Difficulty
Worsening wildfires have made the Glacier high country's season shorter and shorter. The Going To The Sun Road doesn't open all the way to Logan Pass until late June, and the park can be closed due to fires by August. And that's not even considering the smoke from fires in Canada, which can make hiking unhealthy even when the park is open. So one sometimes has to make do with conditions that aren't ideal. In this case, the Mt Oberlin trail was covered in places with snow drifts up to several feet deep and badly undermined by meltwater.
Snow shoes would've been a good idea. A really good idea.
At one point (before this shot was taken, I think) I was transitioning between solid rock and a snow drift when I went in almost up to my hip. It wasn't the first time I'd gone in, but this time my other foot was still planted on solid ground above the top of the snow. I twisted the knee that went in the snow and the ankle that didn't. One of them, I'm not sure which, made a loud enough pop to be heard 20 yards away. Surprisingly enough, no real harm was done. My ankle was a bit unstable and my knee was a little sore, but I got back down safely.
Difficulty
Worsening wildfires have made the Glacier high country's season shorter and shorter. The Going To The Sun Road doesn't open all the way to Logan Pass until late June, and the park can be closed due to fires by August. And that's not even considering the smoke from fires in Canada, which can make hiking unhealthy even when the park is open. So one sometimes has to make do with conditions that aren't ideal. In this case, the Mt Oberlin trail was covered in places with snow drifts up to several feet deep and badly undermined by meltwater.
Snow shoes would've been a good idea. A really good idea.
At one point (before this shot was taken, I think) I was transitioning between solid rock and a snow drift when I went in almost up to my hip. It wasn't the first time I'd gone in, but this time my other foot was still planted on solid ground above the top of the snow. I twisted the knee that went in the snow and the ankle that didn't. One of them, I'm not sure which, made a loud enough pop to be heard 20 yards away. Surprisingly enough, no real harm was done. My ankle was a bit unstable and my knee was a little sore, but I got back down safely.