Crowfeet-Henkel-Apikuni Traverse

 







   Crowfeet Mountain to Mount Henkel
Head towards the south from the summit, taking care to find an easy way down the loose cliffs. After a couple of short class III descents, you'll come upon the long ridge connecting Crowfeet to Mount Henkel to the southeast. It's about one mile to the summit of Henkel, with the ridge dipping approximately 1,000 feet along the way. Take time to admire the steep east face of Crowfeet. I had the pleasure of watching three separate small groups of mountain goats traverse this slope via their impossibly perched trails, and marveled at how they survive unscathed as they kicked loose rock on a violent tumble down the side of the mountain. As you approach Henkel, a few well-worn scree trails lead the way towards the summit. After a tiring little scramble, the summit cairn is finally reached. The view of Crowfeet's east face gives you a new appreciation for the mountain. Chief Mountain and Gable Mountain perch mightily to the north. The impressive east face of Mount Wilbur is visible to the southwest, with marvelous Heaven's Peak looming behind the Continental Divide. Views to the southeast are also particularly stunning; the Lewis Range reaches far off to the distance, with Allen Mountain and Mount Siyeh towering far behind the Many Glacier Hotel. Divide Mountain is visible over the broad, flat summit rigde of East Flattop Mountain, and the snowy mass of Blackfoot Mountain stands impressively to the south. To the northeast is the long ridge leading up to the red rounded summit of Apikuni Mountain.

The ridge between Crowfeet and Henkel (left).

Mount Henkel to Apikuni Mountain  
From the summit of Henkel, head towards the east; you'll eventually encounter some nasty cliffs. Make your way off the summit ridge to the south, climbing downward until one of several wide ledges can traversed back to the east. You'll soon regain the summit ridge at the low point between the true summit of Mount Henkel and a false eastern summit that borders the great screen basin to the south. At this point, the great ridge that heads toward Apikuni Mountain will be clearly visible; make your way down along the right side of the ridge and onto a wide scree shelf. Huge cliffs will block futher progress, but you'll find a class IV couloir that can be easily descended. There are great handholds in the couloir, and after downclimbing 20 feet or so, it's smooth sailing the rest of the way. You can follow scattered scattered trails on either side of the ridge, and before long the terrain will flatten out significantly and you'll be walking on a solid, broad portion of the ridge that connects to Apikuni. Just like the Crowfeet to Henkel traverse, the traverse to Apikuni loses about 1,000 feet and covers a mile. To the southeast is Natahki Lake, a beautiful tarn situated amongst a forest beneath the slopes of Altyn Peak. The views from the summit of Apikuni are not much different than those from Mount Henkel; the real treat is to look back to the west, where the full route comes into splendid view. On a clear day, you can see far past Duck Lake to the east, and the rounded humps of the Sweetgrass Hills may even be visible.



Descent from Apikuni Mountain
From Apikuni, J. Gordon Edwards recommends to head east down the summit ridge in an attempt to avoid the scree and cliff-filled southern slopes of the mountain. There are a bunch of hiking/game trails along the way, and they all appeared to swing well out to the east to where the descent to the valley below will be much gentler. I, however, decided to head south/southeast, and ran down some scree fields while stopping to climb down the occasional steep, rocky chute. I never encountered anything worse than class III, and I felt like the stretches where I found extended batches of scree helped me descend rather quickly. After leaving the scree slopes, I bushwhacked through some shrubs while angling to the southeast; in hindsight, I would recommend following any one of the drainages down to the valley. In September, they were all dried up and looked to provide a clear path down to some flat ground. Eventually you'll end up at the bottom, and from there a trail bisects the quaint little valley that sits beneath the summit Altyn Peak. Follow the trail down past Apikuni Falls; from the falls its but a mile back to the road. From the road hitch a ride or walk one mile along the side of the road back to the Many Glacier Hotel (2 miles to Swiftcurrent).

NOTE: This traverse could most certainly be enjoyed in the opposite direction, starting from Apikuni and ending with a descent down the western scree slopes of Crowfeet Mountain. However, J. Gordon Edwards probably sums it up best: although the climb to the summit of Crowfeet ain't the greatest, the ascent up the loose rock on Apikuni's south/southeastern slope is worse. Starting from the Iceberg Lake/Ptarmigan Tunnel Trailhead, over 2,000 feet of elevation is gained over 5+ miles on a well-maintained trail before any off-trail hiking is required. Ascending Apikuni first requires a steep, 700 foot climb on trail to Apikuni Falls; from there, a climber's trail leads through the meadows above the falls, gradually gaining a short amount of elevation. Then it's a scree slosh up the slopes of Apikuni. So, if you're a glutton for punishment, be my guest.

