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Lake Francis Backpack 2024
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After taking a boat down from Waterton to Goat Haunt, we backpacked to the stunning Lake Francis for a quick overnighter. With the tall walls of The Sentinel towering overhead and a lovely waterfall feeding the lake, it’s a perfect spot to get away.
Loon Days occur around the third week in July every year. It’s a weekend where we try and take a snapshot of all of the Common Loons and any chicks that have hatched. If the nest was successful, there will be a fairly well developed chick or two on the lake with the parents. If the nest failed, but a second try was successful, the little fluff balls will be out on the lake.
We volunteered to do a backpack up in the Goat Haunt area to cover Waterton Lake, Lake Janet, and Lake Francis. Along the way, we were going to keep an eye out for Golden Eagles, check a Bald Eagle nest, look for American Pikas, Black Swifts, and do a Mountain Goat/Bighorn Sheep survey! Whew!
After the border crossing into Canada, then a check-in with the American authorities to head back into the US via Goat Haunt, we hopped on a boat and headed down to Waterton. Just past the international boundary, we spied the Bald Eagle nest and a cooperative chick sat at the edge of the nest. It’s watchful parents hung out in a nearby snag.
The sun was out and it was hot and only going to get hotter. We set out from the boat launch area, past the ranger station and headed west. Before we went too far, we peeled off on the spur trail to Rainbow Falls. While not the most photogenic waterfall, it is a beautiful (and powerful) cascade in the river. We snacked on a couple huckleberries while eating lunch and then returned to the main trail.
With all of the moisture we’ve received this year, the trail was pretty overgrown. Plenty of flowers… and plenty of insects remained, to the delight of the birds. While quiet on the way in, as they tend to be in the heat of the day, they were much more vocal on the way out earlier in the morning.
After crossing over the Waterton River, we gained some elevation and hopped onto the Boulder Pass Trail and continued climbing. While mostly in the trees, the trail does begin to get some views looking out and they are really fun. To the east, you can see Mt. Cleveland (Glacier’s highest summit) next to the rock pillared Stoney Indian Peaks. Just to the south is the aptly named Porcupine Ridge with a series of serrated spikes along its spine.
More trees, overgrown bushes, and some elevation and we eventually came to Lake Janet. With no real access to the shoreline (which is a shame), you can still enjoy a couple of vantages of the lake, with the best vantage being in one of the avalanche chutes. While doing a goat/sheep survey in this spot, we watched Common Goldeneyes (one female had some chicks) in the water and MacGillivray’s Warblers and Willow Flycatchers flitting amongst the tall shrubbery. (No goats or sheep or loons were seen during the survey.)
From there we continued through the dark forest, past the Lake Janet Campground and up to the spur trail for Lake Francis. It’s easy to miss as the thimbleberries and false hellebore were taller than the cutoff sign. Thankfully, the hitching post was visible which helped alert us that we’d made it.
We dropped down the steep, overgrown trail, past the campground and onto the wide, glorious gravel bar at the lake. Looking east, you can see Mt. Cleveland and Porcupine Ridge. The impressive features, however, are the insanely tall cliff walls of The Sentinel towering above. A waterfall tumbles down from the glacier above in threaded drops, and cascades into the lake.
We rinsed off in the cold, turquoise waters, set up camp and had some dinner. Just before we went to bed, we heard a couple of Black Swifts fly overhead. They were making their way back to roost behind the waterfall.
As the sun started to light up the cliffs, we arose to make breakfast. Three swifts flew overhead to begin their day of flying high up in the mountains to feed. We went down to the lake as the morning light refracted through the waterfall. Fish in the water were in a feeding frenzy with some jumping a couple feet in the air!
When breakfast was over, we packed up camp and headed on out. It was much more enjoyable hiking in the cool of the day and the birds were more vocal. We did our last couple of surveys, then finished hiking back to Goat Haunt where we awaited The International to take us back to Waterton. A couple border check-ins/crossings later and we were on our way home.
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