Author: Jake Bramante

  • Quartz Lake Loop and Looning 2024

    Quartz Lake Loop and Looning 2024

    We wanted to go for a hike in Glacier National Park and the citizen science office needed Common Loon surveys done along the chain of lakes in the Quartz Creek drainage. So we set off to find some loons in Quartz Lake, Middle Quartz Lake, and Lower Quartz Lake. We found a lone loon in…

  • New Going-to-the-Sun Road Driving & Biking Guide now for sale!

    New Going-to-the-Sun Road Driving & Biking Guide now for sale!

    I received a fateful email in July of 2022 from a Hike 734 follower named Yolanda in reply to a newsletter I’d sent out. She explained to me that she used my Going-to-the-Sun Road Driving Guide when she biked the road in the springtime. Her suggestion of adding spring biking information to it was such…

  • The Clowny Ducks

    The Clowny Ducks

    “I’ve got two ducks” cracked the radio. “I’m on my way” I replied back to Ava. We were leapfrogging each other as we worked up McDonald Creek to always have eyes on the water as we surveyed up for this small, charismatic Harlequin Duck. Each spring, the ducks begin their unique west-to-east migration from the…

  • Apgar Lookout Spring 2024

    Apgar Lookout Spring 2024

    With the trail being on a south-facing slope, Apgar Lookout is the easiest way to get some elevation in Glacier National Park in the spring. The forecast called for a bluebird day, so we packed our lunches and hit the trail for a lovely spring warmup. Even if Going-to-the-Sun Road was open all the way…

  • Big Meadows, Granite Falls, and Haynach Lakes

    Big Meadows, Granite Falls, and Haynach Lakes

    The short hike to Big Meadows offers great birding, wonderful wildflowers, and a chance to see moose. Further on, the waters of Tonahutu Creek spill over the granite as the lovely Granite Falls. Further still, greater effort leads to the solitude of Haynach Lakes where a pristine lake full of trout sits below rugged mountains…

  • Big Prairie Ski 2024

    Big Prairie Ski 2024

    Crisp air, fresh snow and endless blue skies were the perfect excuse to head up to the North Fork area of Glacier National Park and ski up to Big Prairie for a lovely Valentine’s Day. This past summer I drove up the Inside North Fork Road towards Kintla Lake to do a survey for Glacier’s…

  • Avalanche Lake Hike on New Year’s Day 2024

    Avalanche Lake Hike on New Year’s Day 2024

    With a low snowpack to the start of our winter, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to hike up to Avalanche Lake on the first day of 2024. We ended up with the gorgeous lake all to ourselves. With nobody else around, most all of the animals not making a peep, and snow to absorb…

  • Jewel Basin Hawk Watch 2023

    Jewel Basin Hawk Watch 2023

    As summer wanes in later August, my fellow bird nerds and I get excited for an annual event, raptor migration. Unlike many bird species that migrate at night, raptors such as hawks, eagles, and falcons, choose the day time along mountain ridges where they can ride currents and updrafts. This saves valuable energy as they…

  • North Inlet and Cascade Falls with Lake Nokoni and Lake Nanita

    North Inlet and Cascade Falls with Lake Nokoni and Lake Nanita

    Whether you’re looking for a lovely stroll through some meadows along a creek, a slightly longer hike to some cascades, or an epic day to two gorgeous alpine lake, the trail along North Inlet in Rocky Mountain National Park gives everyone a plethora of options. In 2019, I hiked all the way up to Lake…