Our blogging has been a little sparse lately. Last week Kevan went and hiked the West Coast Trail with Leah and a few other friends while I stayed here in Calgary and held down the fort. I was getting a little case of cabin fever and Karyn had Friday off last week so we randomly hopped in the car and headed down to the Flathead Valley for a little vaction. While we were there we met up with Jessica & Mike for dinner. I love it when we can hang out with past clients!
We stayed at a little motel just south of Bigfork. When we got there the sun was just setting so naturally we got out our cameras.
She’s working on her modeling…
I also did a few shots in the hotel room of some of the interior design.
While in Montana we did a hike into the Jewel Basin. The drive up to the trail head was one of those winding, single-lane dirt roads up the mountain. I remember at one point turning to Karyn and telling her it felt like cheating because we covered a fairly significant amount of elevation in the car. It was HOT that day, about 32 Celsius so I wasn’t complaining too much. Well, when we arrived at the trail head I realized I didn’t have my socks for my hiking shoes so I did the entire hike in my sandals. It wasn’t so bad on the way up but I was sure feeling the lack of any arch support on the way down!
We hiked up to Birch Lake and had gorgeous views of the entire Flathead Valley most of the way.
Fire has devestated the hillside in past years so vegetation was a little sparse!
While at the summit we took the opportunity to swim in the lake since it was so hot. It was a little cool but certainly refreshing! Here’s a few shots from the top.
I’ve been down to the Flathead Valley quite a few times and every time I go I try to take the Going to the Sun road back through Glacier National Park but it’s always closed! This time, however, it was open so we decided to drive it back. The state decided it was about time to do some repairs to the road (built back in the early 1900s) so it was construction for the bulk of the way to Logan Pass. That was coupled with almost everyone in Montana also driving the road at the same time. I’ll be honest, I had played this drive up in my head to be spectacular, one of the best drives I’ll have ever done, but instead I found myself getting frustrated with all the traffic, the “touristy” pull-offs for mountain vistas, and the fact that I was seeing all this beautiful country from my car. For the second time in the weekend I felt like a cop-out for not having worked for the views and it really ruined the experience for me. Oh well.
Since I’m on the subject of working for your views, the August long weekend we took a day off and hiked to Bourgeau Lake and then to the summit of Mt. Bourgeau with Kevan and Leah, Aaron and Megan, and Jenna. There is quite a bit of elevation gain on the hike, about 5,000 ft but it was stretched out so not a very difficult hike. The views, however, were stunning. With the few hikes I’ve been out on this summer (Healy Pass, Akamina Ridge, Flathead Valley, and Mt. Bourgeau being the highlights), they have been some of the most beautiful places I’ve visited thus far.
Dew on the leaves as we started up to the lake.
A mountain reflected in a pond using a lithograph technique. I really like how this one turned out!
Here’s something I wasn’t expecting to see at these elevations…Ptarmigans!
Karyn walking the ridge. She wasn’t feeling great the entire hike but she still pushed on to the summit!
The view of Bourgeau Lake and beyond from the summit. You can also see Healy Pass from here where Kevan and I hiked back in July.
…and what hike would be complete without a group shot from the top?!
