Glacier National Park, MT

August 8

We retraced our route south out of the Olympic Peninsula and headed east on I-90 through Washington. We tried to camp on some BLM land west of Spokane, WA, 4 miles off of I-90. However, what turned out to be a small gravel lot didn’t exactly make us want to stay. We continued into Idaho to a forest service campground called Beauty Creek on the Coeur d’Alene Lake. We knew our chances of getting a first-come, first-serve spot on a Friday evening, in a very small campground, on a lake with beautiful scenery were extremely small. It was a pretty 3.5 mile spur nonetheless. So, the Walmart Supercenter parking lot in Smelterville, ID was to be our overnight stop.

August 9

We continued through to beautiful Montana and took scenic Hwy 135 along the Clark Fork River toward Glacier National Park, MT. We stopped at Wayfarers State Park Campground near Big Fork, MT but they were already full. We ended up doing what we don’t like to do, staying at a private campground. Glacier Pines RV Park in Kalispell, MT had a spot for us. The sites were expensive (compared to national and state parks) and extremely small. The neighbors are no more than 6 feet from you on either side with no privacy between. At least we had full hookups and a shower house.

August 10

We wanted to get a spot at the first-come, first-serve Apgar Campground at the southern end of Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park, MT. The National Park Service has a handy chart showing past fill-up times for all Glacier campgrounds, so just to be safe we left Kalispell, MT at 7 am. After the 1 hour drive to the park we quickly found a camping spot.

Glacier National Park adjoins Waterton Lakes National Park across the border in Alberta, Canada and the two parks were linked in 1932 as the world’s first international peace park: Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. The area has always been important to the Blackfeet, Salish, and Kootenai peoples. Many of the park facilities and campgrounds stand where these native peoples camped to gather plants and hunt, and many park trails trace their routes over the Rockies.

Ancient mud and sediments in a shallow sea during the Precambrian (1.6 billion-800 million years ago) lifted, folded, cracked, and slid east to form the mountains of Waterton-Glacier in what is known as the Lewis Overthrust. This violent geologic event forced the Precambrian rock over top of the much younger, 75 million year old Cretaceous rock. The ancient mud layers have striking rusty-red and turquoise-green colors depending on how much oxygen was in the atmosphere at the time. Inconceivably old seafloor ripples can be seen near mountain summits. Massive glaciers have shaped the park since, eroding steep cliffs and tooth-like horns, leaving U-shaped valleys and deep glacial lakes. There are still glaciers in the park today, but they have shrunk considerably over the past century and are projected to be completely gone by 2020-2030 due to global climate change.

In Waterton-Glacier, plants from diverse environments mix, maritime species from the Pacific, northern species from Canada, prairie species from the east, and southern Rocky Mountain species. The park is also one of the few places in North America where all the native carnivores survive, grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, and cougars. It is no wonder that these parks have been named the “Crown of the Continent”.

After setting up and eating breakfast we headed to the Apgar Visitor Center. We then drove north along the shores of beautiful Lake McDonald which is surrounded by mountains, and stopped at the Avalanche Trail trail head for our first hike. After walking half of the 0.8 mile Trail of Cedars loop through beautiful, large red cedars, western hemlocks, and black cottonwoods, we hiked the 4 mile round trip Avalanche Trail. This trail follows the Avalanche Creek to Avalanche Lake, a pretty glacial lake in the middle of tall mountains. The northern end of the lake is fed by 4 huge, incredibly scenic glacial-melt waterfalls that drop down the steep mountainsides. William and the boys had fun skipping rocks across the still lake surface. We returned via the other half of the Trail of the Cedars loop.

As we still had some afternoon hours, we decided to drive part of the famous Going-to-the-Sun Road. This road is a 50 mile long, extremely scenic drive that crosses the park from West Glacier to St. Mary. It is windy, narrow, and seems precariously near the edge of steep drop offs. There are a 21 foot vehicle length and 8 foot width restriction. We took the road east to Logan’s Pass (6,646 ft), situated at the Continental Divide. Along the way we saw spectacular Bird Woman Falls which cascades 492 feet from the slopes of Mt. Oberlin across the valley. On the way back we saw two white, shaggy mountain goats.

