When we were planning our trip to Montana, Kent was very interested in doing a hike in the Mission Mountain Range. After a little research he settled on Crescent Lake with the option to continue to Heart Lake, if we felt up to it. It didn't even occur to us that we might also be able to squeeze in Glacier Lake on our way back. However, we both felt great and decided to go for it! It turned out to be a fabulous day of hiking and, in many ways, perfectly captured what we imagined a Montana hike would be like.
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| We didn't realize how popular this trail is . . . get here early if you want a parking spot! |
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We thought if we made it to Crescent & Heart Lakes this would be a big day of hiking for us!
As it turned out we were able to add Glacier Lake to our itinerary . . .
All totaled we ended up with about 9.6 miles (r/t) of hiking, and about 1650 ft of total elevation gain |
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Glacier Creek
We were surprised by the amount of water that was coming out of Glacier Lake . . .
Where we come from (Southern Utah), this would be considered a river . . . but not in Montana! |
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| About this time, Kent was wishing he'd spent some money on bear spay . . . Hey, Bear! |
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| It isn't long until you come to Crazy Horse Creek and this nice bridge |
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| Okay, it's official . . . we are now in the Mission Mountain Wilderness |
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| Red Twinberry, also known as Utah Honeysuckle . . . they are edible, but practically tasteless |
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Just a little past Crazy Horse Creek you come to the next creek crossing . . . Crescent Creek
There is no bridge and it didn't appear that there was any way to cross without getting our feet wet . . .
But, there was . . . it just took us a little while to figure out how to rock hop the stream |
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| Mountain Huckleberry bushes were abundant along the trail . . . we ate our fair share! |
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| Kent looks so small among the tall Larch trees |
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About a mile into the trail you will come to this junction . . .
We headed for Crescent & Heart Lakes, but on the return trip took the trail to Glacier Lake,
which added about .6 mile (r/t) to our day, but was totally worth it! |
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After leaving the junction, we ascended five long switchbacks that took us to the basin the lakes sit in . . .
Our hats off to whoever constructed this magnificent trail . . . it has a nice gradual incline and was lined with ripe huckleberries! |
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| Looking down on Glacier Lake |
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| Time for a selfie in the Mission Mountains |
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| Mariposa Lily |
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About three-miles into the hike, you will come to this junction . . .
It's another three additional miles to Turquoise Lake or one more mile to Crescent Lake (and 300 ft of ascent) |
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Crescent Lake
We didn't spend too much time here, as the mosquitos were pretty bad . . .
As long as we kept moving, they seemed to leave us alone |
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| Glacier Daisy |
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We skirted around Crescent Lake and a half-mile later we were at Heart Lake . . .
Kent was letting us know that we made it! |
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Heart Lake
This was the quintessential Montana lake for us . . . We mostly had this lake, with its snow capped peaks, all to ourselves (only saw others as we left) . . . and there were very few mosquitos!
(Click on the picture for an enlarged view) |
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| Heading back down to Crescent Lake . . . Hey, Bear! |
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| Back on the switchbacks and making our way down to Glacier Lake |
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Allison spotted this unusual flower . . . it was growing upside-down . . .
Chimaphila umbrellata or Pipsissewa
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| Hey, Bear! |
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| Bride's Bonnet . . . a simple flower, also known as Queen's cup |
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Glacier Lake
This seemed to be the most popular destination, probably due to it's 3-mile (r/t) distance from the trailhead . . .
Many families were actually wading/swimming in it! |
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| Colorful Mountain Spiraea was growing near the lakes |
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One last look at Glacier Lake . . .
In the center of the picture there appears to be a snowbank just above the trees that line the lake shore . . .
This is actually Glacier Creek Falls which flow down from Turquoise Lake to Glacier Lake
(Click on the picture for a larger view) |
Wow, what a day! This was our favorite hike in Montana! If you have the opportunity to do this hike, don't pass it up. You can click
here for a good short description of the hike or if you'd like to see a more detailed writeup, that pretty closely followed the route we took, you can read it by clicking
here. If there's a trail, in Montana, that offers more "bang for the buck", we want to see it!
