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Sprague Fire from the shore of Lake McDonald at Apgar Village

SPRAGUE FIRE OVERVIEW 09/14/17
Below is a brief overview of the major events involved in the growth of the Sprague Fire in Glacier National Park, from its beginning on August 10th, through today, September 14th at 3:40 pm.

On the evening of August 10th, 2017, lightning struck a tree covered slope near Crystal Ford above the Gunsight Pass Trail. This trail was the main trail to the Sperry Chalet, which is a historic back country National Historic Landmark located about 6 miles above the trail head at Lake McDonald Lodge. This was a direct hit in the heart of the Lake McDonald Area, where several historic buildings were in close proximity.

Lake McDonald Lodge

According to high level Glacier National Park officials, who we personally spoke with after the September 6th public meeting at West Glacier, because the fire conditions were so severe, the 2017 summer policy for ALL forest fires in Glacier Park was “put it out immediately” instead of the “let it burn” policy that is typically used for natural, lightning caused fires.

Canadian “Super Scooper” dropping water on Sprague Fire

So when the Sprague Fire was reported on the evening of August 10th, the next day eleven fire fighters rappelled out of helicoptors to attempt to fight it. Helicopters dropped 48,000 gallons of water the first day, and 98,000 gallons of water the second day, while the ground crew did what they could do to suppress the fire. According to Glacier Park officials, the fire became a tree fire almost immediately, and became a very hot fire shortly after it started. Unfortunately, the efforts made by the fire fighters proved to be ineffective in stopping the momentum of the Sprague Fire. And at this point, the NPS felt it was then too dangerous to bring in more personnel to fight the fire on the ground at that point in time. Several other lightning caused fires throughout the park during this period were successfully suppressed, but not the Sprague Fire.

Sperry Chalet

By the evening of August 10th (day five) the Sprague Fire grew to 100 acres, and the next day it doubled in size, and became a very serious force to be reckoned with from that point forward as this menacing Glacier Park fire was very close to the historic Sperry Chalet, the historic Lake McDonald Lodge and the historic Mount Brown Lookout. Other concerns were the Trail of the Cedars, Avalanche Lake Trail and Avalanche Campground, which were only 6 miles down wind of the fire.

Sprague Fire

The Sprague Fire in Glacier National Park continued to grow, and on August 31st the winds picked up and the fire aggressively made its way up the slopes toward the Sperry Chalet. At approximately 6:00 pm that evening, the Sperry Chalet was overtaken by fire and burned to the ground. The six fire fighters on the ground assigned to protect this national historic landmark, and the four support helicopters, were unsuccessful in their attempt to save it. The fire doubled in size on that fateful day, growing from 2,549 acres to 4,646 acres by that evening.  On a personal note, we were devastated by the news, just as everyone who has ever spent time at this charming back country chalet.  Truly a rare, national treasure was lost that night, and there will forever be a deep dark “hole” where the Sperry Chalet once stood for over one hundred years.

Sperry Chalet

With the loss of the Sperry Chalet and due to the dramatic growth of the fire, officials dramatically ramped up the fire fight. Their immediate concern was the possibility of losing the historic Lake McDonald Lodge, which was less than two miles from the advancing Sprague Fire.

Lake McDonald Lodge

On September 3rd, because a major wind shift was predicted in the forecast, there was an evacuation order issued for the Lake McDonald Lodge area and north lake area.  At 9:00 pm a strong east wind hit the area, causing the Sprague Fire to essentially blow up and reaching 9,403 acres before the winds subsided. All structures remained intact, and the fire remained one mile from the historic lodge. Sophisticated water systems, including “Rain for Rent”, at Lake McDonald Lodge, Trail of the Cedars boardwalk and Avalanche Campground, and have been dowsing these areas ever since to hopefully protect these areas in the event of an aggressive run by the Sprague Fire.

Super Scooper fighting the Sprague Fire

The fire continued to grow, even with an aggressive fire fight with two Canadian “Super Scoopers” and multiple helicopters, and on September 13th, because yet another threat of a wind shift, an evacuation warning was issued for Apgar Village and most of West Glacier. This wind shift was caused by a system bringing in hopefully moisture in the form of both rain and snow, as well as cold temperatures. This system is possibly the break everyone was hoping for.

