The Old Copper Mine at Cracker Lake

If you’ve ever had the chance to hike to Cracker Lake in Glacier National Park, it’s likely you’re aware of the remnants of the old mine located near the far end of the lake.

The mine was established after copper ore was discovered near the shores of the lake in 1898. Although the Blackfeet Indians owned all of the lands east of the Continental Divide, they sold the mountainous portion of this area to the United States in 1896 for $1.5 million. This parcel, which became known as the “Ceded Strip,” would eventually become part of Glacier National Park. By an Act of Congress the transaction officially took place on April 15, 1898. On that same day the area was declared open, and a "rush" to stake mining claims took place. At the appointed hour a volley of shots rang out and the rush began with a wild stampede of miners on horseback, in wagons, and even on foot. Within a matter of hours hundreds of claims were staked in the Swiftcurrent Valley and in adjacent areas such as Rose Creek, Boulder Creek and Cracker Lake.

The Cracker Lake Mine was established on the southern end of the lake at the foot of Mt. Siyeh. According to legend the mine received its name when two prospectors, L. C. Emmonds and Hank Norris, after staking their claim, had a lunch of cheese and crackers at the site. Later that same year the two miners sold their claim to the Michigan and Montana Copper Mining & Smelting Company.

At the site, miners dug a thirteen-hundred foot tunnel, built a sawmill, and erected a steam driven concentrator to process the ore.

According to Through The Years In Glacier National Park, Charles Nielson used a large freight wagon and twelve mules to transport the 16,000-pound concentrator from Fort Browning to the mine, a roughly 275-mile trip that took 29 days to complete. As they ascended Canyon Creek to its headwaters at Cracker Lake, the “mule skinners” often used a block and tackle system to proceed up the roughest sections of terrain. Although hauled-in and installed, the concentrator was never operated. A mining expert from Helena determined that the site would never be profitable, and thus discouraged further development (and you thought the original boys on Gold Rush were the only ones that didn’t have a plan!).

The boom town of Altyn

One of the financial backers of the Cracker Lake Mine was Dave Greenwood Altyn. A town bearing his name was built near Cracker Flats, and was active from 1898 to 1902. During its peak it had an estimated population of 600-800 people, and boasted as having a post office, hotel, general store, newspaper, several saloons, and many other establishments typically found in a boomtown. Ironically, the September 1, 1900 edition of The Swift Current Courier ran screaming headlines prematurely declaring that “The Growth of Altyn Assured" and “No Doubt Now About the Permanency and Productiveness of the Swift Current Mines.” Over the next two years both the Cracker Lake Mine and the town of Altyn would go bust. The former townsite was eventually buried under water after the Lake Sherburne reservoir filled the valley in 1921.

After the short boom most of the mining claims were abandoned. Unfortunately for the miners who staked their fortunes in this area, little or no minerals were found. With the exception of a few diehards, most of the claims were abandoned by 1903.

The land surrounding the Cracker Lake Mine changed hands several times throughout the following years. It was finally picked up on a tax deed from Glacier County by the Glacier Natural History Association on September 22, 1953. During the following month the land was turned over to the Federal Government for $123.96, the cost of acquiring the parcel and clearing its title.

Today hikers can still find many of the remnants from the old mine. In addition to mine tailings, you can still see several abandoned machinery parts, including the boiler. The tunnel entrance is also nearby, though entry into the mine shaft is prohibited by the park. For more information on the incredibly beautiful hike to Cracker Lake, please click here.


Glacier National Park: The First 100 Years details the astonishing changes the park has undergone since its designation in 1910, including the Great Northern Railway's Swiss-style chalets & lodges. It features more than 200 historical photographs, as well as some of the finest artwork of the region and its people, including Charlie Russell.








Jeff
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

Ramble On (2nd edition book on the rich history of hiking)
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park

The supreme glory of the Glacier National Park

"The supreme glory of the Glacier National Park is its lakes. The world has none to surpass, perhaps few to equal them. Some are valley gems grown to the water's edge with forests. Some are cradled among precipices. Some float ice-fields in midsummer.

