Window of opportunity.
A late summer storm passed through Montana last week, blowing away the smoke, bringing beneficial rains, and providing ideal conditions for our 2-night backpacking trip to Turquoise Lake September 21-23 (2024). This was my first adventure in the Mission Mountains since climbing the East and West Peaks of St. Marys, near St. Ignatius, five years ago.
Early riser.
The exit to Turquoise Lake is 23 miles north of Seeley Lake. From Highway 83, it’s 11 miles (18 kilometers) on coarse gravel to the trailhead. The parking lot was full when my friend Murray and I arrived around noon Saturday (9/21/24) – mostly day hikers enjoying the last day of summer. The hike to our campsite above Turquoise Lake ends up being 6.3 miles with 2,700 feet of elevation gain on a well-graded trail with great scenery along the way. The hike took us about 3.5 hours. On arrival at the lake we claimed one of the few suitable tent sites. There were four or five groups (2-5 people/group) of backpackers staying at the lake that night, so some groups had to pitch their tents on the rocks. Murray and I were the only ones spending Sunday evening at the lake.
Do you believe in goats?
The trail was awesome and Turquoise Lake lived up to its name, but the highlight of the trip came at 1:30 Sunday morning when our camp was visited by a mother mountain goat and her child. The bright moon highlighted their silhouettes, giving them a ghostly appearance as they stood on the ledge above our tents. Turns out they crave the salts in our urine, so they were there to lick our pee. It sounds a little gross, but we really enjoyed watching them! Four goats arrived around the same time the next night to slurp their treat.
Day of exploration.
Lakes are great destinations for backpacking trips, but it seems no trip is complete without summiting a peak. So, on Sunday, Murray and I set out to explore the south shore of the lake with the goal of climbing a ridge or mountain that would give us a view of the larger area. We ended up climbing an unnamed peak between the remains of two glaciers. From here we had a beautiful view of the lake below and McDonald Peak in the distance. Even though the hike was only 5.5 miles round trip, it was incredibly difficult: no trail, constant brushing, steep climbs and descents all day, rock hopping, and lots of scree. I’m glad we did it, but I wouldn’t recommend it. If you need to explore, climb as far as possible on the north side of the lake. Now go enjoy the photo tour and be sure to read the captions!
For your information, I have an Instagram account. I will try to post something interesting at least once a week. Check it out: rodbenson406
Below: This map shows hikes that have been featured so far on bigskywalker.com, including several in Glacier Park – Select full-screen mode to enlarge, zoom for details, or click on a marker for a link to the post.
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