Sprague Fire at dusk

Today is September 14th, 2017, and the cold weather has come into the area. Fortunately wind shift the evening before did not create much fire growth, however the evacuation warning is still in effect. As far as precipitation, there has been very little as of 3:49 pm this afternoon, but it’s early and everyone is still hopeful. The cold air has dramatically increased the humidity, which will very much help slow the fire down in and of itself.

Trail of the Cedars

In the days ahead, we will continue to keep our readers informed on what is undoubtedly one of the most potentially destructive fires Glacier National Park has experienced in recent years. Hopefully the continued aggressive fire fight by our brave and tireless fire fighters, in combination with colder and wetter conditions, the Sprague Fire will be contained… with hopefully all remaining structures and iconic destinations intact.

CLICK HERE for official information and current updates on the Sprague Fire.

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Climbing Glacier Park:
Grizzlies on the Summit of Rising Wolf Mountain
My wife Shannon and I love to climb mountains in Glacier National Park, and having over 100 summits under our belt, we’ve had our share of amazing situations while climbing these incredible peaks. One such amazing situation was when we climbed Rising Wolf Mountain several years ago.

Rising Wolf Mountain is located in the Two Medicine Area of Glacier National Park. We were looking forward to seeing the views from the summit of this famous mountain as it is the tallest mountain in the area. It was mid August, which is prime time for grizzly activity in the high country because of the moth larvae that are located under rocks on the alpine slopes and ridges. Grizzly bears love these larvae because they are packed with protein, and this draws them to these high altitudes. This grizzly behavior is known as “mothing”, and it can make mountain climbing in Glacier National Park quite interesting at times.

As we made our way up to Dawson Pass we were fully aware of the grizzly situation, and we knew that the long ridge between Flinsch Peak and Rising Wolf Mountain commonly had grizzlies “mothing” on it during the month of August, and this was the route that we had chosen. We’ve been around grizzlies our entire lives, and we always do our best to avoid encounters with them by talking loud and letting the grizzlies know we are in the area. We also ALWAYS carry bear spray just in case.

As we began working our way up the south slope of Flinsch Peak from Dawson Pass, and as we eventually reached the long west ridge located between Flinsch Peak and Rising Wolf Mountain, we noticed that there was a lot of evidence of recent “mothing” activity by grizzlies. So we were definitely on the “alert” as we made our way along this long ridge that would eventually take us to the summit of Rising Wolf Mountain.

Along the ridge, we did not see any recent signs of “mothing”, and did not see any other signs of grizzlies in the area, so we were hoping that the grizzly (or grizzlies) that were mothing under Flinsch Peak were not on this ridge as of yet. We didn’t let our guard down, but we were admittedly more relaxed. It was a gorgeous morning, and we were excited to get to the summit of Rising Wolf Mountain early while the light was still good.

Everything was going great as we began scrambling up the last thousand feet above the ridge toward the summit, and the views started to really get good. We saw no signs of grizzlies up to this point, so most of our attention was on getting to the summit so we could enjoy the view and start snapping photographs. We also stopped talking loud, thinking we were “out of the woods” as far as grizzlies were concerned. Shannon and I then reached the final hundred yards of scrambling, and the summit cairn was in sight.

Just as we reached the summit cairn, our day changed in an instant. We had just hiked, scrambled and climbed over 11 miles, and were ready for an enjoyable hour or so on the summit of Rising Wolf Mountain in Glacier National Park, but instead we found ourselves staring at a grizzly sow and young cub who were on the other side of the summit cairn.

We instantly froze and began to softly and gently say “nice bear, nice bear” as we began slowly backing up. As we were backing up we were also removing the safety pins from our bear sprays. The sow and cub both looked at us, and fortunately began to walk away from the cairn (and us) until they reached a snow field about 100 yards east of the summit. The sow then stopped and just stared at us… which made us feel a little uncomfortable. Then the tiny cub began to play with its mom. The mom responded by beginning to “play wrestle” with this tiny little cub, making the cub think it was actually “winning” the wrestling match. It was one of the cutest and most amazing sessions we’ve ever witnessed with grizzlies, and will never forget it.

When the “wrestling match” began to wind down, and the cub then began sliding down the snow field like a little kid on a sled, we quickly stopped video taping, and took about 5 photos from the summit of Rising Wolf Mountain, and then reluctantly began working our way back down the west side of the peak and headed back to where we came from. It was a gorgeous day and the photos would have been wonderful, but we felt that we had already really pushed our luck and needed to quickly and quietly get out of there. We kept looking back to make sure the sow and cub were not coming down off the summit and heading for the same ridge that we were on, and thankfully they did not. We never saw these bears the rest of the day.

