The trailhead sign reads “Swiftcurrent Pass” and the trail we took is 3.6 miles out to the head of Bullhead Lake. This trail is also the Continental Divide Trail, a National Scenic
Trail, that extends from Canada to Mexico. Sometimes this trail is closed for part of the summer because of the needs of the resident bears. It passes through prime Grizzly country and that fact added some excitement to the day.
The trail follows Swiftcurrent Creek with numerous cascades and waterfalls—the best being Redrock Falls—and 3 lakes. That description made it sound nice but this probably was the least picturesque trail we took. The trail rises and falls along the way but is not too taxing.
The first lake, Fishercap Lake, is on a side trail about 100 ft from the main trail. We went to the lakeshore and then continued our hike. We found out later that there was a cow Moose and calf at this lake later that morning. This time we were too early for the wildlife.
Grinnell Peak and Grinnell Mountain loom over Fishercap Lake. That’s where Grinnell Glacier is located, the destination of our first hike, that we fortunately failed to reach on that bad weather day. If you were wondering Fishercap Lake is shaped like a fisherman’s cap.
The trail now rises through pine and aspen forest and open areas that must have been gorgeous in springtime because of all the past-peak flowers we saw. We did find more thimbleberries on this hike—yum.
This part of the trail is at the base of what I later found out was a 9,300 ft mountain, Mount Wilbur. The Blackfeet had named this mountain Heavy Shield Mountain for obvious reasons.
At about the 2 mile mark we reached Redrock Lake. From this vantage point we could see and hear the Redrock Falls at the head of the lake. They would be our next picture spot on the hike.
The falls can’t all be seen from one point and reaching them meant squeezing along a narrow rocky trail. As I said earlier this was not the most picturesque hike and it was probably going to be our longest hike.
From here the trail up to Bullhead Lake had a number of streams to cross either on stepping stones or log bridges. The best crossing was a small suspension bridge with a sign saying the weight limit was 1 hiker. Penny, with her balance issues, handled it like a champ!
Penny looks down for most of the hikes watching where she puts her feet. Because of this she was the one who spotted a flock(?) of grouse foraging through the deep grass at the side of the trail.
No, Bullhead Lake is not shaped like a bull’s head.—I don’t know why it’s named that. This was our destination for the hike and where we found a nice lakeside rock with a good view to have lunch. I broke out the PBJ sandwiches and set mine down on the rock while I consulted the hiking book for some info. That’s when Penny yells, “he’s going to get you’re sandwich!” I turn to see a ground squirrel creeping toward my lunch. I waved the book at him and he just looked at me and came closer. The only thing that deterred him was when I made a loud raspberry sound. He didn’t like that. That didn’t stop him from making a 2nd pass. Later when we broke out the reward M&Ms he must have liked the smell because he came back and looked as if he would crawl up my leg to get food. We were good and did not feed him. I’m pretty sure, considering how aggressive he was, that not everyone obeys the no feed rule. He was cute, though.
The hike back was not eventful. We ran into many hikers, some wearing flimsy footwear, some decked out in serious gear.
We did see a couple Grizzlys on our drive back to the hotel. They were on the far side of the resevoir and we knew to look because of the bear jam in the road.
Our original plan for linner this day was for steak. The steakhouse was not open, however, so we defaulted to the Park Café again and got more razzleberry pie.
Our original plan for linner this day was for steak. The steakhouse was not open, however, so we defaulted to the Park Café again and got more razzleberry pie.
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