shadowcat
New member
Just returned from trip to Glacier. We had awesome weather - simply could not have asked for more - perfect clear skies & temps from 65-82. We did all day hikes but I am not complaining as the views were breathtaking. Many of the longer trails & parts of backcountry were closed anyway as this time of the year the Grizzlies are out and about feeding for the upcoming winter.
We stayed in West Glacier in a private log cabin we rented from a local. It was larger then we needed but the price was right. Let me tell you, there is not much going on in West Glacier at all. It's like this 4 corner intersection with a gas station, a local restaurant & a couple tourist shops. Right inside the entrance to the park is Apgar Village which has the ranger station & some nicer shops etc. But do not expect much in the way of dining or shopping. Besides that's not why you are there anyway right?
My favorite hikes - in no special order:
1: Drove up to Logan Pass on the Going-2-the-Sun road (G2S). This road offers unsurpassed views but not for the faint of heart! It is a windy, curvy, narrow, mountain road and no guard rails to speak of. They were also doing work on it so in several places it was one-lane traffic along parts where the outer lane had been totally dug up. I tell ya, if you go & you don't like being on the edge of things high up; either drive, sit in the back on the driver side or take a valium first. I don't mind being up high but I hate the feeling like the car could fall off if I lean too far to the right! Our destination was the highest point on the road: Logan Passs & since we were there after tourist season it was pretty quiet. We hiked down to Hidden Lake & had the whole place to ourselves. Along the way we saw lots of mountain goat families - very social - I sat with a group and took a break. Also got up real close & personal with some big horn sheep. They couldn't have cared less about me but I was thrilled! This hike is about 6 miles rd trip & it definitely is one I would recommend as the views are simply fantastic 360 degrees. No bear sighting this day.
2: Two Medicine area in East Glacier. This is a bit of a drive from West Glacier. You can cut down the middle of the park via G2S or drive around the outskirt of the park via Rte 2 to East Glacier then cut in on 49 to Two Medicine Lake. We opted to avoid the stress & drove around. Took maybe an hour - 1 1/2 hrs. Longer route, but faster driving. This area sits on a beautiful lake, which was too cold for swimming that day but maybe in August you could. Theres a small gift shop but it was closed. There's several nice trails here but the best were closed due to Grizzlies so we hiked up to a small summit on the left side of the lake called Aster Lookout I believe. A pretty hike, easy & nice views from up top. No critter sightings to speak of but we did take pics of a tree with nice big bear claw scratches along the way. (Those darn grizzlies are always there in the back of your mind)
3: Our 3rd day was very windy & Chilly & the mountaintops were in the clouds so we stuck down low. Hiked into Avalanche Lake which forces you to walk on the trail of the Cedars. Boring tourist thing. To the lake is about 6 miles rd trip depending on how far in you go. Again another easy hike. The trails in Glacier are a cake-walk compared to the Daks! No huge boulders or roots to stumble over all the way up. Avalanche Lake is beautiful pristine turquoise color with pretty views. It was closed the rest of the week due to Grizzly activity.
4: We decided to go back up to Logan Pass again as the day was perfect - not one cloud in the sky. This time I took video of the trip up G2S road to try & capture how nerve racking the drive is. A ranger had told me about a bushwack off the trail up to a summit that overlooks Hidden Lake. We took off from the Info Center across the fields in back and followed a stream towards the mountains along the lake below. There's some goat trails but we went our own way - more fun. Saw a wolverine along the way but it shot off into the rocks when it heard us. It was a pretty good scramble up a lot of loose skree to the top but definitely worth it. We hung out up there for a good 2 hrs, reading eating & taking naps. You can also hike up the mountian further left - Reynolds Mt. They "say" if you go around to the inside you can get to the summit but the couple we saw who did it used ropes. Pretty freekin scary looking if you ask me but I'm sure some of you could do it.