August 11

In the morning we moved to St. Mary Campground on the eastern side of Glacier NP. As we couldn’t take the camper across the Going-to-the-Sun Road, we had to drive all the way around the western and southern end of the park and back up north to Saint Mary. Along the way we stopped at Goat Lick near Essex, MT. Here the Middle Fork Flathead River has cut a deep channel into the clay banks. Mountain goats and other animals travel for miles to lick the mineral-rich clay soil, especially in the Spring. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any animals from the overlook.

After getting set up at the campground we went to the Saint Mary Visitor Center and watched the short movie about the park. Afterward we drove to the town of Saint Mary just outside of the park on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation to buy some things at a gift shop. In the evening, Liam and Esther went to a ranger talk about grizzly bears at the campground amphitheater. We learned, among many interesting facts, that the “bear bells” that hikers like to carry in order to alert a bear of the hiker’s presence, are really ineffective. Instead, the bells with their high-pitch may actually attract a bear as they sound like the alarm calls of a marmot, pika, or squirrel…food for the bears!

August 12

We got up at 5:30 am in order to drive the 21 miles to Many Glacier further north into the park. This is one of the most famous areas with many impressive hikes. We hiked the 11-mile round trip Grinell Glacier Trail. We were almost the only people on the entire trail. We saw several piles of fresh bear scat on the trail. About a mile into the hike Liam spied two grizzly bears browsing up on a green slope and moving in the same direction we were heading. As we continued on the narrow trail, wedged between Swiftcurrent Lake directly below and the cliffs with the grizzlies above, we kept our eyes peeled in case the bears’ path intersected ours. (Un)fortunately, we never saw them again.

The trail slowly climbed and afforded us spectacular views of Swiftcurrent Lake, Josephine Lake, and Grinell Lake with its incredible turquoise color below us. We scanned the lake shores below for moose or elk, but had no luck. Along with the magnificent mountains all around, the interesting and varied sedimentary rock layers on the exposed slopes, the glaciers and remaining ice patches, cascading waterfalls, blooming wildflowers, and ripe berry bushes, the scenery was truly spectacular. Finally up at Grinell Glacier, we were in awe of the mass of ice, glacial melt water, and waterfalls. The air temperature was significantly cooler. The boys had fund dipping their feet into Grinell Glacier’s frigid melt water which was still mostly covered with ice and slush. Five bighorn sheep rams were resting on some sunny rocks and then moved to graze 60 or so feet from our lunch spot on the lake’s edge. After an hour or more we started our hike back down. Once again we were glad we had gotten an early start as hordes of hikers were streaming up the hot trail. The temperature had increased from the chilly but pleasant 50s we had at the start of our morning climb to the 80s.

In the evening, Liam and Esther once again attended a ranger talk, this time about the geology of the park. It explained many of the interesting rock formations we had seen so far.

August 13

Today we decided to do a less ambitious hike. After a leisurely morning we drove west on the Going-to-the-Sun Road to the Saint Mary Falls trail head. We hiked to pretty Saint Mary Falls that has cut a small, picturesque canyon into the multicolored rock layers. We continued to much taller Virginia Falls which dropped and spread out over a sheer, layered cliff and misted the flat rocks and us at its base. Everywhere we could see the the ancient, preserved seafloor ripples. We retraced our steps then added on a short hike to Baring Falls. In total we hiked about 5 miles.

The afternoon we spent lazing at the campground.

August 14

Once again we got up very early and drove to Logan Pass. It was 59 degrees and unfortunately, it was starting to drizzle. From the pass we began our hike on the Highline Trail. The trail runs for a while on an exposed cliff along the Garden Wall, the tall chain of mountain peaks that make up the Continental Divide. Of course, the scenery was spectacular even with the low clouds obscuring the peaks. Then the rain began falling more heavily. We put on our rain jackets and hoped for the best. It continued to rain for three miles into the hike then finally tapered to a drizzle. Thankfully, we were still warm enough and dry enough to continue our hike. We hiked across exposed alpine meadows and rocky slopes, on sheer cliff faces, over cascading water, and through alpine fir forests. Columbian ground squirrels and chipmunks were busy everywhere foraging. Above, William spotted three white mountain goats. As we stopped to look and take pictures, we noticed a rockfall nearby. Curious as to what might have caused it, we discovered three bighorn sheep. Then there were four more mountain goats! After 8 miles of awesome alpine scenery and mostly dry weather, we arrived at the Granite Park Chalet, a set of rustic stone buildings that has provided backcountry lodging since the early 1900s. We made our lunch stop there, admiring the views and the low clouds as they streamed up and down the mountain slopes. Instead of hiking all the way back, we continued for four miles on a trail that brought us down over 2,000 feet to The Loop, the only switchback along the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Along the way we saw the effects of the 2003 Trapper Fire. Our hike totaled 12.3 miles. From The Loop shuttle stop we took the bus back up to Logan Pass and peeked into the visitor center. Driving back to the campground we saw a small, shaggy, red-brown bear digging for roots right at the side of the road. We couldn’t decide whether it was a young grizzly or a black bear. After looking at the pictures we think it was (just) a black bear. At the campsite the rain began falling heavily again. Throughout the night we had bad thunderstorms. That is when we are glad not to be camping in a tent.

