Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2008 > July > 25
Friday, July 25, 2008
Mountain West No. 5: Hiking Glacier
Two days. Two long hikes. Lots of national parks adventure.
Wednesday we scuttled up gravel roads on Glacier National Park’s northwest boundaries to the Logging Lake trail. Nine miles round trip through dense, moist forest undergrowth. Heard elk. Saw reddish deer. Warnings, as always, of bear country, but also recent posts on mountain lions. I was concerned about the lack of visual warning among the chest-high undergrowth that clogged the trail, but nothing came of it. Rob swam in narrow, almond-shaped Logging Lake.
No humans until the end of the hike, more than five hours later, when we heard a “hallooo” over the coming rise. There appeared a roundish couple, older than I, who looked like characters out of Trollope, perhaps a Methodist deacon and his wife, who said: “Just out on a short walk.” Short walk? They have more stamina than I do. “Any bears?” they asked. “Not yet.” we replied.
Bears came the next day in the form of a grizzly family — a cinnamon sow and two darker cubs, watched from across a road, a swampy area and a rise. They frolicked not 150 yards away, but we felt no danger. That makes two big “gets” for wildlife on this trip — grizzlies and mountain goats. (Joe saw another mountain goat that day, scampering from precipice to precipice.)
Later Thursday, we hiked eight miles along Two Medicine Lake not far from East Glacier. Higher, drier and infinitely more scenic than the day before, with glaciers mantling the crown of peaks around us. I’m still having problems with ascents. My heart pounds in my throat. I’m convincing it’s my medication, or a nonpathalogical arrythmia. I have no problems with distances, just ascents. Lots of ground squirrels and marmots at higher elevations.
Charismatic birds identified so far: Bald eagle, osprey, violet and green swallow, rufous hummingbird, dark-eyed junko, sharp-tailed grouse (and chick), red-naped sapsucker, loons (heard, not seen), pine siskin, lots of ravens and a grey falcon that soars over the wetlands adjacent to our cabin. These wetlands out of a jungle movie extend down to the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, which we explored today, Friday.
Later, a helpful wrangler identified a bird’s song we could not: Two or three long whistle-like pitches, held out until they diminished. It’s a varied thrush. Sounds like a soft referee’s whistle.
We ate huckeberry pie last night!
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2008 Fortunate 500: Movies
MOVIES
Top Pick Jacqueline Rush Rivera: A native of Puerto Rico, she trained in visual arts and discovered Austin while working at the immigrant center Casa Marianella. With Eugenio del Bosque, Rush Rivera has helped internationalize Cine las Americas, fast growing into an essential Austin social event. She’s also out supporting causes such as the Austin Asian Film Festival, Austin Film Society and the city’s other movie fandangos.
Paul Alvarado-Dykstra. Fantastic Fest, Villa Muse Studios
Elizabeth Avellan. ‘Shorts,’ Troublemaker Studios
Angela Bettis and Kevin Ford. ‘Inheridance,’ ‘When Is Tomorrow,’ ‘Scar’
Louis Black. Austin Chronicle, South by Southwest
Gary Bond. Austin Film Office, Austin Film Commission
Rebecca Campbell. Austin Film Society, Austin Studios
Kat Candler. Storie Productions, Austin Film School
Heather Courtney. ‘Critical Condition,’ ‘Trinidad’
Cole Dabney. Austin Film Critics, Coleandbobby.com
Eugenio del Bosque. Cine las Americas
Laura Dunn. ‘The Unforeseen’
Marc English. Austin Film Society, Marc English Design
Hector Galan. ‘The War,’ ‘Bronx Burning ’
Katy Hackerman and Robert Walker. Austin Film Society, Matinee Media, Marfa Public Radio
Tamara and Bob Hudgins. Texas Film Commission, Chisholm Trail Community Foundation
Lisa Kaselak. Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival.
Harry Knowles. Ain’t It Cool News, Fantastic Fest, Butt-numb-a-thon
Tim and Karrie League. Alamo Drafthouse, Fantastic Fest, Rolling Roadshow
Richard Linklater. Austin Film Society, ‘Inning by Inning,’ ‘Me and Orson Welles,’ ‘Boyhood’
Suzanne and Tim McCanlies. ‘The Two Bobs’
David Modigliani. ‘Crawford’
Barbara Morgan. Austin Film Festival
Chale Nafus. Austin Film Society
Masashi Niwano. Austin Asian American Film Festival
Spencer Parsons. ‘I’ll Come Running,’ University of Texas, Austin Chronicle
Janet and John Pierson. University of Texas, Austin Film Society, South by Southwest Film Festival
PJ Raval. ‘Trouble the Water,’ ‘Trinidad,’ ‘The Two Bobs’
Bob Ray. ‘Hell on Wheels’
Robert Rodriguez. ‘Shorts,’ Austin Film Society, Troublemaker Studios
Ame Shillington. Austin Star Map
Tom Schatz. UT Film Institute
Alex Smith. UT Film Institute, ‘The Slaughter Rule’
Paul Stekler. Austin Film Society, University of Texas
Anne Walker-McBay. ‘The Two Bobs,’ ‘Boyhood’
Alisa Weldon and Lynn Yeldell. L Style G Style, Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival
While I’m in hiking in Montana, we’ll reveal one Fortunate 500 list each day at noon. For a complete updated list, follow the brightly colored Fortunate 500 link below this post.
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