Swiftcurrent Sunrise
The original plan on this particular morning was to head off into the woods on the North side of the Swift Current Lake to get to Fishercap in time to grab some early morning light on the peaks for a nice reflection. We had started up the trail when two things happened at once. First of all, a moose and her calf completely blocked the trail and Tom and the rest of our group suddenly stopped short and stared out at the gleaming eyes looking back at them. Secondly, I looked back toward the east and saw high clouds and knew that there was going to be some serious sunrise action back at the lake we had just left. So we piled back into the Yukon and headed back to the boat dock on the opposite side of Swift Current. We were only there for a few minutes before the sky began to light up.
If you can only pick one spot to visit while you are in Glacier National Park, the Many Glacier Hotel and the surrounding area is pretty hard to beat. Glacier carved peaks rise up literally on all sides of the hotel and the surrounding woods are teeming with wildlife. The hotel was built by the railroad back in 1914 with a Swiss alpine architectural theme. To this day, some of staff still wear lederhosen. You won't find a cell signal in the hotel and the rooms are rather small. But the views….holy cow.
The hotel is also close to several trailheads which head off in all directions into some of the most epic mountain scenery you'll ever see. We checked in three days before the hotel closed for the season. There was an air of anticipation among the staff as they looked forward to winding down after their season ended, but there was also a slight foreboding that I felt, especially after watching "The Shining" just a couple of months before this trip. There's actually a caretaker that stays in that hotel during the winter months. I couldn't help but think how eery it would be to be the only one left in that grand old hotel after everyone else drove down the road. Beautiful….but eery.
But for 7 months of views like the one above…I could deal with a little eeriness. :)
Swiftcurrent Sunrise
The original plan on this particular morning was to head off into the woods on the North side of the Swift Current Lake to get to Fishercap in time to grab some early morning light on the peaks for a nice reflection. We had started up the trail when two things happened at once. First of all, a moose and her calf completely blocked the trail and Tom and the rest of our group suddenly stopped short and stared out at the gleaming eyes looking back at them. Secondly, I looked back toward the east and saw high clouds and knew that there was going to be some serious sunrise action back at the lake we had just left. So we piled back into the Yukon and headed back to the boat dock on the opposite side of Swift Current. We were only there for a few minutes before the sky began to light up.
If you can only pick one spot to visit while you are in Glacier National Park, the Many Glacier Hotel and the surrounding area is pretty hard to beat. Glacier carved peaks rise up literally on all sides of the hotel and the surrounding woods are teeming with wildlife. The hotel was built by the railroad back in 1914 with a Swiss alpine architectural theme. To this day, some of staff still wear lederhosen. You won't find a cell signal in the hotel and the rooms are rather small. But the views….holy cow.
The hotel is also close to several trailheads which head off in all directions into some of the most epic mountain scenery you'll ever see. We checked in three days before the hotel closed for the season. There was an air of anticipation among the staff as they looked forward to winding down after their season ended, but there was also a slight foreboding that I felt, especially after watching "The Shining" just a couple of months before this trip. There's actually a caretaker that stays in that hotel during the winter months. I couldn't help but think how eery it would be to be the only one left in that grand old hotel after everyone else drove down the road. Beautiful….but eery.
But for 7 months of views like the one above…I could deal with a little eeriness. :)