Today started out as yesterday ended, A firery red sunrise with smoke and heat. The first order of the day was to walk to the end of Cosley Lake and cross the end of the Mokowanis River that feeds all these lakes over the past two days
You can make out the cable going across the lake that helps with fording in higher water (it was up to our waist close to the other side)
Combination of all the types of terrain today
The sun continued to look red and made for some very eerie photos
Dawn Mist Falls, could be one of the most beautiful falls I have ever seen
Cory spending the time to get the perfect shot, just above Dawn Mist Falls.
We passed several Thru Hikers completing their CDT hike this year. They have had several diversions in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and Glacier due to fire and their only finishing spot now was Belly River at the Canadian Border.
I voted out, as there was a burger and a beer calling my name, but to be fair this was Cory's ultimate destination for the trip and there was no way we weren't going down to Helen to make sure we did everything we had planned.
Below is a glimpse of the way up to Ptarmigan tunnel we would see more of tomorrow.
Elizabeth Lake from the ELF campsite
Just past ELF We were immersed in a sea of butterflies
once you are past Elizabeth Lake Head (ELH) campsite the trail gets a bit overgrown as Helen Lake is a purpose destination as it dead ends in the bowl of valley against a mountain background.
Was it a lake at one time? or a burn area?
We arrive at Helen Lake, 4.3 miles south of ELF in what can only be described as a squall, not of rain but wind and smoke. the wind is blowing around 40-50 MPH and the entire area is shrouded in smoke.
There are only two campsites at Helen Lake and we look to be the only people here as we didn't any people south of ELF campsite
We glimpsed Helen Lake from above on the Day 4 post when we were on top of Ahern Pass. Below is what we were expecting this week.
when we got to the edge of the lake in this same position this is all we got.
Caught in the wind
Getting back to ELF we just hung out until well past evening to make sure we were not taking anyone's permit site. The campsite was not nearly full tonight as we suspected the backcountry ban that was now in effect as well as the smoke had made lots of people change their plans about hiking in the last few days.
A couple of groups were in the campsite and we all sat in the designated eating area for dinner
Set up for the last time in Glacier National Park. I managed a neat tent sight just in the trees. This was also the first night I finally got everything situated just right, so I got a good nights sleep.
The evening was warm and mild. For the first time in a couple of days we did see some blue sky overhead
The moon made an appearance hanging over the mountains after sunset
Tomorrow the conclusion of our tale... maybe
I wonder if those butterflies are there all the time, or if they are trying to escape the smoke! Beautiful pictures of the falls and of the lakes even though the smoke and wind were bad. It was disappointing for Cory not to have everything the way he hoped to see it.
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