Oto-my-goodness!

So it's been pretty busy here. The campground has filled every day since July third. I enjoy my job. I have a great staff. I even like living in the ranger station (which I wasn't too sure I would.) So what about your weekends, you might ask. What do you do on your off days. Well, I do what anyone 2,400 miles away from home and stuck in one of the most magnificent national parks in these great United States would do. I go hiking.

Glacier National Park has over 730 miles of trails and in my third season here, I've only hiked about 160 miles of them. Not a big number, sure, but those are only one way mileages and I've done alot of hikes two or three times just because they're favorites of mine. I usually hike around 250 miles a season (which is just shy of five months.) I have Thursdays and Fridays off. That makes it nice because the trails aren't overrun with people like they are on the weekends and I don't have to hike alone. Crystal, one of my good friends and Tom from campground maintenance both have Fridays off.

With all that being said, I thought I would tell you about my hike last Friday to Otokomi Lake. There's still quite a bit of snow in the high country and I was trying to think of a trail that didn't require an ice axe and crampons to do. Otokomi looked like it fit the bill and it was a trail I hadn't done yet. I suggested it to Crystal and Tom and we all agreed we should do it.

Before I go any farther, I must give credit where credit is due. Most of these photos were taken by Crystal. I decided not to take my big brick of a camera. So, now that that's out of the way I don't have to worry about copyright infringement. Thanks Crystal!

We all met at my place at 7:00 AM. Yes, in the morning. Yes, to go hiking. Crystal volunteered to drive so Tom and I loaded our packs in her Jeep and settled in for the two hour trip over the Going To The Sun Road.

Bighorn Sheep up at Logan Pass.

The trailhead is found to the left of the Rising Sun camp store. The trail gains 1,882 feet in elevation in it's 5.2 miles to reach Otokomi Lake which sits at 6,125 feet in elevation. We head off and Tom immediately leaves us behind coughing in his dust. That boy is a hiking machine. Now, I wasn't sure what to expect on this trail because I had heard some "not so great" things about it, but I was in for a big surprise. The trail wanders through a forested valley following Rose Creek. We pass gorges and small flowered meadows and too many small waterfalls and cascades to keep up with.

See what I mean?

Ok, I think you get the picture. So after about three miles the forest opens up and the trail crosses a moraine, which is a fancy word for a pile of rocks (actually it's the crumbled rock that a glacier leaves behind. So yeah, really it's a pile of rocks!)

About half a mile from the lake the trail drops down to pass by a backcountry campsite then follows the creek up to the outlet to Otokomi Lake and that's where I lost all sense of reality. I looked down into the creek, which is crystal clear by the way, and see loads, no masses, no hoards of fish and I'm not talking little minnows. These things were as long as my forearm! More fish than I've ever seen before in the wild. I mean it actually looked like a fish hatchery! Are you getting the idea yet?

If you look closely you can see the fish. And this is a small group!

Turns out they were Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout and they were spawning. I was told by a coworker to make sure I take fishing gear. I did, but I didn't think I'd be doing much fishing. I'm not much of a fisherman. I usually don't catch anything but today, I thought to myself, maybe I actually have a chance at catching one of these. We spot Tom and he says he's been there about an hour (I'm telling you the boy is a beast.) He's already caught three and he's asking me why I don't have my line in the water yet. So I get my stuff out and start casting. No joke, by the third cast I landed one...then another. I couldn't believe it! Suddenly I'm in "A River Runs Through It" and I'm catching fish after fish! It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen! I changed lures three times and caught fish no matter what I threw in! I don't speak Blackfoot but I'm pretty sure Otokomi means; "lake with miraculous fish that throw themselves at you with no end in sight" (the Blackfoot Indians obviously have learned the economy of words.) I let Crystal use my rod and she ends up catching the biggest fish of the day! It was so big, I couldn't wrap my hand all the way around it.

Tom was fly-fishing while I used a spinner rod. It didn't matter. We both caught a ton of fish.

Proof!!

Tom with one of his catches.

Otokomi Lake itself is a beautiful mountain lake set in a high-walled cirque and to give you just a sense of what it's like being there with the sounds of the water and the birds singing, here's a bonus. A video, also provided by Crystal! Enjoy!