Polar Plunge in Lake Mokowanis
This weekend we left the van and all our battery troubles behind to venture into Montana’s back country. Ben picked a trail in the very north eastern part of Glacier, right by the border to Canada. We ended up hiking roughly 37 miles over 4 days. This was the breakdown:
Day 1 - 9 miles from the Trailhead to Cosley Lake Campground
Day 2 - 9 miles from Cosley Lake over to Elizabeth lake and back (we had the same camping spot for the first 2 nights)
Day 3 - 5 miles further into the the wilderness to Mokowanis Lake
Day 4 - 14 miles all the way from Mokowanis back to the Trailhead (YIKES)
On Day 1, it was a bit chilly but the views were fantastic. We didn’t end up starting the hike until 5pm (Ben wanted to work a full day) so I was a little scared we’d have to set up camp in the dark. To my surprise, we demolished the 9 miles and got to camp before 9pm. It also helps that the sun doesn’t go down until 10:30p around here.
The highlight of this day hands down was this pair of birds we ran into. Who knew animals on this planet made this sound??
Day 2 we left our heavy packs at camp and ventured over to Elizabeth Lake. This involved a pretty deep river crossing. The water was coming straight off the mountains so it was FREEZING. It felt like your whole lower half was having a brain freeze.
Over by Elizabeth Lake it was beautiful, but it was also bug-topia. I’m talking bugs in your nose, bugs in your mouth- no escaping them. I used my jacket to fan them away.
Right as we were about to turn the corner into our campsite, we saw a moose lying down in a meadow!! This was our first male moose siting! We were all startled, and the moose hopped up onto his feet. I could tell Ben was spooked which made me even more scared. But after he stood up, he stood still and just stared at us, so nothing to fear!
Cosley Lake was stunning and our campsite was right on the water. It was cool to see the view change so drastically from evening to morning.
Day 3 it was time to make our way to Mokowanis Lake. I was excited for this because the weather was great and my dreams for the trip were to swim in a lake and lay on rocks to sun bathe - and my dreams came true! Again though, the water was icy cold so we were chanting POLAR PLUNGE all day long. We were also the only campers there so it was fun to have that sense of solitude.
One part of Glacier that always amazes us is the colored rocks. Sometimes they will be solid red like this. Other times there will be a mix of red, turquoise, and yellow.
Day 4, the day everyone was dreading. Ben wanted to wake up early and just get it all over with as fast as possible. We woke up at 6:30am and powered our way through the 14 miles back, arriving back to the van at 2pm. I barely made it, Ben carried my pack the last 7 minutes and 40 seconds of the hike (he timed it haha). That was a first.
We made it to a cafe nearby and had a classic gorge to wrap it all up.
Looking back at these pictures, I realized the only one we have together is this. Needless to say, we plan to step it up next time.