Looking west back down the ridge connecting Mount Henkel (left) to Apikuni Mountain (foreground). The sheer wall in the middle right portion of the photograph is the 2,000 foot east face of Crowfeet Mountain, the first summit of the day. The wondrous silhouette of mountains in the background contains the peaks that this inspiring route has allowed you to admire all day long.

Looking west back down the ridge connecting Mount Henkel (left) to Apikuni Mountain (foreground). The sheer wall in the middle right portion of the photograph is the 2,000 foot east face of Crowfeet Mountain, the first summit of the day. The wondrous silhouette of mountains in the background contains the peaks that this inspiring route has allowed you to admire all day long.

Essential Gear

One more plug for J. Gordon Edwards' A Climber's Guide to Glacier National Park. Great route descriptions of peaks all throughout the park. A topographic map wouldn't hurt, nor would a compass. It would be very difficult to get lost on this route, but the map and compass come in handy for identifying peaks and lakes from the top of these three wonderful summits!

The Many Glacier Valley is home to many dangerous animals, including mountain lions, black bears, and grizzly bears. Bring bear spray, a buddy to hike with, a loud voice, and you should be fine.

Bring water, or plan to treat water along the way. After Ptarmigan Lake, you'll likely be without water for quite some time. Seeing as how this is the most strenuous section of the route, I'd recommend filling up a bottle or two at Ptarmigan Lake. After descending Apikuni, you can fill up again at Apikuni Creek to help quench your thirst over the last few easy miles.

When to Climb

The southern slopes of Crowfeet, Henkel, and Apikuni can be free of snow as soon as July. July - September seems like the ideal time to attempt this hike. However, I think you could summit Henkel from Swiftcurrent Motor Inn and traverse to Crowfeet without too much trouble from a little bit of snow. Hence, there are likely some interesting late spring/early summer hiking/climbing opportunities along these three mountains.

Where to Stay

Camping is available at the Many Glacier Campground. The entire campground can fill well before noon in the short, busy summer season (June through Labor Day), and there are no reservations; plan on getting there early. Other options include a stay at the historic Many Glacier Hotel or the more modest Swiftcurrent Motor Inn. Refer to the National Park Service's Glacier Webpage for additional information.

Other Circuit Routes

Gordon Edwards details several routes that involve high ridge traverses to multiple peaks. It truly is special to spend a significant portion of the day above the tree line, walking atop open ridges with spectacular views in every direction. I recommend giving any of these a try; you will not be disappointed.

- start out early on the trail to Cracker Lake. Leave the trail after 3.5 miles and scramble to the top of Wynn Mountain. A glorious, 5.5 mile long ridge leads all the way up and over Peak 9190 and Cracker Peak before culminating atop massive Mount Siyeh. Refer to my route page for details.

- from Rising Sun Motor Inn, take the trail towards Otokomi Lake, eventually venturing off-trail to the summit of Otokomi Mountain. A wide ridge leads to the summit of East Flattop Mountain; from the summit, a short detour to the east leads to Singleshot Mountain. By returning to East Flattop, one can then head north and enjoy the three mile long ridge walk on East Flattop toward Napi Point.

- check out jimegan's trip report for Red Eagle/Mahtotopah/Little Chief, which involves a glorious ridge walk high above the deep blue waters of St. Mary Lake.

- Mad Wolf Circuit: starting from Cut Bank Campground, it's possible to bushwhack/climb to the summit of Mad Wolf Mountain, where a ridge connects to Eagle Plume Mountain and eventually to Bad Marriage Mountain.

- from the Lunch Creek pullout a few miles east of Logan Pass, the hardy mountaineer can easily summit Piegan Mountain, Pollock Mountain, and Bishop's Cap. You can return to your car near Lunch Creek, head downhill to the Highline Trail from Bishop's Cap, or retrace your steps to the saddle between Pollock and Piegan for a descent to Piegan Pass into Many Glacier. Great route photos and information in Blake Passmore's Climb Glacier National Park; for more info, visit his website: http://www.climbglacier.com/.


- from Two Medicine Lake, hike steeply uphill over three miles on the Scenic Point Trail. From the top, one can enjoy a prolonged ridge walk to the south that includes summits of Medicine Peak and Mount Henry. From Henry, many hikers head towards Appistoki Peak, but options abound, as another long, spectacular ridge leads to Mount Ellsworth and Never Laughs Mountain. Refer to the Climber's Guide or two Blake Passmore's Climb Glacier National Park Vol. 2 (http://www.climbglacier.com/)for detailed information regarding the numerous routes among these peaks.