Click for the big one.
This is a panorama taken from location of the former triangulation station "MEDICINE", now gone missing, elevation 8,446. The marker that remains is from an earlier survey probably ca. 1902-3.
The station was perhaps named by the surveyors to honor a rather unusual cultural feature found nearby, in plain sight, which is thought to be of considerable age. The large cairn found on the ridge a bit farther towards Mt. Henry is probably covering the "Azimuth Mark" for the triangulation station, a simple method of determining instrument accuracy.
IMPORTANT: PLEASE REFRAIN FROM MOVING ROCKS OR OTHERWISE DISTURBING THIS RATHER PRISTINE SITE!
Write me if you desire more details. This is perhaps the worst kept secret in Glacier, but it serves as an excellent educational tool to show how subtle, and how fragile, the clues to the past actually are.
This scene is just down the ridge about 1,200 ft. vertical from triangulation station "Medicine". It's proximity to the NPS trail has enabled the unwitting visitors to disturb surface features as to render them useless, except I suppose to point out as the "bad example".
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