August 15

In the morning we watched a cute little weasel hopping around our campsite. He didn’t seem to have a plan but just bounced back and forth then climbed on the cold fire ring. As it was sunny and warm we decided to drive to the Rising Sun picnic area on the Saint Mary Lake. The water at the shore was warm and shallow. The bottom is covered with multicolored pebbles washed down from the surrounding mountains. We all skipped some rocks and the boys had fun playing in the shallow water. Storm clouds started moving in over the mountain tops, the temperature dropped, and the wind really started to pick up. Although we hadn’t been at the lake more than an hour or so, we decided to leave just in case. As soon as we got back to the campsite, the rain started. So, we hung out in the camper until it stopped. Later William and the boys took quite a while to get the campfire going with the the wet wood.

August 16

Ethan had asked if we could go horseback riding sometime. Liam was not interested. So, while Esther and Ethan were riding, William and Liam were going to hike to Iceberg Lake. We got up around 6 am again as we had booked the 7:45 am horse ride with Swan Mountain Outfitters in Many Glacier. On the 21 mile drive there, we spotted a mama grizzly with her two cubs playing not far from the road. Unfortunately, as we were going 65 mph, we couldn’t stop fast enough for pictures. It would have been an ideal photo or video! A short time later we spotted a blond black bear. William and Liam dropped Esther and Ethan off at the stables and continued on to the Iceberg-Ptarmigan trail head about 1.5 miles further.

The two hour horseback ride took the Cracker Flat route southeast of the Many Glacier Hotel. It was very breezy and overcast. We had a good time on Jet and Mystic, our two horses. Unfortunately, the biggest animals we saw were squirrels. Afterward we hung out at the Many Glacier Hotel, bought some things in the gift shop, ate our lunch, and had some warm drinks. The hotel was designed to look like a Swiss chalet with lots of exposed wood beams. The bellhops even wore Lederhosen.

William and Liam hiked the 10.6 miles roundtrip in record time. They passed Ptarmigan Falls along the way. About a mile from Iceberg Lake, they spotted a mama moose and her baby lying in an alpine meadow. At the lake they saw icebergs of varying sizes (soccerball-sized to room-sized) floating on the surface. The chunks had calved off the glacier at the lake’s edge and were being blown across the lake by the strong winds. They picked us up at the hotel and we returned to our campsite.

August 17

Not wanting to waste our last day at Glacier, we got up very early again and drove back up to Logan Pass. We wanted to do the popular 6 mile round trip hike to Hidden Lake. As we neared the pass on the Going-to-the-Sun Road, we entered low, dense clouds. Visibility went from perfect to a few feet, and it was very chilly. In the parking lot we could barely see the other cars, let alone the visitor center. It didn’t look like it would clear anytime soon. We began our hike anyway which starts off on a substantial boardwalk across alpine meadows. The landscape was eerie with the fog. Occasionally there were clear patches that allowed us to take in some of the scenery. Waterfalls and small creeks flowed everywhere. Bright wildflowers were thick on the slopes. At about a mile the trail continued through some tortured alpine firs to Hidden Lake Overlook. An information board showed us the view ahead, labeling the mountains, forests, and the lake. Unfortunately, all we saw was dense fog ahead. Liam had a bad stomach ache and rested on the rocks with Esther while William and Ethan continued on a bit. They returned saying that still nothing could be seen ahead. So, we returned to the car and drove back to the campsite. Of course, just a few miles down the mountain, the clouds were gone.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing at the camper and starting to pack up for our long drive home some 2300 miles away. We had decided to skip our last planned destination of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND to allow William an extra day to get ready for teaching and the boys to prepare for school.

Here are the pictures.