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Hiking to Firebrand Pass with the Daily Inter Lake
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by
(Read the article of the interview in the Daily Inter Lake here)
Leaf peeping isn’t just something one does on the Eastern Seaboard. When the aspens change over, their golden leaves shimmer in the sunlight in a jawdropping spectacle. Be quick, however, for the change of colors on the east side of Glacier National Park, as the wind quickly removes these yellow coins.
Firebrand Pass is a perennial favorite for the fall colors. Taylor Inman of the Daily Inter Lake and host of their News Now podcast reached out to me to do a podcast on me and we both thought that a fall hike to Firebrand Pass would be a perfect backdrop for a conversation. We waited until they started to turn and we were blown away by the stunning colors.
A chilly wind greeted us as we stepped out of the car. After getting our gear together, we stepped across the railroad tracks and into Glacier. On the left side of the trail, yellow aspens shimmered in the breeze. The wall of mountains including Summit Mountain and Calfrobe provided a lovely backdrop below the blue sky.
While no moose were found in the wetlands, some sort of waterfowl dabbled in the waters and White-crowned Sparrows and Ruby-crowned Kinglets flitted in the willows. We crossed through the meadows of golden grasses past their prime and into a hall of golden aspens.
The sun flickered through the hall of golden walls and ceilings and we continued to alternate through more meadows until we turned up into the lodgepole forest of the foothills and began to climb a little. The variety of the trail is part of its allure. The huckleberry bushes sporting leaves of magenta and purple took the handoff from the stunning aspen, although more aspen were scattered throughout.
Once past two trail junctions, we climbed more earnestly, breaking out of the forest with an even greater variety of plant life and colors. In the distance, the road and railroad tracks could be seen with splashes of yellow popping amongst the green below.
We rounded the ridge and headed west up the Railroad Creek Drainage with the long ridge of Dancing Lady Mountain in front of us. The gnarled ridge of Bearhead stood at the head of the valley. More colors, more views, more rocks, and a bit more wind.
As we started to wrap in the basin below Firebrand Pass, the signature wind really began to howl, piercing through clothing and, at one point, whipping my hat and sunglasses off my head. A bit of exploring around and the items were retrieved, but stowed more securely.
We took a few pictures and turned in the basin. There was an interview we needed to record and here definitely wasn’t the place. We turned around and headed back to the hall of golden aspens and set up a couple of chairs and a camera and Taylor and I chatted for a bit. Some folks recognized us and we visited with them, continued the interview and then headed out.
Whether you head all the way to Firebrand Pass or just part way up the trail, if you can catch it when the leaves are at peak turning, it’s a magical experience. Taylor and crew at the Daily Interlake have posted the interview and associated article here and you can watch it below for a little backstory and behind the scenes of a Hike 734 blog!
For more News Now podcasts from the Daily Interlake click here.
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