This will be a quick post. We don't have the greatest campsite in Crandell Mountain. The area for tents is just patches of gravel, bear boxes for food and little to no trees to shelter us from the sun. It has turned warm here (not like the heat wave back home) but enough heat so that you want some protection from the full sun. It was 85 degrees at 6PM today. That temperature melts away as the sun goes down, and in the AM it is pretty chilly. We were bundled to the max. Layers peeled as the sun rose and the wind went from howling at dawn to a stiff breeze for breakfast. Going to try to get in under one of the tree shaded sites tomorrow (those are "RV sites").
So, tonight we are stealth dining. We have come into town and with our previous knowledge of the campground facilities and the kitchen shelters, we are parked in the day use picnic area but hanging out in the nearby campground kitchen shelter. We are having a quiet no muss no fuss dinner. We are using the electric out for charging and the town wifi for things like this. One of the campground's shower buildings is about 50 yards away so as long as we don't call attention to ourselves we will also have stealth showers.
And we need those showers. Today we did a hike out to Goat Lake. We actually tried to multi sport. The description of the initial trail was that it was an old logging road and open to biking. Not so much for our touring bikes. Sweetness gave it her all and I have to take the blame for putting er in a position where her long frame was just not nimble enough and my legs not tough enough to pick through what was really a single track mountain bike ride. We gave up after a mile and stashed Sweetness and the Hopeville Flyer in the woods for the return.
At the 3 mile mark the Goat Lake trail turned and went up, really up. we did about 1000 feet of climbing in 1.5 mile. The trail to me had a very White Mountains of NH feel, in that it was all no nonsense. Switchbacks that just went after the grade in tight turns. You want that lake,we are are going to take you there. Of course, when you looked around, it was not NH. We worked uphill across a scree slope that had our knees knocking a bit on the narrow parts. We slabbed over to the outlet of the lake which was running as a waterfall through a thin crack in the mountainside.
The lake was a joy. Clear at the edges sinking to an emerald green as the shoreline gave way. It was a typical mountain tarn, a circle of peaks and a ridgeline contributing their waters to make the lake that then tumbled out as waterfall.
Camping is allowed here and if you willing you to schlep your stuff up the 1000 feet it would be a nice place to camp. We settled in for lunch and then Marsah saw them - two mountain goats way above us in a crack that led to a ridgeline. Very far away, it took the binoculars to confirm it was goats not sheep. They were just hanging out and grazing and moved slowly from green patch to green patch. Quick leaps up or sideways, with grace and what seemed like a minimum amount of effort got them to the next place. It was fun to watch.
The other amazing thing about the lake was that it was full of small trout. I am sure there ,might have been some big guys out there deeper but lots of small feeding fish at the lakeshore. You would here the gulp at the surface and then the rings. A couple of times you would get a flash of underbelly as they came up hard. The amazing things was that the water was so clear that all you had to do was look where the gulp was and you could see the fish underneath. Once you saw what the looked like in the water you could pick them out without the gulps. Couple dozen at least just gliding along near the shoreline. No fly rod or spinning rod in my pack, and certainly no fishing permit (in Glacier the fishing was free without a license) to day but tomorrow we will do another short hike to a lake lower down and with a day fishing permit in hand we will see what we can do.
We think hike/fish in the morning. Stealth shower in town and then afternoon tea at the Prince of Wales. Might have to break out the clean towel.
Pictures are coming, just not today. Sorry it is so hot back there.
So, tonight we are stealth dining. We have come into town and with our previous knowledge of the campground facilities and the kitchen shelters, we are parked in the day use picnic area but hanging out in the nearby campground kitchen shelter. We are having a quiet no muss no fuss dinner. We are using the electric out for charging and the town wifi for things like this. One of the campground's shower buildings is about 50 yards away so as long as we don't call attention to ourselves we will also have stealth showers.
And we need those showers. Today we did a hike out to Goat Lake. We actually tried to multi sport. The description of the initial trail was that it was an old logging road and open to biking. Not so much for our touring bikes. Sweetness gave it her all and I have to take the blame for putting er in a position where her long frame was just not nimble enough and my legs not tough enough to pick through what was really a single track mountain bike ride. We gave up after a mile and stashed Sweetness and the Hopeville Flyer in the woods for the return.
At the 3 mile mark the Goat Lake trail turned and went up, really up. we did about 1000 feet of climbing in 1.5 mile. The trail to me had a very White Mountains of NH feel, in that it was all no nonsense. Switchbacks that just went after the grade in tight turns. You want that lake,we are are going to take you there. Of course, when you looked around, it was not NH. We worked uphill across a scree slope that had our knees knocking a bit on the narrow parts. We slabbed over to the outlet of the lake which was running as a waterfall through a thin crack in the mountainside.
The lake was a joy. Clear at the edges sinking to an emerald green as the shoreline gave way. It was a typical mountain tarn, a circle of peaks and a ridgeline contributing their waters to make the lake that then tumbled out as waterfall.
Camping is allowed here and if you willing you to schlep your stuff up the 1000 feet it would be a nice place to camp. We settled in for lunch and then Marsah saw them - two mountain goats way above us in a crack that led to a ridgeline. Very far away, it took the binoculars to confirm it was goats not sheep. They were just hanging out and grazing and moved slowly from green patch to green patch. Quick leaps up or sideways, with grace and what seemed like a minimum amount of effort got them to the next place. It was fun to watch.
The other amazing thing about the lake was that it was full of small trout. I am sure there ,might have been some big guys out there deeper but lots of small feeding fish at the lakeshore. You would here the gulp at the surface and then the rings. A couple of times you would get a flash of underbelly as they came up hard. The amazing things was that the water was so clear that all you had to do was look where the gulp was and you could see the fish underneath. Once you saw what the looked like in the water you could pick them out without the gulps. Couple dozen at least just gliding along near the shoreline. No fly rod or spinning rod in my pack, and certainly no fishing permit (in Glacier the fishing was free without a license) to day but tomorrow we will do another short hike to a lake lower down and with a day fishing permit in hand we will see what we can do.
We think hike/fish in the morning. Stealth shower in town and then afternoon tea at the Prince of Wales. Might have to break out the clean towel.
Pictures are coming, just not today. Sorry it is so hot back there.
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