a wilderness journal: Avalanche Lake

23 July 2017

Avalanche Lake

While at Glacier NP, we camped at Avalanche, where a popular but scenic trail leads from the campsite deeper into one of the mountain valleys in the park. I had hoped to gain a view of the Sperry Glacier from the vicinity of the lake, but the steep topography didn’t allow such a view from the lake basin.

Two views of Avalanche Lake: looking east towards several waterfalls (at
left) and looking west (at right).

Leaving the Avalanche campsite, the trail ascended at a mild slope along Avalanche Creek through a dense conifer forest and after a few kilometers it intersected the oblong lake at the west shore. Here the water was shallow and clear, exposing a dense underwater graveyard of logs covered with the brown ooze of the lake bed. The lake is set in a basin with steep rocky slopes to the north, east, and south. Towards the west end of the lake, the rocky slopes had remnant snow fields feeding several waterfalls and water cascades.

A graveyard of logs in the shallow western
side of Avalanche Lake.

The trail continued along the south shore of the lake with views revealing a splendid turquoise color. The formal trail ended at the southwest corner but by using makeshift log bridges and doing some shallow waling through the icy streams feeding the lake, I continued a bit beyond the trail to the eastern shore.

There were wildflowers at the lake shore - Penstemon, Clematis, asters, and Campanula – and some tiny wetlands at the edge of the forest. The beds of the icy streams were comprised of large cobbles. New snow melt tumbled from the streams sending plumes of turbulence into the otherwise tranquil waters.

References

Phillips HW. 2012. Northern Rocky Mountain Wildflowers. 2^nd ed. Falcon Guides, Guilford CT.

Several flowering species at the east end of Avalanche Lake. From left: Prunella vulgaris (Lamiaceae), possibly Mimulus sp., Campanula rotundifolia (Campanulaceae).