Being that 90% of Glacier National Park was closed for the season, it made it impossible to see the true beauty of this place. The one and only road that cuts through the entire park, Going-to-the-Sun Road was closed. This meant that the only way we could really experience the park was to travel on the outskirts of it and trek miles and miles into the central portion in order to reach some of the destinations. We had the pleasure of meeting up with Ranger Jake of Glacier National Park Services to give us a super detailed agenda and route options for our visit. Definitely could not have done it without him, thanks Jake!
Avalanche Lake was easily one of my top destinations, well one of my top accessible destinations that is. Even then, we would have to drive as far as we could go till we reached the locked gates and then trek about 4.5 miles roundtrip in order to reach this lake. Little did we know, this trip was one of the most scenic. We stopped every couple hundred feet to shoot and we realized we were running low on time. If we were to make to the lake by sundown, we had to book it.
After a strenuous hike of slippery rocks, knee high snow, up-hill climbs, we finally came face to face with Avalanche Lake. There is literally no feeling like the feeling of reaching a destination that you’ve really pushed your body’s limits for. Even though 4.5 miles isn’t that bad, the snow, the ice, the up-hill climbs, the snow gear, the camera equipment in my bag, it all really takes a toll throughout that trip. There was nothing like walking onto the sketchy thin-layered ice and hopping around on frozen logs and branches to be in the middle of the lake and tearing open a pack of frozen Sour Patch Kids and enjoying a sunset.
