Dora the Explorer. Lo Hicimos! Maps are a good thing. :-)

Original post date 8/16/21

Today I went exploring. And how can I talk about exploring without Dora! Lo Hicimos (We Did It)!

Not sure how many of you are familiar with the Dora the Explorer kid show that ran from 1999 to 2005.  I recall passing thru the room when my kids were watching it, which is probably where I learned how to say Blue and Red in Spanish.  I can’t even begin to tell you how that has enriched my life. 

I also discovered if you WIKI the show, you find a lot of haters out there internet world. There are there who claim the way she was animated indicates Dora was Downs Syndrome. Along with some disease I can’t spell that made her head 15% larger than a normal human head. 

Well, I think I’ll hold off any opinions until ALL of the Kennedy Assassination documents are released under the Freedom of Information act.  I only have the capacity for one truly great conspiracy at a time.

I’d like to say I’m at Stage 3 this summer.  Stage one was getting in trail miles.  You need trail miles to get the legs to climb.  Stage two was starting to climb a few peaks here and there; reach for the views.  Relive some glory days and well as find lofty points in the sky I never had time for. 

Stage three is….  You guessed it ….. just go and do some old fashion exploring.  I got a little taste of it when I was up on Clements walking the goat trails. In retrospect, they mainly seemed to lead me more to an untimely death that the actual summit.  But the spirit of finding something new has finally taken hold.

Not having a set mileage goals or to make or specific point on the map you feel you must stand on. To just enjoy the spaces on the map with no names.

So I have been eyeballing this long long long arm that comes off of Mt Reynolds up at Logan Pass.  It’s really an insignificant geological feature when you are at the pass. But when seen from the St Mary valley approach, it has more of a pointed peak look to it. Very typical of the mountains at Glacier. 

As you’ve seen from the photos I have shared this summer, you can have a dumpy little ridge from one perspective which can suddenly turn into an unclimbable sheer wall thousands of feet straight up from the opposing view.  The wonder of a glaciated landscape. 

This arm of land interested me, and I could commit a full morning to it before work.  As a side note, I’m finding I’ve pretty much tapped out everything I can get to before my shift, unless I want to start getting up at 3am and I’m really don’t see that happening.  And why burn cartilage on repeats where there is so much terra incognito for the taking?

I followed some great climbing trails towards and then around Reynolds.   I also took a lot of photos of the west cliffs of Mt Clements, where a couple of other climbing routes originate from.  However, these are just off the Hidden Lake overlook viewpoint.  Which means, if I attempt any of these routes, I’ll have probably 100-300 people watching my every move and secretly hoping I’m going to fall. 

Maybe not that bad, but if I don’t like to stop and ask for directions at a gas station, do I want all of these people watching me climb up and down cliffs looking for the best route?  I’d rather do more research on the eastern approach and save it for another season.

 

Great views of Bearhat, Hidden Lake, Heavy Runner, Reynolds, and this fantastic ridge that I was exploring.  It was a heavy smoke day.  Even got some random dude that was following me when I turned back to snap a shot of Clements. 

I let him pass, gave a greeting, nothing in return.  Maybe if I let him pluck a few of my hamstrings like a banjo he would have seen I’m a real climber with credibility and given me a ‘good morning.’  Whatever.  

I did seem him take off on the goat trail over the Dragon’s Tail, so I know he was doing a very very serious 10+ hour off trail day.  Solo day.  A lot braver than I am given the terrain he was going to cover.  At least that’s what I’ll tell the rangers when questioned during the search and rescue operation.

The ridge was really cool.  No boot marks.  No cairns.  Some game tracks here and there.  Hard to think you are only a couple miles from the ultimate shit show known as Logan Pass and can find this kind of peace. 

I was able to get to where the cliffs were breaking up and did a little down climbing and bushwhacking before I needed to turn back for the day.  Even built my own cairn so I could find this cliff break again. I might find time to explore later this summer drop down into the Twin Lake valley (which isn’t really accessible from any other approach). 

The cairn was immediately useful.   Because somehow in the bushwhack I had lost my favorite grey stocking hat you see me wearing.   Went back and forth several times trying to find it.  Unbelievable.  Loved that hat.  I’m sure it will be the floor rug for some pika’s den this winter. But in all the confusion that cairn brought me back home.

If I lose any more shit I’m going to be appearing naked on my videos.

The hike back to Logan Pass was great. Didn’t come across another hiker this entire outing (except that one stalker guy). Pleasant elevation and I had it all to myself in one of the most crowded areas of the park.

There it is.  A boring day. No 20-mile trek or 10,000 peak.  No bear scares or bad goat moments.  Other than adding to the Glacier National Park unofficial lost and found (where all my clothing and gear must be), it could only be called a stress-free outing.   

Even caught a nice little nap before work.  If all of life could be this simple:  Sleep, hike, eat, and work at an effortless job that affords you the ability to do all the former.