CR2016: Bald Mountain Lookouts

August 3rd began cloudy, cool (4°C), and damp,

but the rain began to stop, and our group shoved off at 10am for a tour of lookout points on Bald Mountain; the meadows are on the gentle south slope of that mountain.

We dressed warmly and with rain gear. Our first stop, at an unnamed viewpoint, looked down into (Canada's) Glacier National Park.

A closer look.

Zooming in on Sir Donald, in the mist.

We proceeded a short distance to Tumbledown Point, where we paused and enjoyed a snack.

This young tree, twisted by the winds, clung to the mountainside.

Fog and clouds continued to blow up the valleys and along the ridge, revealing and obscuring the view. Some of our group decided to return to the lodge, and the rest began to work uphill, a warming activity, towards the high point of the Purcell Meadow. 

This photo looks back at a creek we crossed.

The whitebark pine in this region is endangered, facing multiple threats including white pine blister rust, mountain pine beetle, climate change, and fire exclusion/suppression.

We continued uphill until we simultaneously reached the National Park boundary, the edge of the meadow, and the summit of Bald Mountain.

We happily shed our gear and dove into lunch.

However, Barry had a mishap. Placed on the edge of a scenic but steep drop on the north side, his pack began slide down the mountain. He grabbed it in time, but his water bottle flew out of the pack and didn't stop until it hit the rocks below. This concerned him. He called on Sarah, our guide, to help.

Now what? Sarah?

Sarah calmly made her way down to the rubble field, and with Barry directing, found the errant water bottle. (Click on the image to enlarge). She spritely made her way back up, and handed the cracked bottle to Barry.

Sarah is the red dot right of center.

The skies began to brighten after lunch, and we wiggled and wandered through the flower-laden meadow on the way back to Purcell Lodge, rejoining the Copperstain trail we had hiked yesterday.

As we neared the lodge Mount Sir Donald became a weather vane.

Hors d'oeuvres were waiting for us when we arrived at the lodge, 3pm. Wonderful!

Tomorrow was to be another ambitious hike, to Grizzly Col.