We spotted a moose foraging through the supalpine forest near Iceberg Creek on the way back. And then we spotted people. Many people. Many, many people. The few groups we had seen arrive back at Iceberg Lake were about to be joined by what seemed like an endless march of hikers coming up the trail. As far as I could see along the open meadows, I could see other hikers. It had really, really been the right call to start this hike early.
Endless stream of humanity
Final view back to Iceberg Lk Cirque
courtesy JInnes
Apart from the many hellos and good-days, the hike back was rapid, easy, and unremarkable. Unremarkable, that is, until we were almost back at the trailhead at Many Glacier.
As we were passing an elderly lady taking pictures, I noticed a rustling in the open brush off to my left. A quick glance revealed a furry and very un-human shape: a bear, and it was close. It was not paying particular attention to us, but seemed to be aware of our presence, rooting about and foraging in the bushes.
With my hand already opening the lid on my bear spray holder, I turned back to Jenn, who was perhaps twenty or thirty feet behind me, and said "Jenn - there's a bear" - in a loud voice. She continued moving forward, assuming that I had meant that the bear was behind her on the trail. I said "stop" in a loud voice, since at this point the bear had decided that it wanted to move south, towards the trail. If Jenn were to continue walking, she'd meet right up with it.
Bear Warning
With the bear spray in-hand and ready to fire, I watched as the bear - which seemed to be a young adult black bear, hurried across the trail exactly midway between Jenn and I - perhaps fifteen feet from me and fifteen feet from Jenn. It went a similar distance into the bushes on the other side, and then began rooting and munching again.
The bear continued to seem unconcerned and not especially focused on us, so we quickly walked past and continued on our way. The whole incident started and ended very quickly, and since my first instinct had been to grab the bear spray, I don't have any pictures of this event (they would have been nice, close up pictures, too!). Lots of wildlife on this hike today: deer, moose, and bear!
Grinnell Point
A few more short minutes of walking and we were back at the Iceberg-Ptarmigan trailhead at Many Glacier. We had really motored on this hike - despite our extra wanderings at Iceberg Lake - and had arrived back at the trailhead at only a quarter past noon.
Mount Henkel
I was quite impressed with Iceberg Lake, to be honest. It was more scenic than I had expected. The trail up to it is quite straightforward and easy, and my only recommendation: get started early if you want to beat the crowds - and I mean crowds!
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Iceberg Lake - click map to view
Iceberg Lake Trail (up/dn) - Hike Data
Start Time:
7:14a.m.
End Time:
12:17p.m.
Duration:
5h2m
Distance:
15.08 km
(9.37 mi)
Average Speed:
3.0 km/hr
(1.9 mph)
Start Elevation:
4928ft
(1502m)
*
Max Elevation:
6166ft
(1879m)
*
Min Elevation:
4928ft
(1502m)
*
End Elevation:
4971ft
(1515m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
1245ft
(379m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
1207ft
(368m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
