August 2006 Glacier National Park Trip Report Fall of 2006 and time for a visit to America's Glacier National Park. There seems to be a debate on the internet over which national park is better, Glacier or Yellowstone. We'd previously visited Yellowstone and loved it. The great thing about Yellowstone is that a very small percentage of visitors leave their cars to hit the trails. This is great for hikers as you have most of the trails to yourself. A different kind of crowd seems to visit Glacier as we saw lots of folks all the trails, even the longer 10+ mile trails. After visiting both I can't say which is "better", they are both quite different. We get to Montana via a very tiny jet from Salt Lake City, Utah to the small town of Kalispell, Montana. The minuscule airport there has a stuffed Mountain Goat on display, a sign we are now in the rugged West. We grab some lunch at the Knead Cafe (25 2nd Ave W) in Kalispell; I have to call them to get directions. Turns out they are near the "mall" (the mall here seems to only consist of a JCPennys). This restaurant is very popular with the locals and we have to wait a bit for a table. I get the hummus wrap (Hummus, fresh tomato salsa, cucumber, carrots, sprouts and lemon-mint-garlic vinaigrette rolled into a spinach wrap and cut in half) with Greek salad, pretty tasty stuff. It takes about an hour to drive to the West Glacier entrance from Kalispell. There are many billboards along the way noting the perils of methamphetamine use, must be a big problem in this state. It costs $20 to enter the park and we pass lots of cyclists riding along Camas Road. We stop and admire the views at McGee Meadow. Some say this meadow is actually a "fen" (a type of wetland fed by surface and/or groundwater) but I guess McGee Fen is not as catchy a name. The entrance of Glacier National Park Mcgee Meadow in Glacier National Park, Montana After some time at the meadow we continue down North Fork Rd (unpaved yet drivable in our rental Nisson Altima) past lots of no trespassing signs to the "off-the grid-town" of Polebridge. About 50 people choose to make the area their year-round home using generators fueled by solar batteries or propane provide electricity. We visit the Polebridge Mercantile (known as "The Merc"), a red general store built in 1914. The somewhat surly hippie chick working the counter sells us two Wheatfish (Hefeweizen style beer from Great Northern Brewing Co. in Whitefish , Montana) and then returns to the front porch to gossip with her friend. We enjoy our beverages on the porch and watch the town dogs settle disagreements over bones. The local dogs run free but a sign warns that "Unleashed Dogs will Be Eaten" (presumably by the resident curs). We had planned on dining at the Northern Lights saloon in town but it does not appear to opening anytime soon so we split and head back to the park. The Mercantile in Poleridge, Montana Please let the folks breath in Poleridge, Montana On the way to our lodge we stop and do a quick hike at Huckleberry Mountain Nature Trail. You can still see remnants of the recent forest fire here (2001) as there are lots of small growing pines and charred trees. After the hike we continue to Lake McDonald and have dinner at Jammer Joes. A preppy college kid waits on us and I get a decent veggie burger (with mushrooms and jalapenos) and a Fat Tire beer (brewed by New Belgium in Colorado). A waitress tells us a story of a mountain biking couple that recently came across a Grizzly Bear on a trail here. Out in the parking lots are rows of Red Jammer buses. These vintage buses are a reminder of what it was like to travel around Glacier National Park in 30's, the park is running modified eco-friendly versions of them now. The Jammer Joe staff bickers over which music to play, Credence Clearwater Revival or the Dixies Chicks. Sadly the Dixie Chicks win. Easy Huckleberry Trail @ Glacier National Park, Montana The Jammer Buses @ Glacier National Park, Montana Lake McDonald Lodge has a lounge full of stuffed animals and a nice fireplace. Our room is detached from the main building and looks like a 1950's motel. Moose Head @ Lake McDonald Lodge, Glacier National Park, Montana Totem pole outside the Lake McDonald lodge in Glacier National Park. Thurs: We are up @ 6am and it is quite chilly out. We are one of the first cars on the Going to the Sun Road. Some guy along the median flags us down and points out a black bear along the side of the road. We get so high up that the clouds begin to cover the road (or maybe it is just fog). We get to the Logan Pass parking lot by 8am, it is empty which means we should have the Highline trail to ourselves for a bit. It is a cold and windy hike at first; we flush out some grouse from a meadow. We walk along a narrow ledge high above the Going to the Sun road. I make "hooting" noises