This is Flinsch Peak. I decided to climb it the first day I got there. Only problem was that's not mist or haze, that's smoke from all these damn forest fires they had out there.
This is a picture from the top of Flinsch Peak looking down at some other mountain. You can make out Old Man lake at the bottom right. The map says the peak is 9,225, but my GPS said the elevation was 9,276. Regardless there wasn't a lot of air up there, just smoke;
This is what Flinsch Peak looks like when there is no smoke (it's the pointy peak to the left);
This is Hidden Lake, more or less smack dab in the middle of the park;
This is Hungry Horse dam. It's bigger than it looks. They canceled the tours thanks to those SOB's on 9-11.
This is Iceberg Lake and its surrounding cauldron;
This is a moose;
This is a ram or mountain goat or something with horns. Kept following me around. I surmise people have fed the goats because they follow you around and have no problem walking where humans are;
There are more pictures, but I won't bore you with all of them.
The unknown animal is a moose.
ReplyDeleteThe "something with horns" is a bighorn sheep. Someone didn't read Ranger Rick as a child.
ReplyDeleteYou should go see Yosemite sometime, and the high sierras. There's more to Yosemite than just the valley. Tuolumne Meadow is very nice too. It's base elevation is something like 8000'. There are peaks over 13,000' in the area. Far fewer people up there too.
ReplyDeleteDo you camp on these trips, backpack, or just stay in a lodge?
Mahan,
ReplyDeleteNo, I didn't read ranger rick. Reading got in the way of video games back then.
Anon,
No, primarily camped or stayed at the way side.
They're charging $20 a camp site, $5 if you're in the back country. So I camped in the backcountry once and then stayed at a wayside in Whitefish
So, backpacking then? Back country camping generally means more than a mile outside of any developed area and something like 100 yards off any trail.
ReplyDeleteI never really had you pegged as an outdoorsman, really.
Did you actually climb that mountain? Or was there a trail to the top? Just curious if you're a mountaineer as well.
Ouch man! Of course I backpack and hike.
ReplyDeleteFlinsch Peak was about a 14 mile round trip hike. That in itself is not so grueling. It's the incline to the top of the peak and then the descent.
The trail called "Dillon's Pass" goes up to the continental divide. Then it's about another quarter mile or so a climb. The vertical climb wasn't the hardest, it was going up gravel like shale at a 45 degree incline. Did a couple other hikes out there, but nothing more than 10 miles.
Beyond that I've done some serious hikes. I've hiked the entire northern crescent of the Badlands national park, and did a 24 mile stint in Theodore Roosevelt National park. Though there aren't a lot of mountains to climb.
"t was going up gravel like shale at a 45 degree incline."
ReplyDeleteIt's called Scree. Talus are larger boulders.
I hate scree.
ReplyDeleteSo do the rest of us. That's why mountaineers tend to climb when there's snow on the mountain. It gives you a nice smooth surface to work with, and it locks all that crap in place.
ReplyDeleteIf you do all this other stuff, do you do any rock climbing? I know there's a gym somewhere near Minneapolis. I grew up in Eden Prairie, my brother moved back there after he finished college.
Justin
Now all I can hear is Captain Hook shouting "SCREE!"
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Anon- Yeah, here and there. I did some rock climbing at the cliff's at Taylor's Falls and then during spring there's some ice walls to climb along the Minnehaha creek and Fort Snelling area. I also climbed one of the spires in the Black Hills and also Turtle Mountain in New Mexico. But most of the rock climbing I do is usually part of climbing a mountain or through a hike. I don't purposely go rock climbing, it's just a matter of "Oh, I have to scale this cliff to get where i want to go. Oh well."
ReplyDeleteSorry to keep asking questions about this, but I'm interested. I read your site almost every day.
ReplyDeleteSo, you do ice climbing? Like, the full, crampons, and ice tools, and ice screws? Lead, or top rope?
And, as far as your rock climbing goes, like full 5th class technical climbing? Or, more like 3rd and 4th class stuff? Trad climbing, placing cams, nuts, and hexes, and roped in?
You'd probably really like the high sierra if you're into this stuff. Lots of peaks, and easy 5th class multi pitch routes.
Justin
I've gone ice climbing with a buddy of mine twice. He had all the gear, I didn't know what it was called, but yes, I'm sure that's what we had.
ReplyDeleteAs far as my expertise, I'm no expert. aside from the ice climbing I have never used any gear. No ropes, no stakes, etc. I was brought up in the Midwest and poorly so, so there was this yearning to go to the moutains and I wanted nothing more than to climb them and hike. But I have no idea what level I would be.
Probably my most difficult climb was the spire in the Black Hills. I had to shimmy up a crack in the spire to get to the top. Otherwise it's been pretty easy with enough cracks and talus(?) to climb on. I know I would NEVER be able to do El Capitan in Yosemite or anything that sheer or vertical. But if there's some jagged edges and cracks I can usually make it up there.
Bah, don't sell yourself short here. You should go over to the local climbing gym there, you might like it.
ReplyDeleteI'd never do El Cap either, but mostly because it's a 3 day climb, that's 3 full days hanging off the sheer vertical face.
There are lots of shorter climbs that you can do in a single day, or, even just a few minutes.
But, definitely, if you're into this kind of stuff, go check out the climbing gym there, and give it a try. It requires much less strength than you'd imagine, it's a lot of technique. With all the dancing you do you may be a natural.
Justin
Here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.verticalendeavors.com/
St. Paul, that's the one I thought sounded nice when I was looking for one for my brother.
I just found this too, though I didn't read it closely at all:
http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/1997/01/27/story8.html
Justin
A bit of fuel for your fire, pardon the pun, but we wouldn't be having such severe wildfires if the Forest Circus would responsibly manage all that public land they have. The forests get too dense because we've been putting out the fires for a century, but radical "environmentalists" won't let any thinning operations go on, and tie them up in court.
ReplyDeleteWe started putting the fires out so that they wouldn't burn property, but fire is a natural part of the ecosystem, it cleans out the brush and fallen branches every few years, and doesn't usually harm the larger trees like ponderosas. However, we don't have natural fires like that anymore, we put them out and let the brush and ladder fuels pile up. Now it all burns. It would solve the problem if we selectively thinned the forests, but the lefties will be damned if they'll let a chainsaw run in the forest. Nevermind if it creates jobs and is for the overall health of the forests.
Also, from a local point of view, you might like the Bob Marshall Wilderness if you want to go camping, it's ~90 miles from Glacier, and you don't have all the tourists.