From the continental divide seven principal valleys drop precipitously upon the east, twelve sweep down the longer western slopes. Each valley holds between its feet its greater lake to which are tributary many smaller lakes of astonishing wildness.

On the east side St. Mary Lake is destined to world-wide celebrity, but so also is Lake McDonald on the west side. These are the largest in the park.

But some, perhaps many, of the smaller lakes are candidates for beauty's highest honors. Of these Lake McDermott with its minaretted peaks stands first—perhaps because best known, for here is one of the finest hotels in any national park and a luxurious camp.

Upper Two Medicine Lake is another east-side candidate widely known because of its accessibility, while far to the north the Belly River Valley, difficult to reach and seldom seen, holds lakes, fed by eighteen glaciers, which will compare with Switzerland's noblest.

The west-side valleys north of McDonald constitute a little-known wilderness of the earth's choicest scenery, destined to future appreciation."

-- From the National Parks Portfolio brochure from 1916.

One of the grandest of all the lakes in Glacier National Park is Cracker Lake in the Many Glacier area:

For suggestions on some of the other top lake hikes in Glacier, please click here.



Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com

Amazing Bird's-eye View Photos of Glacier Park

Last week a friend of HikinginGlacier.com sent me several amazing photos that were taken during a couple of helicopter tours over Glacier National Park recently. Although the photos were taken from a phone camera, they're still absolutely stunning:



Here's Iceberg Lake:


Here's a view of Cracker Lake like none you've ever seen before:


The last two photos are of Grinnell Glacier:




Thanks to Jarica for sharing these with all of us!



Jeff
Glacier National Park Hiking

The Best Of: Glacier's Waterfalls and Lakes

With roughly 200 waterfalls, and 762 lakes - 131 of which are named, including "No Name Lake" - many of the hikes in Glacier National Park end at a lake or waterfall. Below are a few of my favorites.

Redrock Falls is an outstanding choice for an easy hike in the Many Glacier Valley. You'll have great opportunities for seeing wildlife, it passes two picturesque lakes, and ends at one of the most scenic series of waterfalls in the park. Although the lower falls are far more interesting, the upper falls had this beautiful mountain backdrop:

Running Eagle Falls, also known as "Trick Falls", is located in Two Medicine area. The waterfall receives its nickname due to there being two separate waterfalls in the same location. During the spring run-off water rushes over the upper falls for a 40-foot drop, while obscuring the lower falls. By late summer the upper falls dries up. However, water continues to rush over the lower 20-foot falls, while seeming to flow out of the rock wall, as you see in this photo:

Okay, this isn't a lake or waterfall, but there is a lake below those mountains. This is a meadow that hikers walk through on their way to Medicine Grizzly Lake:

Below is the 50-foot Virginia Falls, perhaps one of the most beautiful waterfalls I've ever seen. And to top it off, there are three other incredibly beautiful cascades and falls you'll pass on your way up to this set:


Cracker Lake in the Many Glacier area has to be one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. Prior to reaching the lake, about a mile from the trailhead, hikers will have this view of Cracker Flats. The mountains across the upper reaches of Lake Sherburne create this magnificent scene during the morning hours:

Five miles later hikers finally reach Cracker Lake. The best vantage point is from an outcropping of rocks where you’ll stand about a hundred feet above the lake. Directly across the lake is 9376-foot Allen Mountain. Towering above the south end of the lake is 10,014-foot Mt. Siyeh, and sitting like a gem more than 4000 feet below is Cracker Lake:

The lake is the most beautiful turquoise color you’ll ever see. If you could ignore the magnificent scenery of the surrounding mountains, it would still be well worth the hike just to see the amazing color of this lake. The deep turquoise color is a result of light refraction through its suspended load of glacial silt:









Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com