around blind corners to scare off any Grizzlies that may be lurking. We don't run into any people until we come to the snow covered part near Haystack Saddle where the trail links up with another. There are lots of Rosy Cheeked Finch feeding in the brush. It begins to lightly snow. The scenery is really spectacular, the clouds slowly move over the valley and then back again. My wife says she is disappointed we haven't seen any wildlife and then out of the fog appear some bighorn sheep grazing. High up in the mountains we can see some mountain goats. As we double back to the car the trail gets crowded with hikers. It is neat to see the Logan Pass center fog-free when we get back. The drive back is much slower as more cars are on the road and we stuck behind a slow Jammer bus. Highline Trail, Glacier National Park, Montana Snow on the Highline Trail, Glacier National Park, Montana After lunch we do the Lake McDonald cruise in a park boat led by a ranger. The female ranger is quite passionate about the outdoors and tells us we shouldn't worry about "changing the password to our voicemail" and how her husband wants to "get off the merry-go-around". When she is not trashing corporate culture she describes the history of the lake and how you can see families of owls when hiking along the shore. Bow of boat on Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park, Montana The Trail of Cedars is next on our agenda. This is a pleasant hike through mossy shady woods, beginning on board walk to Avalanche Creek (our book notes there have been many fatal accidents here). This is a famous place to take photos and I watch a guy with an SLR on a tripod set a shot. We get to Avalanche Lake as the sun begins to set and don't linger too long as I don't want to get caught on the trail after dark. A kid on the trail with a tripod and camera seems to have a similar concern. He will sprint past us, then stop to take a carefully composed photo, then sprint past us again, repeating this process several times. Large tree along Trail of Cedars, Glacier National Park, Montana Avalanche Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana We have a nice dinner at the Russell's Fireside Dining Room (located inside the Lake McDonald Lodge). We get seated by the fireplace and admire the chandeliers painted with Native American Themes and general nice atmosphere. I get the polenta in gorgonzola sauce. A fellow diner tells us that in Canada they have a rule in some parks that hikes can only be done in groups of 6 or more to prevent bear attacks. Fri: Today we check out of the Lake McDonald Lodge. Before leaving the area we do a rather chilly horseback ride with Mule Shoe Outfitters. Nice to see the scenery from the back of a horse. Our guide tells us her life story. After lunch at Jammer Joes we drive towards Many Glacier, passing through the East Side Tunnel which was excavated by hand. Along the way we pause to admire tiny Goose Island in the middle of Saint Mary Lake. Wild Goose Island overlook, Glacier National Park, Montana Saint Mary Lake in Glacier National Park, accessed from the Going-to-the-Sun road, Glacier National Park, Montana The Many Glacier Inn is a rather creepy looking structure. Our room is not ready yet so we hang out by the rather amazing fireplace in the center of the lobby. A group of retired woman relives their 20's out loud and I wonder what they were like back then? In the afternoon we do the 4 mile hike on the Swiftcurrent Pass trail. This takes us to Redrock Lake and the corresponding Redrock Falls. Again I hoot for bears when we come to curves in the trail. The trail begins and ends in the parking lot of the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn and when we return we join the groups of folks eyeing some Grizzly Bears through their spotting scopes in the hills above the lodge. Many Glacier Inn, Glacier National Park, Montana Redrock Falls, Glacier National Park, Montana We saw lot of bears @ Glacier National Park, Montana, but never on the trails thankfully For dinner we drive into the nearby town of St. Mary's and visit the Park Cafe (very popular, be prepared to wait for a table). The nachos here are divine! We pair them with a Greek Salad. On the dusky drive back we spot a Moose drinking from the reservoir. Most folks sit by the fire in the lobby before bed. Sat: The buffet breakfast at the Many Glacier Lodge is a rather tired assortment of fruit and lukewarm hash browns. We decide to do a ranger guided hike to Grinelll Glacier with about 14 other folk. We cross a few lakes via boat, our ranger is concerned when the boat operator tells her he can't take us across Lake Josephine, but it turns out his reason is that it looks too pretty and he doesn't want to leave a wake across its surface. Ha ha. Our ranger calls out "Day-O!" to scare off any bears along the 8 