Glacier's Avalanche Lake living up to its name

With much of the last week given to rain and overcast skies, a beautiful Saturday gave me just the occasion I was looking for to head up to Glacier Park.

I was impressed with how much the snow had receded as I passed through Hungry Horse. However, once Glacier's peaks came into sight, it became clear that the higher elevations still had no shortage of snow cover.

That said, Going-to-the-Sun Road was open to the Avalanche Campground, as it usually is by this time in May. Even so, the campground itself was under construction, as was the Sun Road beyond the gates at the Avalanche checkpoint.

Apparently, most of the Flathead Valley and a handful of early visitors had the same idea as I did, because there was no parking to be found, even though I arrived before noon.

Once parked, I grabbed my Camelbak and camera and headed up to Avalanche Lake. Just about everyone knows about Avalanche Lake, so I'm not revealing any secrets by writing about this popular location in Glacier Park. However, I may have a few secrets to tell about accessing it at this time of year.

Avalanche is one of the first trails in Glacier Park to be cleared and opened in the spring, making it one of the most used trails in the park, especially when one considers that the hike is an easy 2.9 miles each way - 5.8 miles, roundtrip - and a mere 500 feet gain in elevation.

Charles Howe has been acknowledged as the first person to spot Avalanche Lake, along with Sperry Glacier, in August of 1894, from a vantage point near the summit of Mt. Brown. After catching sight of these two wonders, Howe retraced his steps and found a way to reach the lake by skirting the western and northern slopes of Mt. Brown.

Howe later discovered a better route to Avalanche Lake along the creek that the present-day trail has been made to follow. About that same time, in 1895, Dr. Lyman B. Sperry arrived in what would later become Glacier Park. A professor from the University of Minnesota, Sperry soon learned of Howe's discovery. Howe was so excited about it that he eagerly shared the details of his find with the professor, who subsequently organized a party to locate and explore the site for himself.

It was Sperry who actually named the lake and basin after reaching it for the first time and taking note of the avalanche tracks down the basin walls, which encompass the lake.

"Our party carefully noted the most striking features of the locality, photographed its more conspicuous points, and because of the number of avalanches seen and heard during our stay, agreed that Avalanche Basin would be a most appropriate name for the place," Sperry wrote of that first visit.

That little secret remains, to this day, one of the best reasons for hiking to Avalanche Lake in mid-May.

There were already several groups of hikers and thrill seekers gathered in different areas along the rocky beach. Each group waited patiently for the next avalanche to occur.

The trail was in excellent condition, all the way to the lake, and the shoreline of the lake was very nearly in as good of shape. Despite a couple of areas where the soil was obviously wet from melting snow, the trail was pretty much mud-free, which was a pleasant surprise.

The trail around the lake eventually became impassable due to significant buildup of snow, so my brother-in-law and I stuck mainly to the shore, where we were able to walk more than half the length of the lake. Eventually, we stopped and found a comfortable spot atop a large rock, where we enjoyed a snack and joined in the popular spring past-time of waiting for avalanches, which occur multiple times every hour.

One avalanche in particular proved quite spectacular and earned an enthusiastic "Whoohooo!!!" from one park employee, a jammer named Evelyn who couldn't resist the lure of Avalanche.

The snow crashed down the side of the mountains and onto the base of rocks, just beyond the lake. There, two small waterfalls could be seen near the bottom of the snowfield-the only waterfalls visible at that time.

While there, a family of six mountain goats walked back and forth along the cliff walls, to the north. Mule deer also frequent the Avalanche trail and, if you're lucky, you may even spot a bighorn sheep or grizzly. A couple of years ago, I watched a grizzly stroll along the north beach, across the lake, looking for cutthroat trout.

Avalanche Lake sits at the bottom of a glacial cirque on the west side of the continental divide, where the scarring of glaciers long gone can still be seen all around you. It's a truly amazing sight that becomes a mental postcard image to carry around for the rest of your life.

My brother-in-law and I reached the lake in just 30 minutes, but slower hikers should allow themselves an hour or more each way. Keep an eye out for ouzels and harlequin ducks in the lake and creek, but get there early to ensure that you'll also find a place to park.