Letting Go of the Bay Leaf: Hoary Marmot

Showing posts with label Hoary Marmot. Show all posts

Sunday, September 25, 2022

Mosaic Monday #191: Summer Highlights

Autumn arrived in Montana right on schedule. On September 22, low clouds shrouded the hills and rain pattered on and off, accumulating to six-tenths of inch - a deluge by western standards and the first rain since August 27. The thermometer stretched toward 60 degrees, but that may have been aspirational. Overnight, the aspen leaves are more gold than green. I was suffering from a bit of a cold; snuggled under a quilt on the couch. What better time to look back at the highlights of summer?

Note: I am accustomed to seeing the Sego or Mariposa Lily, which is smaller and pure white, but the Sagebrush Mariposa Lily was a stunning new species!

As long as we are in the natural world, let us continue.

In June and July, Swallowtail butterflies were common visitors in the garden. Check out these videos. In the second one, the butterfly is missing the bottom part of one wing ... hard work pollinating all these flowers!

Birthdays always provide a convenient excuse (as if I need one) to draw!

When we are on Skype calls with #1 Son, the conversation at some point touches on newsworthy events, quite often of a political nature. #1 Son is well informed and asks questions that can sometimes make you uncomfortable and certainly make you think. In a June call, he pointed us to Tony Benn and the Five Essential Questions of Democracy. Tony Benn was a British parliamentarian who died in 2014 at age 88. To quote the article at the link below, Benn was "a tireless promoter of a power-to-the-people ethic that placed its faith in the great mass of humanity rather than billionaires, media moguls and political powerbrokers."

Benn believed that those in positions of economic, social and political power should always be asked these 5 questions: "What power have you got?" "Where did you get it from?" "In whose interests do you use it?" "To whom are you accountable?" "How do we get rid of you?" "Anyone who cannot answer the last of those questions does not live in a democratic system," he explained. "Only democracy gives us that right. That is why no one with power likes democracy," he would continue. "And that is why every generation must struggle to win it and keep it." Wise words in 2014, and seeming quite prescient. (If you would like to read the whole article, here is the link. And if you want to test your civics knowledge, consider any elected position and try to answer the questions for it.)

Pioneer League baseball came to the Flathead Valley this summer, and everyone is asking why didn't this happen sooner? Easy access to Flathead Field, not a bad seat in the house, appropriate (read: gorgeous) views of the Whitefish Range, and baseball snacks. What more could you want? One July evening, the game went on a 30-minute weather delay. And no wonder. Check out these skies. I have never seen cloud formations like this. In the end, we left the stadium, anticipating a LONG delay. And, this is a storm that dropped ping pong and golf ball-sized hail on the nearby town of Kalispell. You still see "Hail Repair" signs across town, especially at auto repair shops.

You can click on the photos below to enlarge if you wish.

July also marks the birthday of Spousal Unit. I decided to try my hand at Trifle, a classic British cold dessert of sponge cake and fruit covered with layers of custard, jelly and cream.

This was not a traditional Trifle, and I would change several aspects of the outcome, but it was still DELICIOUS!!!

And here's the birthday card!

I have written about my native garden, and my attempt to let the natural ecosystem work without interference. I was intrigued to see these birds eating something off the Goldenrod. The plants were not in seed at the time, so my only conclusion is they were picking off the aphids that I had "allowed" to stay. Good for them and good for me ...

At the end of July, we were tickled to be visited by a long-term neighbor from our former neighborhood near Cleveland, Ohio (Cleveland represents - we have had 7 visits from that area). Neighbor - you know who you are! Loved having you and I am already looking forward to our adventures next summer! Here are a selection of photos from his visit.

Two photos from Kootenai Falls.

We take almost everyone to the Highline Trail in Glacier National Park. With limited time, it delivers maximum views for minimal effort (relatively) and almost always has wildlife in store. Once again, the Highline kept its stellar reputation.

First time I have ever seen a Columbine with this pink/yellow combination.

I swear that we did not pay this mountain goat to walk right in front of us near Grinnell Glacier Overlook!

At Granite Park Chalet, we saw a mule train resting before its onward journey. I knew mule trains are used to stock the Chalet in the summer, but this is the first time we saw one.

But by far, this was my favorite picture of the day!

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.

Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.

The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Tuesday (U.S. Mountain time).

Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.

Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.

As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.

Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.

Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us.

