3 September 2015, Thursday
Today is the day of our glacier hike. Grinnell Glacier, Grinnell Lake- upper
and lower, and apparently many other things around Glacier are named
for the man who was instrumental in protecting this area and then
publicizing it so people would come and visit.
The morning is cool and cloudy. Our gear is ready to go from yesterday’s
hike. We decide to have breakfast early at the Glacier Lodge so we
can make the 8:30 ferry ride to start the hike. It’s a good decision.
By the time of the ferry ride there is a cold rain falling. I hate
washing up camp dishes and disposing of the gray water in a cold
rain.
We board the ferry. Our ranger guide is Ittai Levine, a very personable and
knowledgeable young man. About 47 of us are on the ferry. Some, like
O and I, have appropriate rain gear, layers and hiking boots. Others
are dressed in shorts, thin plastic ponchos and sneakers. A few of
these wisely decide not to go on the entire hike. Ittai is quick to
point out that we can bail out at any time. The hike is graded fairly
gently upward except for two steep areas- one at the beginning and one
at the end of the hike. I am surprised at how many people are hanging
in there. It is very cold and the rain is heavy at times. The rocks
look slippery, and there are many places where we are walking along
sharp drop-offs. Ittai stops at intervals to point out glacial
geologic features. By the time we get to our lunch break, many are
more interested in continuing to move to keep warm. Someone asks
Ittai what the worst weather he has ever encountered on this hike was
like. He tells us today is the worst weather he has seen.
The clouds hang low on the mountain tops and at one point we are
completely fogged in as we climb through a cloud. We finally arrive
at the glacier. It is breath-taking – a moonscape, but with a
glacial lake, a glacial lake with mini-icebergs that makes it appear as if it
was transported from Alaska.
As we walk the last half mile over the glacial moraine, O notices large
circular formations in the rocks over which we tread. “Is it
stromatolites?!!” he asks Ittai. Ittai is very impressed – Yes,
they are stromatolites. O is practically ecstatic – he’s always
wanted to see stromatolites! Who cares about bears, or big horn
sheep, or mountain goats? These are stromatolites!!
By now, you may be wondering what exactly is a stromatolite. To the best of
my understanding – these are the fossilized remains of huge
colonies of cyanobacteria, the bacteria that lived on earth about a
billion years ago, give or take, before there was any oxygen. They
were single-handedly responsible for converting earth’s then toxic
(to us) atmosphere to one containing oxygen. In fact, they did such a
good job of it that they almost put themselves out of existence. The rocks
that are on the surface here are ancient. As Ittai put it, the making
of this area geologically speaking can be described in 4 words: Silt,
Tilt, Slide, Glide. The ancient rocks were laid down as sediment on
the floor of an ancient sea. Tectonic movement tilted the layers
upward. The newer plates of rock slipped under the older rocks leaving
them exposed, then glaciers covered and glided over the area –
scouring the old rocks and creating glacial valleys and moraines. And
there we were – standing on top of it all – and getting
hypothermic.
I take off my wet rain jacket and put on an extra layer, along with my
gloves. Feeling much better, we start back down the trail in order
to catch the 4:15 ferry, a special run made just for us hikers.
Leigh, a woman from Madison, WI who is hiking solo asks to go along
with O and me. We, of course, agree. Leigh and I stop frequently to
take photos, with O acting as the time-keeper. Ittai remains behind,
he sweeps the trail as we climb down to make sure everyone is OK. As
expected, Ittai catches up with us halfway down. Leigh and I have
been taking many photos as the clouds lift and the views become even
more amazing. A bit past halfway we get to see a small flock of
bighorn sheep – finally! My first bighorns! We stop for more
photos.
Onward and downward – we get back to the ferry dock in plenty of time.
Leigh is an avid bird watcher and shares her binoculars with us as we
wait. We see warblers, juncos, mergansers and a sandpiper. As we
cross the hill between the two ferries we must take to get back to the
hotel, we see a ruffed grouse strutting across the path. There is a
baby beaver swimming in the lake as we embark.
All in all, a most successful day – topped off by a pint of Moose Drool
Brown Ale and Mountain Man Scottish Ale.