3: Alpine Sunshine
Hit the trail at the crack of noon after a morning of cleaning, drying, packing, and not one but two visits to the Hearth Bakery in Columbia Falls.
Alpine #7 bears a steep cost of admission (no pun intended…): an unrelenting three-hour 4,500’ hike-a-bike climb, in a series of endless switchbacks from valley floor to crest of the Swan Mountains. The resulting panoramic views of Glacier and the surrounding mountain ranges does not disappoint. The trail itself rewards with being very ridable, albeit fairly technical, sometimes laughably overgrown (the lower elevation eastern aspects in particular—though shoutout to the Flathead MTB Trail Crew for their amazing work down lower) and with plenty of hike-a-bike.
Stopped off at Jenny Lake for dinner and an extremely short swim. The next 8 miles to camp at Strawberry Lake were very pretty and quite fun.
After two very challenging days, the sunshine and unimpeded travel were a very welcome change of pace.
Wandering daisies, arnica, and paintbrush are popping everywhere, but it continues to be the beargrass that defines the landscape’s visual palette.