Shangri La Loop, Glacier National Park

Date: August 17, 2019

Trip leaders: Joshua and Susanna G Phillips 

Participants: Alden Wright, Edna Blanchfield, Jim Goss, Marina Sonora, David Patterson, Jennifer Franklin 

Our plan was to start at Swiftcurrent Camp area, hike to and scramble up Redrock Falls, pass Shangri La’s Lake, descent to Iceberg Lake and take the main trail back out. Well, after the heavy rain we had the night before we decided to start our loop the opposite direction by going first to Iceberg Lake. We were hoping that by the time we got to Iceberg Lake that most of the wet rock was dry. 

We started our hike a little later than what we planned for. Luckily we found enough parking for the group. At ten in the morning we were on our way to Iceberg Lake. The sky was still recovering from high winds and clouds that covered the horizon. As we were hiking in, the sun slowly melted the remaining snow dust on the rocks. The weather displayed a scenic view over the mountain ridges entertained us most of the day. Before arriving to Iceberg lake we decided to take a break, away from the crowd, eat and then push for Shangri La.  

As we made our way up Shangri La the views of Iceberg Lake and its surrounding broadened to a magnificent alpine-scape. The higher we got the cooler the wind felt. 

At the upper lake we took a second break before starting our way down the cliffs next to Redrock Falls.  Route-finding was a team effort. The closer to the cliffs we got the more careful we needed to be. As a team, we scoped for the best and safest route off the mountain. Some of the exposure and down climbing felt intimidating, so we all needed to be cautious. Carefully we found our way down and made it back on the trail. While hiking out along the trail, picking huckleberries made the end of the day even sweeter.