What really “diffused” the situation dramatically was when the cub started playing with the sow on the snow field. Prior to that the sow was very concerned and we weren’t sure what decision she was going to make as she stared at us from the snowfield. That tiny little cub literally may have saved the day by starting the wrestling match with its mom. We must admit that this day in Glacier National Park was one that we’d never forget.

CLICK HERE to see our “views from the summits” of Glacier National Park.

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Glacier National Park Beargrass
Beargrass Plants in full bloom on the sub-alpine slopes of Glacier National Park is a famous iconic image of Glacier Park, and many visitors ask us when the best time is to visit Glacier Park to witness this beautiful spectacle.  They also ask “where” in Glacier Park is it best place to see these amazing flowers (a member of the Lily Family).  Well, the answers to these questions are not what you probably want to hear….

Every Year is Different
From our experience, we have found that every year seems to be completely different from the year before, and Beargrass blooms at different times and locations throughout Glacier Park during a specific year.  AND, you never know from year to year what the extent of the Beargrass bloom will be.  Some years, we’ve barely seen any Beargrass in bloom, and other years, blooming Beargrass is literally everywhere.

July or August?
We’ve also found that during certain years in Glacier National Park the Beargrass begins to appear in early to mid July, and other years the Beargrass doesn’t appear until late July or early August.  Throughout the years, we’ve tried to “predict” if-and-when the Beargrass will appear, and we usually fail miserably.  The only factor that we’ve seen to somewhat indicate a good year for Beargrass is a slow snow melt, and a cool and wet summer.  For whatever reason, this type of summer has usually a “bumper crop” of Beargrass throughout Glacier National Park.

If we had to pick the most common month to see Beargrass in bloom, it would be July… and typically mid July.  However, we’ve shown up in early July and the Beargrass is already in full bloom, and other years we don’t see a single Beargrass flower until early August.  But if we had to pick the most common time that we see Beargrass in bloom, we would have to say mid to late July.

Each Area of Glacier National Park is Different
Beargrass usually blooms in different areas of Glacier National Park at different times.  So you might not see any Beargrass on Logan Pass, but when you arrive at Many Glacier, the Beargrass is everywhere.  It seems to have something to do with elevation.  Beargrass seems to bloom in lower elevations first, and in time shows up in higher and higher elevations, eventually reaching elevations such as the Logan Pass Area along the Going To The Sun Road.  So if you don’t see Beargrass in a certain area of Glacier National Park, you just might see a “bumper crop” of blooming Beargrass just a few miles down the road.

Short Season of “Blooming”
Once Beargrass blooms in Glacier National Park, each plant stays in bloom for only a few days, so this also makes your timing even more critical (and lucky).  So if you see a wonderful slope of Beargrass in full bloom, take advantage of this opportunity for photos on that day.  Don’t assume this slope in Glacier National Park will look the same the following day…. you never know when the small flowers begin to fall off the stalks.

Beargrass Blooms Every Eight Years!
That’s right!  Each Beargrass plant blooms only once every eight years!  Now of course that doesn’t mean you only see Beargrass in Glacier Park only once every eight years, because every plant is on a different schedule.  But it is fascinating that after a particular Beargrass plant blooms, we won’t see that same exact plant bloom for another 8 years!

Where are the Best Places To See Beargrass?
Beargrass can show up anywhere and everywhere along the sub-alpine slopes of Glacier National Park.  And again, you never know which slopes (and when) these plants will appear.  With this in mind, some of our favorite places to enjoy Beargrass in full bloom is Iceberg Lake Trail, Grinnell Glacier Trail, Logan Pass Area, Highline Trail, Hidden Lake Trail, and the Two Medicine Area.  Of course, this just gives you an idea of where we typically see Beargrass, but during certain years, we have seen Beargrass on virtually every trail in Glacier National Park.

So with all this being said, it’s really anyone’s guess as to when and where you’ll see blooming Beargrass in Glacier National Park.  It’s all about fortunate timing and a lot of luck.  July is typically the best month, but “when” in July is the million dollar question.  So the bottom  line is this…  Enjoy Glacier National Park in all of its glory, and if the Beargrass is in bloom, then that’s a bonus!

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