Sunday, August 15, 2021

Mosaic Monday #143: Up, Up and Away

Our final day of hiking in the Belly River area, measured at 11.72 miles, was not the longest section of our July backcountry camping trip (see first/second day and third day). On the other hand, the 2,445 feet of elevation gain - now, that would get anyone's attention! It was three times more than any previous day. Using one formula I found on the web, this equates to 244 flights of stairs! But you won't catch me complaining! Elevation gain = extensive views! Elevation gain = workout! And we knew a special reward awaited us at the end. If you want to know what it was, read on, my friend!

As I mentioned in my last post, we rose at 6 am with the intention to dry our tents and depart by 8 am. (When hiking steep terrain, it's always better in the cool of the day.) However, due to the rain the day before, and the time it took for the sun to peep over the mountains, drying was a slow process; it was closer to 9 am by the time we bid farewell to the Elizabeth Lake campsite that had been home for two nights.

1.6 miles into the hike, we paused at the foot of Elizabeth Lake to replenish our water and to drop a layer of clothing; we knew we would heat up quickly as the trail immediately began to ascend. Initially winding through forest, the trail eventually emerged onto a massive red scree field that extended as far as our eyes could see.

Without trees to obscure the view, Nephew could capture panoramas such as the one below.

Redgap Creek crossed our path, offering a welcome opportunity for a break and a water refill. This butterfly seemed to be after a drink too, perching on Nephew's Camelpack mouthpiece!

As we continued to climb, we gained a unique perspective on our whereabouts for the last two days. The sandy bay in the picture to the right is the spot we saw the moose, and around the corner from that is our "beach". Directly above that, high on the mountain, is Old Sun Glacier. From down in the valley, we could glimpse only a small section of the glacier. At this height, the ice mass is visible in all its glory.

The vegetation became quite sparse on the upper reaches of the scree field. It always amazes me that there is vegetation at all, and that it seems to be thriving!

Yes, the landscape below can support many forms of life.

I reveled in the blue skies and puffy clouds. In the picture below, I love how the trail disappears around the corner.

A solo hiker passed us on our way up, and we saw no one else until just before the section of the trail that is enclosed with a stone wall. A couple were headed down, and we carefully perched on the uphill side of the path so they could squeeze around us. Tumbling down this scree field would not make anyone's day!

As we approached the path on the rock wall, we could see something falling from the trail. What??? Three members of a trail crew were shoveling rock chips from the path onto the scree field below. One winter's worth of accumulation was enough to almost fill up the path to the top of the rock wall. Apparently, this is what kept the tunnel closed until a few days ago (as it does every summer). The trail is not deemed safe until the chips are removed - walking on them without the protection of the wall would surely lead to a rapid slide downhill!

This is the panoramic view that the hoary marmot enjoys every day (of the summer)!

This video shows the marmot picking up a rock in one paw, and appearing to eat or lick it. I have seen other animals in Glacier National Park licking rocks for essential minerals, and I am guessing the marmot was after the same. Or maybe he dug up a forb that we could not see!

As you can see in the video, plants manage to find a foothold in this rocky environment. I snapped a few of them.

The scar in the rock leads to the Ptarmigan Tunnel, built in 1930 through the Ptarmigan Wall at an elevation of 7,200 feet. The 250-foot manmade tunnel allows hikers to avoid a strenuous climb over very steep terrain between the Belly River Valley and Many Glacier. Two opposing steel jackhammers drilling from either side of the tunnel, and a series of ten-hole rounds of dynamite gradually broke through the mountain in less than three months.

As soon as we reached the tunnel, I felt like Alice in Wonderland: the whole world turned upside down. Near total isolation transformed to a return to civilization. People everywhere. People who want to hike only as far as the tunnel. People carrying silver umbrellas to protect themselves from the unrelenting sun on the south side of the mountain. "Surreal" does not seem to capture it. We enjoyed well-deserved snacks on the Many Glacier side of the tunnel, and then we hoofed the remaining 5 miles to the parking lot without any real stops.

It was hot on this side, and I believe I drained my Camel Pack by the time we reached Many Glacier. I can't tell you how satisfied we were to reach the parking lot and see my vehicle waiting for us!

And even better was to find that the RTIC cooler kept the beer, cider and wine cold for 5 days, in fairly warm temperatures! Cheers to my nephew and Man with Hat - a glorious adventure in every way!