/*The Stupendous Birthday Present, part 3*//* */
Hurrah! We are at the pass. Time for a bite to eat and to celebrate, but .... I took my backpack off, set it on the ground, and as I bent over and reached forward to open it, the fierce wind blew my sunglasses off. And kept blowing them. And blowing. I could see them about 40 yards away, kind of near the edge of a drop off. I carefully went over and did retrieve them, but something was missing.
The glasses almost blew down into the Boulder Creek drainage. It was only a few years ago at this same exact spot that I lost my good Tilley Hat, which became one with the park. This time I came away with a missing lens.
Kiersten immediately named me "Pirate Jim", which means I now must keep these glasses forever as a prop for my celebratory photos when hiking.
Kiersten broke out her brand new essential hiking birthday present -- a Glacier Distilling flask (with the glass window!). Filled with North Fork Black Label (aged 5 years). Cheers! /"I don't have to work tomorrow!!"/
Glug glug glug
Part of being prepared means bringing along Theo's Chocolate to go with the whiskey. A stupendous moment. Happy Birthday!
The trail ahead. Hard to believe that the views get even better
From my phone, Sexton Glacier, below Going-To-The-Sun Mountain, with a peek of St Mary Lake. That's a lot of snow for August. If I had only brought my cross country skis I could have skied over closer to the glacier. May and August remain the only 2 months I have not skied in Montana.
Same view from Kiersten's phone. Her photo captures the trail way down below on the left. We will zig zag back and forth downward before we get to that part of the trail.
Snowball fight? Really? No more flask for you!
Sadly, I have no photos of the sledding down the snowfields. Instead just the treacherous traverse over a snowbridge hoping it does not collapse. Observant readers will note that I did cross the snowbridge first to test its strength.
That look that says it's your turn to take the lead.
Wow & Wow flowers!
All of the small streams that we crossed on the downhill eventually combine into Baring Creek, which is what cuts in to Sunrift Gorge. The trail parallels the creek the rest of the way. There are a series of outstanding red rock waterfalls through this portion.
My parting shot. The sun is getting a bit low and we are now in the shadows, which is a blessing as it warmed up considerably on the descent. Overall the trail is about 10.5 miles, goes up 2000 feet and then down 3000 feet. The first 1.5 miles are in the trees, but beyond that every step along the way has brilliant mountain views.
Definitely one of my favorite hikes, and I believe Kiersten would say the same.
If only we had finished the day with a Cold Smoke Scotch Ale at Oberlin Bend. Oh wait, look what I packed in the cooler in the car, chilled to perfection ..... 😉
