Glacier National Park, MT

Bridget:

If I had been counting, I would say that ever since Craig and I started planning this trip, Glacier National Park has been the most-recommended. What was all the fuss about? Well now I know. The most beautiful of all national parks I’ve seen yet, Glacier National Park sits just south of the Canadian border in northwestern Montana. It is actually a part of the first-ever International Peace Park, a combination of two national parks (Glacier for the U.S. and Waterton for Canada). The landscape was carved out by massive glacier movement millennia ago. Some of these glaciers still exist today. It also has the largest concentration of grizzly bears in the U.S. Yikes!

We thought it would be a good idea to camp two nights instead of the usual one so we would have more time to spend in the gigantic park. We arrived to the park early Thursday evening and obtained our trail information to plan for the next day. We decided on the “Highline Trail,” a 7.6 mile hike up to the Granite Park Chalet that begins at Logan Pass and runs alongside the Garden Wall (also part of the Continental Divide). We woke up super early in order to catch the shuttle by 7:00 a.m. This shuttle is a free service now provided by the park (and probably financed by the $25 park entrance fee we paid). The bus took us up and around the “Going-to-the-Sun Road” to Logan Pass, where we arrived 1 and ½ hours later. Apparently the Highline Trail had been closed due to bear activity but was re-opened just before we headed out. Yeah. I don’t know about you, but for me, the possibility of encountering a grizzly is not the most comforting prospect. After catching the last part of a ranger’s talk, we learned that the bears were primarily by the Granite Park Chalet and pass that on the way down the “Loop.” Since there were plenty of hikers already starting down the trail, we went ahead and began the hike. This trail was none like I’ve ever seen: all open and spectacular views with every step.

We hiked in about five miles (without any bear sightings) and then headed back to get in at least one more hike around Logan Pass. We headed up to Hidden Lake Overlook, a short 1.5 mile hike with once again fantastic views of landscape and wildlife.

Around 4:00 p.m. we caught the shuttle back down to Apgar, which is right by the west entrance of the park. By the way, I do not recommend hiking 13 miles then sitting still in a car/bus/whatever for two hours….unless, that is, you like super-stiff muscles.

With turkey sandwiches in hand, we headed down to Lake McDonald to “soak our feet” in the beautiful, multi-colored stone bottom lake.

In the mid 1800’s, there were about 150 glaciers that spotted the mountains, now there are around 30. Experts predict that by the year 2030, all the glaciers will be gone. I beg you…in the next twenty years, plan a trip to this park. You will be glad you did. Oh, and if you want to invite us to tag along, that would be cool too.

Next Stop: Yellowstone National Park, WY