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Larch Madness at Heart and Glacier Lakes
I’m a Woman Who Explores!
Nice to see you here again, I’m Alla and let me tell you about my latest hike which left me breathless, naked, and hugging a tree.
I’m so excited that Women Who Explore (WWE) chapters exist all over this country and the world, and this past year I’ve been to not one but four exciting events with them.
what exactly is WWE?
“From the beginning, our mission has been to create a safe space for all women-identifying voices, bodies, skill levels, and journeys. We bring together women who share a passion for adventure and love for this planet” Women Who Explore.
At the time of this writing, Montana chapter has over 12,000 members, check inside their Facebook Group to see if your city/town has an ambassador organizing trips. If not, why not apply to become one?
Missoula chapter has two ambassadors - Hauna and Melissa who volunteer to put on at least 6 trips in a single year.
On one of the floating trips, we had a gal, who was passing by, looking for fun things to do, which is actually really clever. WWE has so many chapters around the country and the world, that it becomes a great way to venture outside whether you’re a local or traveling through.
What trips have you done so far?
I’ve gone on a River Paddling and Charcautery trip, Zip Lining (around my Birthday), Missoula Spooky Walking History Tour (with Unseen Missoula), and this hike I’m going to tell you more about.
How did this event begin?
Any WWE trip begins with ambassadors posting a trip on the WWE Facebook Page, where anyone who is interested can sign up via their Eventbrite Link. Best part - this hike was absolutely free and who can say no to free opportunities to connect, sightsee, and get sweaty. I’m in!
Then ladies connected on Facebook messenger, coordinating car-pulling rides and figuring out who was coming from where. Amazingly, some girlies were coming from as far as Great Falls (a 3-hour drive), some from the Bitterroot Valley, and some from nearby Idaho.
Fortunately, I got to sleep in, and around 8:30 am I was picked up from the bottom of (basically) my driveway. It was quickly evident that it was going to be a pretty drive.
Visibility deteriorated fast and while passing the beautiful Potomac Valley, it was covered in a very thick, white fog.
As we drove toward Glacier Lake Trailhead, the fog hung around the mountains and made for quite a gorgeous vista. The lakes were even more stunning than usual, with steam rising off the lake, forgive my spur-of-the-moment image from a moving car.
The photographer in me is always excited and ready to capture these views, even though I’ve driven past here a few hundred of times.
The mission of the trip was to see larch trees, changing colors from typical green to a lovely yellow, before dropping the needles for next year’s rebirth.
Driving North on Highway 83 is always a treat, because of the various lakes and Swan Mountain Range that come into view.
This time of the year - around 3rd week of October - the lakes were reflecting a bunch of larches, so we made a note to return on the way back. Those photos are below.
The trail
If you’re in the area and are looking for an easier hike - Glacier Lake Trail (3.2mi) is fantastic! We hiked to it on the way back and I highly recommend it if you’re not looking for a challenge.
Here are a few photos to get you excited!
Larches at Glacier Lake
The beauty of Montana’s Glacier Lake
Heart Lake Trail (7.8 mi with a gradual elevation gain of 1,361 ft) is considered moderate on All Trails. It was a little challenging to find because GPS tries to take you off-road, but if you stay on the main dirt road, you should be able to find your way.
A windy road took us up in elevation, where we ALSO passed some stunning larch vistas. Despite the trees in the foreground, you can appreciate the insane amount of larch trees that go far into the horizon. How stunning!
As group trips go, there always tends to be that one or two people who are late or cancel coming altogether. On this trip, we also ran into this phenomenon, which delayed our hike a bit.
Starting around 10:30am the temperature had warmed up finally from miserable 30’s to around 50s and off we went.
Our awesome guide Hauna led the way and made plenty of room for photos, drink/snack breaks, and made the vibe of the hike very welcoming and inviting.
I love this group, primarily because I get to meet some bad-ass females and learn about their lives.
I may or may not have been the slowest hiker in the group, but I was the only one to get (almost) naked. Keep reading to learn more!
On the way to Crescent and Heart Lakes, we were able to get a bird’s eye view of Glacier Lake, which makes for postcard-type images.
Tip! Go on trips with other photographers who can take stunning photos of you. This is not a stock photo, its me as taken by Hauna (thank you for making me look to cool).
I’m a Woman Who Explores!
Arriving at Crescent Lake first, we snapped a few quick shots and kept going.
Crescent Lake
A few more minutes later, at Heart Lake, our final destination, we unpacked and enjoyed our packed lunches.
Surprisingly to all of us, another solo hiker caught up to us, making us realize she was one of the WWE participants. Blown away by her speed to catch up with us and her ability to brave the wilderness alone, we were all so impressed by Hailey.
Meanwhile, I realized that I overdressed for the 60+ F day that it became. My insulated pants and extra thick socks made the bottom of my body uncomfortably hot, so what was a girl near a lake to do?
I walked around a corner, where some bushes would give me some privacy to undress, got down to my undies, and went for it.
Still feeling brave from the previous week’s dip in the chilly 49F Blackfoot River, Heart Lake’s water didn’t feel any warmer. But I’ll say this - after dipping to my neck a few times, I didn’t feel hot from the waist down anymore for the rest of that day :)
Honestly, we were all slightly disappointed, because looking for Larch Trees, we didn’t see very many at Heart and Crescent Lakes. But making our way over to Glacier, once again we took out our cameras to capture this very special time of the year in Montana.
As we drove South on Highway 83, we had to make another sightseeing pit stop to visit Gus.
Who is Gus?
“Two feet taller than the Statue of Liberty, Gus was awarded the prestigious title “Largest Larix occidentalis (Western Larch) Tree in the United States” by the National Register of Champion Trees in 2020. ”
While some old larches can live between 400-600 years, Gus near Seeley Lake, was able to survive over 10 centuries (1,000+ years old). A lot can happen in such a long span of time, like lightning strikes and forest fires and Gus was able to survive 40 fires!
He is so tall, you have to back up a few hundred feet just to see the top of it.
It also took a couple of us, holding hands, trying to hug the dang thing. Here is my miserable attempt at tree hugging Gus.
Trying to hug Gus, the largest Western larch tree in the world.
From the weather to the company to the sights - we had THE PERFECT day hiking with the Women Who Explore Missoula Chapter. We definitely got our fill of larches to last us a whole year. We made friends and connections. We patted and enjoyed the company of dogs (always a plus in my book). And if you’re a woman who is into the outdoors, you should join us on the next adventure with WWE. See you outside!
