Days 10 and 11: The Dawson – Pitamakan Loop.
Return of the Bucket list! I was excited to tackle a hike I’d longed to do for years, and to redeem my hiking mojo after three days as a slacker. We hefted our backpacks and followed the North Shore Trailhead out of Two Med to the Pitamakan Pass Trail. It would be all uphill today, but only six miles, so no worries.
I’d been afraid to try this loop as a day hike, because 18 miles! So I had snagged a night at Oldman Lake to break it up into two days. I decided to do the loop counterclockwise, because the uphill was less steep in that direction. I struggled with the heat, as usual, but we pulled into camp at 4 pm, so I had time to cool off on the lake shore while reading a couple more chapters of
Night of the Grizzlies.
It was totally predictable when that came back to bite me in the middle of the night. I started yelling that I couldn’t breathe because there was a grizzly sitting on my chest. It took me a while to wake up and accept Dave’s assurances that there was, in fact, no bear there.
Old lady hikes to Oldman.
Comfy camp.
Gentian.
St. John's Wort.
It was great to be fresh as a daisy when we ascended the headwall up to Pitamakan Pass the next morning. Piece of cake! You’re rewarded at the top with views of lakes on both sides of the pass: Pitamakan Lake and Lake of the Seven Winds ahead, and Oldman Lake behind. To add to the heady goodness of the moment, we knew that we'd continue to have top-shelf views for the the next five miles.
We had to hike a total of 10 – 12 miles to get back to the car: Ten if we got to the boat dock in time (4 pm?) to catch a ride across Two Med Lake, or 12 if we missed the boat. I didn’t want to rush the heavenly hike, but I must admit that floating the final two miles sounded better.
The sun rises on Oldman Lake and the notably triangular Flinsch Peak.
Halfway up the zigzags.
Mt. Morgan and Dave. Dave is the one on the right.
Lake of the Seven Winds and Pitamakan Lake, at the top of the Cut Bank Valley.
Mt. McClintock in the background.
We continued upward from Pitamakan Pass onto the north shoulder of Mt. Morgan, where the Dawson Pass Trail bends to the left and goes around the back side of the mountain. The view expands to include Cut Bank Pass and Tinkham Mountain, as well as the massive Mt. Stimson, Mt. Pinchot with its cool cirque, and the long, lovely valley of the Nyack Creek.
Approaching Mt. Morgan.
Going around the back of Morgan.
The trail is narrow, with a steep, rocky drop-off to the valley far below. It’s also windy. A narrow spur to the right provides a thrilling perch above the valley for those who dare to scramble out there. I'm not one of those people. I managed to go half way before acrophobia prevailed. !@#$%&*! I hate when that happens.
Right to Left: Stimson, Pinchot, Susan.
There were surprisingly few hikers on the trail - a couple of guys with folding lawn chairs strapped to the backs of their packs, and a family with two young kids and two dogs who were hiking the CDT. People are amazing.
The trail gave us one more view of Oldman Lake, this time from the south shoulder of Mt. Morgan, before it continued onto the back side of Flinsch Peak. We got a closer look at Mt. Phillips with its little Lupfer Glacier across the valley, and the pointy peak of Mt. Saint Nicholas to the south.
As we descended toward Dawson Pass, I checked out the long approach to the summit of Mt. Helen to the south. It was so inviting, but not possible this day, with miles to go and a full backpack.
Oldman Lake from the other side of Mt. Morgan.
Q*Bert Rocks.
Mt. Phillips with Lupfer Glacier hanging from its side.
I call her Bigfoot.
The walk up Mt. Helen beckons.
The trail descends from the Dawson Pass through the aptly named Bighorn Basin - there are sheep everywhere!
"Who-ee those bipeds look tired!"
This lamb stood still as a stat-ewe.
No problem. We'll just wait.
We skipped the side hike to No Name Lake and decided to sprint for the boat. We pushed pretty hard, taking no breaks, all the way to the dock. We didn’t catch the first boat, but they sent another, so we did get to ride and give my throbbing feet a rest.
In hindsight, I could have walked the extra two miles if we had slowed down and taken a couple of good rests along the way. Also, I think I could have done the Daw-Pit loop in one day (with only a day pack). So now I know. Thank goodness Dave is willing to cater to the weak link on our hiking team.
Daw-Pit: You’re off the bucket list!
It was a grand finale to Glacier 2018. Overall, our merry brigade finished off 5 ½ hikes from my bucket list, as well as 6 random rambles.
Our reward was dinner with a brew at the Snow Goose.