The long, steep hike to Grinnell Glacier provides fantastic views of Grinnell Lake below. The milky aquamarine color of Grinnell Lake is common to glacial lakes in the park. The abrasive action of Grinnell Glacier far above grinds the earth into a fine dust which travels down waterfalls into the glacial lake below. These fine particles become suspended in the lake where they absorb all but the brilliant blue color which is refracted back to our eyes.

 

 

 

Grinnell Lake

Theresa stands on a cliff high above Grinnell Lake.

 

 

 

Challenging Hike

This hike was tougher than most, probably because of the hot sun and uneven path. All told we hiked 80 miles in 8 days with 14,800 feet of elevation gain, or nearly 2.8 miles of ascent. That’s like climbing the Sears Tower in Chicago every day. After this hike on Day 3 we were both hurting, but we developed our "hiking legs" by Day 6 and had little trouble the rest of the trip. You don’t need to hike for great views in Glacier National Park, but of course hiking enables you to see things you wouldn’t otherwise, like Grinnell Glacier.

 

 

 

Grinnell Falls

You can see Grinnell Glacier in the upper right of this photo, where the glacier melts into Upper Grinnell Lake and flows down Grinnell Falls to lower Grinnell Lake.

 

 

 

Grinnell Glacier

Grinnell Glacier is a 300-acre glacier that less than a century ago was triple its size, covering all of Upper Grinnell Lake. The glacier doesn’t look very large in this photo, but it’s over a half mile away.

 

 

 

Going, Going, Not Yet Gone

Glacier National Park has about 50 small glaciers, 37 of which are still large enough to be officially classified as glaciers under U.S. Geological Survey requirements. Studies indicate that glacial retreat began about 1850 when there were more than 150 glaciers in Glacier NP. These glaciers are direct remnants from an ice age that ended about 11,000 years ago. Because of their relatively low elevations and inland location, the park’s glaciers are highly sensitive to global climate change.

Since 1850 the larger glaciers in the park have lost two-thirds their size, and the total park area covered by glaciers has lost three-fourths its size. Many smaller glaciers have disappeared completely. Most experts believe that with current warming rates, there will be no glaciers in Glacier National Park by 2030. Even with no additional warming, the glaciers are likely to disappear by 2100. (Photo courtesy of Glacier National Park Archives)

 

 

 

Upper Grinnell Lake

Icebergs float freely in Upper Grinnell Lake, which is surrounded by two thousand foot cliffs that rise high above the lake and have a number of waterfalls cascading down the sides.

 

 

 

Walking on Icebergs

Timm is cooling his aching feet and doing the minimal work necessary to say, "I walked on an iceberg."

 

 

 

Maybe This Should be Called "Iceberg Lake"

Theresa and icebergs at Upper Grinnell Lake.

 

 

 

Grinnell Glacier Trail

The views were sublime the entire hike down. Here you can see Grinnell Lake in the foreground, Lake Josephine in the middle, and in the background is Lake Sherburne, whose water level is quite low due to the extended drought.

Next: Iceberg Lake >>