Going West 2013

Wednesday July 24

Today started with the creekside ramble, a walk along the lower McDonald Creek area. As luck would have it Ranger Doug showed up to lead the hike. This was a tremendous stroke of luck because ranger Doug is 87 years old and has spent most of it in the park. His theme for the walk was “change and observation”. Throughout the walk he pointed out how people have impacted the park, how the park has affected people, and how various natural forces have affected the park environment. His stories of how the area was homesteaded and developed into a tourist area were first hand observations and from conversations he has had with local residents. As we walked he pointed out signs of former development, native and non native plants, and signs of animal presence. The park is very concerned with bear / human contact, and ranger Doug pointed out many signs of bear presence. To that point, we have been warned every evening to make sure all food, grills, and utensils are put away in the camper or truck. There is a bear that crosses through our campsite regularly though we haven’t seen it yet. We’re not up early enough, I guess. Anyway, the walk was tremendously interesting and informative.

In the afternoon we took a boat ride on Lake McDonald with a ranger guide. It was a relaxing hour with some views not available from shore. As a whole the valley the lake is in reminds me a lot of the Great Sacandaga Lake valley. The boat is a vintage launch kept is great condition. It was hot this afternoon, about 90, so we came back to the camper and got our suits to swim in the lake again. Very refreshing, and swimming made a shower before dinner unnecessary! The heat is doubly interesting because it’s about 51 or so in the morning. Mom asked the ranger what the temperature overnight is at Logan Pass, the estimate was low 30’s overnight, high 70’s during the day.

This evening we went to the Lake McDonald Lodge for dinner and the evening ranger program presented there. The dinner was delicious. We had a window table overlooking the lake. Part way through the meal the wind came up, probably 30 mph raising whitecaps on the lake. The 7 PM cruise had a much more exciting trip than we did. The evening program was about indigenous birds. The ranger was well prepared with slides and recordings of bird songs. I don’t remember any of it now, but it was interesting.