Glacial Snow or Bust

On Thursday a few of the parents set out for a day hike.   The goal was to try to get close to some glacial snow and have a scenic hike along the way.  So, Geoff, Tina, Tom and I set off for Andrews Glacier, a 10 mile round trip hike, which is not a long hike but at the high altitudes we weren't sure how difficult it would be.   About 3.5 hours later we made it!   The scenery along the way was stunning.  After taking the shuttle to Glacier Gorge Trailhead (9180 ft) we made our way past the Alberta Falls and The Loch to Andrews Glacier (11,680 ft).  Along the way we saw - up really close - two female elk and a pair of marmots.

Alberta Falls

The glacier from The Loch (to understand the scale, note the waterfall in the center of the picture!)

One of the elk we saw in the lush meadows near the glacier

Mr. Marmot (slightly longer than a woodchuck)

Climbing up the rock face of the glacier - note the stream

FINALLY getting towards the top - LOTS of loose rocks, stones and gravel to climb up (and then back down!)

FINALLY - making a glacial snowball

Geoff captured me in action on the way down

 In the evening most of us made it through watching 'The Shining' movie.  Steven King had based the hotel in his novel on The Stanley hotel in Estes Park where we were staying.   It was a little rough going to sleep that night!