Another day in paradise! Wonderful heat! Fantastic gain! Incredible miles!

Original Post 7/04/21

I wanted to take it easy for a day and just pop up to Arrow Lake, which lies about midway up the Camas valley west of Lake McDonald and runs along the backside of Mt MacPartland and the heavily photographed Heaven’s peak. This is also where a famous grizzly mauling when down in August of 1967. Not a lot of miles and a little gain, but it would be thru a fire burn from several years ago.

What is growing back in nothing short of prime bear country. Lots of grasses, berry bushes, six foot high brush that will hide a feeding Ursula Major until it is too late. So I’m putting bear spray on my next amazon order list because of lot of where I’m hiking in GNP is looking like this.

I notice a map interpretation error after 2500 feet of gain at the 3.5 mark. After sweating not stop in the open windless sun on a dusty trail that made me feel like that Peanuts favorite Pig Pen, I realized there was a 1200 foot drop to all the way down to Trout lake.

Ouch. From there is would be another couple miles up to Arrow. That is how a easy day turns into 13 miles and 3800 feet of gain/loss. I was getting short on time and had to turn around at the head of Trout Lake, so never made it to Arrow and the site of the mauling. The trail was all valley bottom and simply horrible. Wet, muddy, buggy, marshy, zero view, and some of the thickest brush I’ve had to claw my way thru in the entire park.

Most of the time I couldn’t even see the trail. Let’s just say my curiosity has been satisfied of the Camas valley and there is nothing worth my effort back there. But good views of Mt Rogers and Rogers Lake, along with the seldom seen back side of Heavens Peak. It is way too brushy of a valley to explore for me. I miss the open scree fields of the east side.

Climbing out of the 1200 foot valley sucked. Hot, tired, and running later than I preferred for work. Then as I drove the mile of dirt road from the trail head to the ranger station along the shore of LMD, there is he was. About a 180 black bear walking down the middle of the road.

So I idled behind him. He was like me: tired, miserable, hungry, thirsty, just lumbering down the easiest path in the forest. He finally broke away and I bid him a good afternoon. My first bear sighting of the season so early.

Competed my first complete shuttle shift. Finished up at midnight. Drove just under 250 miles and had only two passengers to keep me company for a couple of minutes here and there. I will be keeping stats on that. And Hungry Horse really blows things up for the 4th of July. Literally.

There were a couple hundred people sitting along the shoulder of Hwy 2 lighting off fireworks with the local fire engine sitting there with a hose. Food carts and craft booths everywhere. Must be a local HH tradition (and self proclaimed ‘Friendliest Dam Town in the World.”