Glacier National Park

Hi Everyone,

We are alive and well but it’s been a crazy busy couple of days here!  We’ve been trying to fit Glacier National Park into 4 days which of course is impossible but we did get to see some of the favorite recommended areas :)

  We left Baker’s Hole early and drove along the Gallatin River and through the Gallatain National forest and Mountain Range, which was gorgeous!  We began Friday afternoon settling into our campground, called Glacier Meadow RV Park, which is located East of the main East Glacier Entrance to the park.  It is exactly that, a campground nestled in a meadow with mountains surrounding us on all sides; just lovely.... A great setting; not that we spent much time there :) We has wanted to get into a campground directly in the park but as you can imagine it’s really busy this time of year and those campgrounds were full.  We particularly wanted to get into the campground called Rising Sun since it was recommended to us by several people but it was closed.  That was due to an especially high amount of bear activity.  One bear curled up next to a camper on the outside of his tent and another bear actually pulled out a pillow from underneath another camper’s head; while he was sleeping!! Thankfully, all these two will have to show for the experience is a great story; it could have ended much worse...

Friday afternoon we drove over to Two Medicine area of the park where we hike 2 small paths, Appistoki Falls and Running Eagle Falls which were both great introductions to the amazing Glacier Park area...

We stopped along the road to check out a few ponds  and were lucky enough for us to spot some grebes and ducks.  Ron got a some new ones there; the red necked Grebe and the Eared Grebe!  We returned to camp for dinner and prepared for a full day of hiking and exploring in  the morning.

We woke early at  6 to get the shuttle bus outside of St Mary area.  The drive to that area goes along Rt 49 is very winding and curving and has lots of ups and downs and has NO guard rails! On top of that it has terrible areas of bumpy, rocky worn area surfaces.  It has to be the most uncomfortable road I’ve ever been on in my life! I can stand at the edge of an overlook peering deep down into a canyon and not have it bother me but this road made me feel ill, I don’t know why...  We decided to use the shuttle into the main area of the park because of the narrow winding roads and felt that the truck would make that more difficult driving.  It was the right decision but the time frame of the East side shuttle left something to be desired and we ended up waiting longer than expected and didn’t get to our destination until later than expected.  Despite all that it was amazing to see all the vistas along the way on Going To The Sun Road!  This park has incredible scenery of mountains and valleys and ravines! It simply took my breath away!

On that first ride, I realized why the bus was the smart thing to do. The drivers that do this know the ins and outs of every turn as well as all the bumpy, construction areas that are being worked on all over the park.  I’d much rather have the bus take the beating than the truck :)  Just as we were approaching our first transfer we saw a big horned sheep walking along a wall on the side of the road!  I managed to get a shot of him out the bus window and it’s one of my favorite memories since it shows just how agile these creatures are!  We changed buses at Logan’s Pass and decided we’d have to come back there in the morning because it looked amazing!

We arrived at Avalanche Lake Trailhead around noon and had a bite to eat before starting our hike.   The beginning of this trail goes through the Trail of the Cedars which have magnificent, old; mature cedar trees that were awesome to see up close.  Then we arrived at a waterfall area over colorful rocks worn away by time and sediments. Most of the hike was through gorgeous wooded terrain over tamped down dirt and rocks and a steady uphill climb.  It became quite hot during the hike and due to carrying backpacks it was required to stop frequently for hydrating.  On this hike I began to notice my limitations.  I was having a bad day but the gorgeous setting was able to distract me :)  The payoff came at the end when we made it to Avalanche Lake which was beautiful and displayed 3 cascades pouring down the mountains into the lake!  We spent some time there for me to recover and soak my feet and relax.  

Ron and I came on this particular hike not only for the beauty but because there were supposed to be birds there for Ron’s life list.  Unfortunately, we only saw a Stellar’s Jay which, although beautiful was not the birds we came for... Despite that, we had a great hike and came back out to the trailhead where i really began to struggle and was grateful for the shuttle van to arrive.  

The part of the park from Logan Pass to Avalanche lake demonstrated why it was smart to have someone else do the driving. The roads are very narrow with sheer drop offs along the side of the road.  Also, it was nice to give Ron a break from all the driving....

As we were through a sky loaded with storm clouds.  Just as we got back to St Mary’s area we saw a beautiful rainbow off in the distance.  Then we got back on that nasty road that led us to East Glacier and off to the side we saw a huge downpour of rain coming from the clouds on one side and just to the left a half of it a rainbow!  It was quite striking!  This storm apparently produced one inch hail in the area!! Then I began to hunker down in the truck and kept myself as distracted as I could for the rest of the way on that road...  We arrived home late, grabbed a bite to eat,prepared for the next day and passed out :)

We were up at 5:30 because we wanted to get the earlier shuttle and ultimately arrived at Logan’s Pass mid-morning.  It was a cooler day thankfully and we began our hike.  Right at the very beginning, directly behind the visiter center before the trailhead began we saw a family of 5 mountain goats.  The were so beautiful, especially that cute baby!!  As we began the Hidden Lake Trail it was loaded with wildflowers, colors everywhere!!  The beginning of the trail was boardwalk with steps up and a steady incline.  As you look back behind you as you descend you get a great view of the mountains and meadows and a good perspective of the ascent you have obtained.