5: Many Glacier. Plan 2 - 2 1/2 hrs to get there; whether you use the G2S road or drive Rte 2. This day our plan was to hike into Iceberg Lake - about 10 miles or so. Again, these trails are so nice to walk on. I don't know if it's the terrain or a lot of hard work by volunteers but they were some of the best kept trails i have ever seen. This was my favorite hike due to the amount of animals we saw: Brown bear, 2 Grizzly Sows with 2 cubs each (up near base of mountains digging for ants, etc. Close enough to take great pics with a zoom; far enough away to feel safe), Mt goats etc. Definitely do this hike, it's just awesome. Iceberg Lake is beautiful but again too cold to swim in. What was really cool: on the way back almost at the end of the trail a lone coyote walks out of the bush and right up to me. At first I was scared not knowing why he was being so bold but he had the coolest eyes and looked at me in such a way I knew i was ok. I could easily have sat down & I know he would have been right there for me to touch; but i didn't . We have super close ups of him/her. I love wolves so having a coyote come this close to me was really neat. I asked about it later thinking maybe he was a resident friendly but no one had heard anything of the sorts so I'm figuring it was just my special moment. After the hike we hung out and watched another Grizzly sow & her 2 cubs feasting then headed home. The long way.
What a nightmare! They let their darn cows (& horses) roam loose! Here you are at night, pitch black on curvy roads & there's friggin cows all over. And they don't move! We actually had one try to head butt the front of our car! All the way I kept seeing crosses along the roadside. I figured there was so many they had to be from cattle getting hit. Unfortunately I found out they were from accidents. I bet I saw over a 100 of these! I guess Montana has a really bad rating nationally for auto accidents. Go figure!
Did some other exploring and hanging out along the shores of the lake. All in all a wonderful trip that I highly recommend. And after my experience I would say to go right after Labor Day like we did. I can't imagine what that place must be like at the high of tourist season. Too many cars for me! They do close the G2S road sometime after Labor Day tho so you have to watch for this but you can still get around by skirting the outside of the park but not up to Logan Pass area which you don't want to miss. We were only there for 6 full days to hike but made the most of it. Wish we could have stayed another several days & hit a few other hikes. But you do a lot of driving - no getting around that.
On the way home we got to volunteer to give up our seats from Denver to Chicago & got 2 free rd trip tickets! Ended up home the same exact time too so how's that for finishing off an awesome vacation? Now only to decide where to go next year!
I have tons of pics but haven't downloaded them yet. Any suggestions as to the best place or way to post them so you guys can view them?
We stayed in West Glacier in a private log cabin we rented from a local. It was larger then we needed but the price was right. Let me tell you, there is not much going on in West Glacier at all. It's like this 4 corner intersection with a gas station, a local restaurant & a couple tourist shops. Right inside the entrance to the park is Apgar Village which has the ranger station & some nicer shops etc. But do not expect much in the way of dining or shopping. Besides that's not why you are there anyway right?
My favorite hikes - in no special order:
1: Drove up to Logan Pass on the Going-2-the-Sun road (G2S). This road offers unsurpassed views but not for the faint of heart! It is a windy, curvy, narrow, mountain road and no guard rails to speak of. They were also doing work on it so in several places it was one-lane traffic along parts where the outer lane had been totally dug up. I tell ya, if you go & you don't like being on the edge of things high up; either drive, sit in the back on the driver side or take a valium first. I don't mind being up high but I hate the feeling like the car could fall off if I lean too far to the right! Our destination was the highest point on the road: Logan Passs & since we were there after tourist season it was pretty quiet. We hiked down to Hidden Lake & had the whole place to ourselves. Along the way we saw lots of mountain goat families - very social - I sat with a group and took a break. Also got up real close & personal with some big horn sheep. They couldn't have cared less about me but I was thrilled! This hike is about 6 miles rd trip & it definitely is one I would recommend as the views are simply fantastic 360 degrees. No bear sighting this day.
