Virtual Hike to Red Rock Falls

I finally made it all the way up to Glacier National Park last weekend. I had planned to leave Wednesday evening but was too tired from my first day of working with the Montana Conservation Corp to drive. I finally made it out of the Refuge at 6:30 A.M. on Thursday  and started the hundred plus mile drive to Glacier. I was making decisions on the fly and decided to go up to the the Many Glaciers Ranger Station on the east side, and talk to them about day hikes. The ranger suggested I go to Red Rock Falls since it is less than four miles round trip.

The falls is on the Swiftcurrent Trail and the trailhead is in the parking lot for a collection of restaurants and tourist stores. It was easy and mostly flat with only small inclines, until after I reached the falls.

The scenery was immediately wonderful.  I was still in the parking lot when I took this picture

The trail soon led through an open forest where beargrass was blooming

The trail  went in and out of open areas, made by an old fire

This was the biggest mammal I saw but the place is supposed to have lots of  bears

Man other hikers were enjoying the trail

Soon I was at the edge of Red Rock Lake, looking at the falls in the distance

These rocks are the reason for the name of the falls and lake

About a fourth of a mile further I found the falls. I traded picture-taking with some women

View across the widest part of the falls

I had to walk downstream and find a break in the bushes to get most of the falls in one picture

A closer look at the lacy bottom falls

Just another mountain

I found these flowers above the falls, as I continued further on the trail

There was another falls only a short distance above Red Rock Falls

I took this picture of Red Rock Lake on the way back

Another hiker enjoying the beautiful day

Another trail side view

The full monty - first beargrass completely in bloom and still full

I finished this hike about 2:30 P. M.  Then I drove to the Many Glaciers Hotel parking lot and took a picture of the Salamander Glacier - and of course a few more.  Then I visited St. Mary;s Visitor Center before starting the drive on Going to the Sun.  That ended up taking until about 9:30 at night and then another three hours the next day. 

I'll save some of my experiences for other blogs and will eventually get up albums of the different hikes and drives I did.

Meanwhile today, July 5th, was pretty wild. I worked for my boss both yesterday and today, then went to my first visit with a new chiropractor immediately after work.  She rescues cats and someone had brought her a kitten found in some trailer. It's sibling was dead and  she was worried about this one. She didn't know how to feed it, although she had been told to get goat's milk for it. I showed her how to feed it - and it ate like a little pig, drinking almost a fourth of a cup by lapping from a eye-dropper,  in two feedings in the two hours I was there.  I also had to teach her how to wipe it with a damp cloth to make it pee.  It was purring and seemed healthy with only some conjunctivitis. (It's going to the vet tomorrow.)

Then she spent another hour and a half with me and gave me free X-rays.  I raced home to close the refuge and found a staffer was already doing it. But three of the horses had gotten out and were in the day use area. I had to get my bunkmates and another lady that lives here to help get them back in their pasture.  So it was after 8:00 before I got around to making supper. And I'm still tired from working yesterday, then going to a fireworks show with one of my bunkmates.  The fireworks didn't start until 10:30 P.M. and ended around 11:00.  Then we went grocery shopping  so didn't get back here until about 12:30 and I didn't get to bed until around 1P.  And now, somehow, its already after 11:00.

The fun never stops around here.