We looked for birds along the way and finally saw a new one; a clay colored sparrow.  We looked for gray crowned rosy finches but unfortunately, didn’t find them.  However, as we were scanning though, we saw a group of 3 big horned sheep on the ledge which was awesome!  At the end of the trail we got to the overlook and it was so worth the climb for me!  The view was incredible! We sat and had some lunch while admiring the view and Ron made a new friend.  There are abundant ground squirrels throughout the park and one came up to Ron begging and Ron relented and shared some of his bread from his sandwich; they are such beggars!

Then we walked beyond the overlook some and a mountain goat was right on the trail walking towards us! He stepped off the tail just ahead of us and wandered off towards the cliff, quite the sight!  We met a couple of people up there who we spoke to about their plans to visit Yellowstone next.  After explaining to them the beauty of The Grand Teton area they decided to put it on their agenda.  We gave them ideas of hikes and wildlife viewing and they were very grateful.  It’s only right to share with others since we’ve been advised by so many people on our trip so far have given us great tips!

On our descent down we came across a mountain goat laying down in a patch of snow. these magnificent creatures need to cool off themselves since they are built for cold weather...  On the last stretch of trail towards the visitor center I came across a young bird (still not identified) alongside the trail whom I followed for quite some time.  Due to his youth and inexperience, he allowed us a great view of bird behavior:)

We then went across the parking lot to the Highline Trail which in the beginning is referred as the Garden Wall.  Once again the wildflowers were colorful and abundant.  It was a steady descent and we only followed it a short way because we were pressed for time.  We put the trail on our to do list for the future though since it descends directly to the valley floor and has awesome views.

After taking the shuttle back and enduring the horrible Rt 49 once again we arrived safely at camp (driving roads like that take so much concentration and are very tiring on the driver) and enjoyed a nice pasta meal.  It’s nice to be able to eat pretty much anything you want after burning many calories on a hike :)  We prepared for the next day; the last one (: at Glacier and slept like a rock...

We chose the Many Glacier area for our last day due to many recommendations.  On our way, we stopped in town at The World’s Largest Spoon Shop.  I don’t know about that claim, but it was an amazing store with hand carved spoons that you can fit right tour hand’s grip as well as other hand carved items.  I entered the store due to my patient’s recommendations (HI Priscilla!!) and was so glad we came! It was a lovely store and Ron and I both purchased beautiful items. I found a leather bracelet with a brass plate engraved with the saying “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good”.  It fits me well in many ways :)

The Many Glacier area is also gorgeous and was described to us by a fellow shuttle passenger as the ‘Heart of Glacier’ and the name appears to fit.  After taking a break for lunch we struggled with the decision of which hike to choose and ultimately decided on the Swift Current Trail which tales you past Lake Josephine.  I have to say it was one of the most beautiful trails I’ve been through as you go along the ridge surrounding the lake.  There was a tour boat that drives along the length of the lake that we saw and at some point in the future would love to try to beard. We noticed the boat stop and reverse along the shore just ahead of where we were hiking. As it turns out we had to end the hike early due to fact that there was a grizzly bear that was frequenting the trail just ahead.  A couple that we met on the trail said that they had encountered that grizzly right on the trail that morning about 30 yds ahead of them!  We all decided that since the boat had backed up to view something, that perhaps it was the grizzly bear.  It was just as well, since we were pressed for time at that point. On our way back we stopped at a boat dock to spend a few moments to enjoy the view and soak our feet.  It was lovely....

After getting towards the end of the trail we spotted a moose and her calf just off the trail.  It was so cute! She was a good mother because as the spectators increased she nudged her calf deeper into the woods... After heading to the restroom to changed into fresh clothes I got to see a bear way up on the mountain heading down the open meadow into the woods.  It was from a great distance but I finally got to see a bear on this trip!  We headed out of the park and drove along the dam that fed a swift moving river and was quite striking!

For the rest of the trip back to camp, I asked Ron to go an alternate route home.  I told him that we might be fortunate to find more ponds with new birds and ducks but I had an ulterior motive.  I just couldn’t take my last, long drive around Glacier be on that awful road.  As it turns out we didn’t see anything but a hawk and some amazing storms off in the distance but it was a much more relaxing drive.  On that note we have observed that Montana residents really don’t like to be behind slow (62-65) drivers.  This area has many 70 mph areas and we tried to stay close to that but we wanted to view our surroundings.  People will FLY passed you around roads with high elevation gain and some spots that have poor visibility ahead.  They must be used to it because they seem to take a lot of chances!

After dinner we had showers and made decisions for our next day’s departure.  We are now driving towards Helena to stay for the night to get chores done, laundry shopping etc.  Ron also made an appointment for an oil change.  We’ve put 4900 miles on the truck since leaving Albany!!!  

(photos to follow)