Gorillas in the Mist. Florence Falls is so under loved.

Original Post 7/19/2021

The hike was very lush and misty. And FELT like a large hairy animal from Africa with opposable thumbs was going to leap out of the greenery and rip me apart. Maybe I’m confusing Gorillas in the Mist with Congo?

All righty.  Good day.  Just under 10 miles RT with only 1k of gain/loss.  The destination was Florence Falls.  Yeah, I don’t think I had heard of it before either.  But from the photos, you can see it is kind of a best kept secret.  And I was there on a marginal weather day. There are a half-dozen waterfalls in the St Mary valley, all of them south of the Going to the Sun Road and around the St Mary Lake.  This one is a little deeper to hike to, and not as visited, which is why I’m glad I found some time for it.  The day started a little smoky, then a layer of mountain fog came in which gave the entire hike the backstage of a King Kong movie look. 

The trail is lined with all kinds of berries and stuff bears love to forage. And of course it all shoulder height.   Yeah, I made lots of noise.  The path follows the Reynolds creek drainage and then the St Mary River, so lots moose habitat.   A couple I passed heading out had spotted two moose feeding, and one black bear had crossed the trail in front of them.  Busy place for wildlife.   Great close-up views of Fullisade, Dusty Star, Citadel, Mt Jackson, and all of the glaciers that cling to those mountains.   I may do this hike again on a better weather day.   About half mile from the falls you can hear them roaring.  And then everything in the drainage got very very very lush.  

The cascade was amazing.  The noise, the flora, and the wind it generated caught me off-guard.  You could just feel the crushing power of this water coming down off the mountain. 

This area has not been burned, so there would be some much needed shade if it were a hot day. This spot is far enough from the road to defer the casual hiker and families. Its also an additional .6 miles off the main trail to Gunsight and Sperry, making it a mileage commitment to people hiking with other destinations in mind.  

In the end, a nice surprise.   Would be a great area to spend the day and glass the bottomlands for animals.  There area lot of creatures of the forest out there, and I know they were watch me.

I love stats:

Date

Location

Hikes/Climbs

One Way

Total Miles

Elv +/-

Grade %

To

From

Total Hrs.

MPH

Drive Miles

Mon

7/19/2021

Florence Falls

Hike

4.9

9.8

975

3.8%

2.00

1.85

3.85

2.55

105