Glacier National Park 2.0: Avalanche Lake

In my last post, I mentioned that since my initial visit to Glacier National Park was sidelined by rain, I decided to go back 2 months later...

By this point, the wildfires in California and in Colorado had begun (sending love to my California friends who were affected), so I thought that meant getting decent photos was going to be a challenge. What I never expected was that the smoke would actually enhance the photos in some cases.

Case in point were the photos I captured at Avalanche Lake. For anyone who hasn't visited Glacier National Park (and if that's you I hope you remedy that soon), the hike to Avalanche Lake is a MUST. The park was busy and I knew that the parking lot for the trailhead had been filling up by 8-8:30am. I got into the park early and made it to the trailhead parking area by 7:45am and I barely found a parking spot. The Glacier National Park website nps.gov , provides real-time updates about the park. Updates like road closures, parking lots reaching capacity, or even a hiking trail bear sighting. Plan ahead and make sure you get there early enough because you seriously cannot miss this hike!

The hike to Avalanche Lake is 2.5 miles, so I layered up and threw breakfast into my pack before setting off. The hike, rated as moderate with a 757 elevation gain, winds through the old growth forest and ends once you reach Avalanche Lake, which is a stunner. I reached the lake right as the sun was peeking over the mountain wall. The sun's rays were amplified by the smoke hanging in the area and created an almost magical effect. As the sun rose over the mountain, it created this ever-changing, spectacular geometric juxtaposition of light and shadow. It felt like a sacred place somehow and everyone seemed to collectively acknowledge this by speaking in hushed, reverent tones.

After the sun was completely up, I happily and hungrily munched on my breakfast sitting on a boulder, while looking out over the lake. Once I hiked out, it was close to noon, so I decided to tackle another hike. From the same trailhead, you can take the trail to the right which heads to Lake McDonald, instead of taking the left trail to Avalanche Lake. This hike is another 5 miles out and back, but I can't recommend it enough. The trail winds through a beautiful part of the forest and there were very few people on this trail, so it was quiet and serene along the way.

There's so much more to share about the park. Subscribe or check back for my next post.

Bye for now!!