2: Two Medicine area in East Glacier. This is a bit of a drive from West Glacier. You can cut down the middle of the park via G2S or drive around the outskirt of the park via Rte 2 to East Glacier then cut in on 49 to Two Medicine Lake. We opted to avoid the stress & drove around. Took maybe an hour - 1 1/2 hrs. Longer route, but faster driving. This area sits on a beautiful lake, which was too cold for swimming that day but maybe in August you could. Theres a small gift shop but it was closed. There's several nice trails here but the best were closed due to Grizzlies so we hiked up to a small summit on the left side of the lake called Aster Lookout I believe. A pretty hike, easy & nice views from up top. No critter sightings to speak of but we did take pics of a tree with nice big bear claw scratches along the way. (Those darn grizzlies are always there in the back of your mind)
3: Our 3rd day was very windy & Chilly & the mountaintops were in the clouds so we stuck down low. Hiked into Avalanche Lake which forces you to walk on the trail of the Cedars. Boring tourist thing. To the lake is about 6 miles rd trip depending on how far in you go. Again another easy hike. The trails in Glacier are a cake-walk compared to the Daks! No huge boulders or roots to stumble over all the way up. Avalanche Lake is beautiful pristine turquoise color with pretty views. It was closed the rest of the week due to Grizzly activity.
4: We decided to go back up to Logan Pass again as the day was perfect - not one cloud in the sky. This time I took video of the trip up G2S road to try & capture how nerve racking the drive is. A ranger had told me about a bushwack off the trail up to a summit that overlooks Hidden Lake. We took off from the Info Center across the fields in back and followed a stream towards the mountains along the lake below. There's some goat trails but we went our own way - more fun. Saw a wolverine along the way but it shot off into the rocks when it heard us. It was a pretty good scramble up a lot of loose skree to the top but definitely worth it. We hung out up there for a good 2 hrs, reading eating & taking naps. You can also hike up the mountian further left - Reynolds Mt. They "say" if you go around to the inside you can get to the summit but the couple we saw who did it used ropes. Pretty freekin scary looking if you ask me but I'm sure some of you could do it.
5: Many Glacier. Plan 2 - 2 1/2 hrs to get there; whether you use the G2S road or drive Rte 2. This day our plan was to hike into Iceberg Lake - about 10 miles or so. Again, these trails are so nice to walk on. I don't know if it's the terrain or a lot of hard work by volunteers but they were some of the best kept trails i have ever seen. This was my favorite hike due to the amount of animals we saw: Brown bear, 2 Grizzly Sows with 2 cubs each (up near base of mountains digging for ants, etc. Close enough to take great pics with a zoom; far enough away to feel safe), Mt goats etc. Definitely do this hike, it's just awesome. Iceberg Lake is beautiful but again too cold to swim in. What was really cool: on the way back almost at the end of the trail a lone coyote walks out of the bush and right up to me. At first I was scared not knowing why he was being so bold but he had the coolest eyes and looked at me in such a way I knew i was ok. I could easily have sat down & I know he would have been right there for me to touch; but i didn't . We have super close ups of him/her. I love wolves so having a coyote come this close to me was really neat. I asked about it later thinking maybe he was a resident friendly but no one had heard anything of the sorts so I'm figuring it was just my special moment. After the hike we hung out and watched another Grizzly sow & her 2 cubs feasting then headed home. The long way.
What a nightmare! They let their darn cows (& horses) roam loose! Here you are at night, pitch black on curvy roads & there's friggin cows all over. And they don't move! We actually had one try to head butt the front of our car! All the way I kept seeing crosses along the roadside. I figured there was so many they had to be from cattle getting hit. Unfortunately I found out they were from accidents. I bet I saw over a 100 of these! I guess Montana has a really bad rating nationally for auto accidents. Go figure!
Did some other exploring and hanging out along the shores of the lake. All in all a wonderful trip that I highly recommend. And after my experience I would say to go right after Labor Day like we did. I can't imagine what that place must be like at the high of tourist season. Too many cars for me! They do close the G2S road sometime after Labor Day tho so you have to watch for this but you can still get around by skirting the outside of the park but not up to Logan Pass area which you don't want to miss. We were only there for 6 full days to hike but made the most of it. Wish we could have stayed another several days & hit a few other hikes. But you do a lot of driving - no getting around that.
On the way home we got to volunteer to give up our seats from Denver to Chicago & got 2 free rd trip tickets! Ended up home the same exact time too so how's that for finishing off an awesome vacation? Now only to decide where to go next year!
I have tons of pics but haven't downloaded them yet. Any suggestions as to the best place or way to post them so you guys can view them?