mile hike. She stops at several points to point out interesting flora such as Mountain Astar, Snowberry, Pearly Everlasting, and Huckleberry (we are also shown some Grizzly Bear scat with huckleberry remnants). During our lunch break many Columbian Ground Squirrel approach hoping for a handout. These rodents are quite brazen and will try to go inside your backpack if you leave it open. Aggressive Columbian Ground Squirrel, Glacier National Park, Montana We finally reach Grinnell Glacier and it is neat to see up close. Below is Upper Grinnell Lake which has icebergs floating in it. We see weird red ponds formed by watermelon algae. Our guide tells how the naturalist George Bird Grinnell (1849-1938) was sad to note the glacier retreating even back in his day. Glaciologists predict this glacier (and the others in the park) will be gone by 2030. She even reads out a poem to reflect upon as we view the glacier. The nice thing about the guided trails is you are free to walk back at your own pace. We make it down in time to catch the 4:15 pm boat back to the lodge. We have dinner again at the Park Cafe in St. Mary. They don't sell alcohol but you can bring beers from the general store next door (you have to pour them in tiny cups and hide them under the table according to the staff). Service can be pretty slow here at times. From this vantage point on the Grinnell Glacier trail you can see 3 lakes: Grinnell Lake, Lake Josephine, and the Swiftcurrent reservoir. All this @ Glacier National Park, Montana Grinnell Lake trail @ Glacier National Park, Montana Pond turned red in Glacier National Park, Montana Grinnell Glacier in Glacier National Park, Montana Sun: We enjoyed our first guided hike so much that we sign up for another one to Iceberg Lake. This is 10 mile hike lead by a ranger named Rick. Our guide loves to tell bear stories. I ask him what the most unusual creature he has seen is and he says he saw a wolverine crossing a Grinnell Glacier once. The trail skirts the western flank of the 8,700 foot Mount Henkel and climbs through patches of Aspen and Lodgepole Pine. At Ptarmigan Falls we stop for a snack and a chance to use the pit toilet (the ranger's backpack is full of toilet paper as part of his job is restock this toilet). The ranger tells us he hates those bells people wear to ward off bears. The ranger tells us how the park service has to slash up the bear warning signs so folks will stop stealing them. He says he has been in a bear den before. At Iceberg Lake we sit for a while taking in the views and my wife even gets some reading in before the long hike back. Along the trail to Iceberg Lake @ Glacier National Park, Montana Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana Catching up some reading at Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana After the hike we have lunch at the Swiftcurrent Inn. They have the same menu as Jammer Joes but make a superior veggie burger in my opinion. My wife is worn out after our Iceberg Lake hike so she chills out in the hotel room while I go on a solo hike on the Swiftcurrent Lake Loop (2.6 miles). The Alan Leftridge hiking book "Glacier Day Hikes" (a nice guide for this trip) notes that this hike is notorious for moose and bears to I do my warning bear calls often. The first part of the trail has many folks on it, the 2nd part is pretty deserted. Kingfishers plunge into the lake and chickadees are all over the forest. There are nice views of Swiftcurrent Valley, Grinnell Valley, Grinnell Point, and Allen Mountain, Mt. Wilbur, and Altyn Peak. I watch a Grizzly and her cubs climb up the hill across the road from the lodge through my binoculars. It is funny to hear people try to describe to others where the bear is. ("Do you see that snag by the drainage? Well look at that rock next to it and the bear is there"). A hotel guest asks me if his 400m camera lens would pick up the bear? No, too far away in my opinion. At night I hear an owl hooting outside our open window. People had been feeding the sheep from their cars and lambs were getting run over, hopefully this will halt that issue Mon (American Holiday of Labor Day): Sadly our short trip is winding down. We check out of our hotel and drive through the blackened forests near the town of St. Mary's (they had to evacuate the town during a recent forest fire). Pass through the windy roads of the 1.5 million acre Blackfoot reservation where cattle and horse roam wild along the hwy. There are tepees in the fields of wheat. Try to find lunch in the sleepy town of Great Falls but everything is closed for the holiday. At the airport a woman in the security line says that if any drugs are found in her suitcase they belong to her daughter. Fly back home to catch up with our friends, our dogs, and sadly our 9-5 jobs! So long Glacier National Park, we'll miss you! Trip Report Index