't receive a hard time or groans when I bursted into an exuberant song!) The only problem was that it was all uphill going back and my breath was being used for other things, mainly breathing rather than singing! As I wound through the forest and berry bushes I thought of scenes from 2 different movies.

The first movie that came to my mind was "Jurassic Park"; that scene where the dinosaurs are sneaking through the vegetation and yank out the stragglers that are crossing through the meadow in single file formation! The other movie was "Return of the Mummy", where the voodoo, pygmy creatures with blow darts, are screaming through the jungle killing everyone in sight! I tried to quiet my over-active imagination but just when I thought I had gotten it under control, I heard a noise in the vegetation and stopped. It stopped as well. Peering out under the canopy of green, I strained my eyes for a glimpse of grizzly fur. I saw nothing and after what seemed like an eternity I resumed walking. After a few paces, I heard the noise again and felt something reach for my leg! I took off running, knowing full well that I could never outrun a griz with my short, fat legs! Waiting for something to tackle me as I ran, I replayed the events in my mind. Only after I had "ran" a short distance did I realize what had happened. As the morning had worn on, the temperatures had risen and I tied my rainjacket around my waist. The vegetation covered over parts of the trail and as I had walked through, the swishy nylon had brushed against the plants and then bounced back onto my leg! When the full realization hit me, I laughed so hard at my own foolishness that I am sure whatever creatures were lurking in the woods, had been chased off.

When hiking I have learned to never take yourself TOO seriously!