Tips on visiting Glacier National Park

[Shewolf]

A few friends and I are comtemplating going to Glacier National Park in August and were wondering about the Grizzly situation out there. Also, can anyone recommend any good websites for info on any trails/camping sites and general info other than what the NPS provides.

 

[1ADAM12]

A few friends and I are comtemplating going to Glacier National Park in August and were wondering about the Grizzley situation out there. Also, can anyone recommend any good websites for info on any trails/camping sites and general info other than what the NPS provides.

Check out this camping page and also this hiking page.

Also here is a pretty informative site for grizzly's in Glacier.

Definately go!!!! You will kick yourself in the butt if you do not. I never made it there but I did Yellowstone and the Tetons and it was an awesome trip. We even saw a Grizzly in Yellowstone and it was aweome!

I hope those sites help you. They are pretty imformative

 

[Shewolf]

Thanks for the sites, they are very informative and I just forwarded them onto the other folks. The only thing that could kill the trip is that one person is concerned about the large grizzly population. However, we may end up just leaving him home...

 

[1ADAM12]

Thanks for the sites, they are very informative and I just forwarded them onto the other folks. The only thing that could kill the trip is that one person is concerned about the large grizzly population. However, we may end up just leaving him home...

Maybe leaving him home is not a bad idea! Not to sound negative but I can remember a few years ago a friend insisted that he go backpacking with us in the Adirondacks. He asked us about the bears and we said they are there but will not bother us. Needless to say he brought a hand gun. In my opinion that was more scary then having a bear lurking about.....lol Every little peep the woods made he was freaking out. Myself and another friend ended up taking the gun away from him before anyone got hurt. The friend with the gun never came camping with us again. Not because we didn't want him but because we said he could not bring a gun

I know Grizzly's are a bit more agressive than the Adirondack Black bear but for the most part you should be fine. I would defenately wear a bear bell. If you are not familiar with one they are like a big jingle bell that attach to your pack or clothing while you are hiking. This way the bear will hear you coming. Grizzly's usually attack when being provoked (which I know you are smarter than that) or when they are startled. This is why a bear bell is a good idea when hiking in Grizzly country

Also, I know in Yellowstone they do not allow any tent camping in the campgrounds because of the Grizzly's. Now if you are in the back country that is a whole new ball game. I am not really sure what the rules are in Glacier but I know you will do your homework Well I have rambled enough and I am not even sure if I made sense but anyways good luck with your trip and let me know how you guys make out

ADAM

 

[Shewolf]

Thanks again 1ADAM12...

I have been to Alaska twice and am quite aware that the last thing I want to meet on the trail is a grizzly. We will definitely be taking as many precautions as possible. Everyone going on the trip is an experienced hiker/backpacker, so we will be prepared for the trip. As far as the one who is hesistant about the grizzly population, I have to cut him a break. It isn't that he's scared of the thought of a grizzly but of the safety of our group. By the time we go through enough info on Glacier, he'll be willing to overcome that concern and want to go!

We are looking at going for a six days of hiking/camping so we've got some planning to do. We are in the process of trying to get as much info on the park as possible. All help in directing us to that is welcomed!

 

[halfmoon]

Glacier

Glacier National Park is my favorite place to backpack in the lower 48. My friend and I backpacked there for 2 weeks and logged over 200 miles in a complete traverse of the park from Walton (SE corner) to Waterton National Park in Canada. My favorite parts of the trip were the Two Medicine area because is seemed more remote and the scenery was spectacular, and the North Fork/Belly River Area which is also seemingly very remote. I can give you as many specifics as you want as far as which were my favorite campsites, trails, etc. We also climbed a couple peaks when we were there which was an added bonus. We saw a wealth of wildlife on the trail: moose, mule dear, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, and yes grizzley bears. My friend and I were extremely close to a grizzley and could have been killed if the bear had chosen to do so. The mother grizzley was nursing her cub in a bush on the side of the trail. My friend did not realize this and startled the bear at which point she jumped out of the bush to defend her young. The bear looked at us right in our eyes, my friend about 20 feet away, I was about 50 feet away. The bear took 2 steps closer to my friend at which point I thought he was going to be lunch, but lucky for us the mother bear ran uphill off the trail and away from us. This happened to us on the 14th day in the backcountry, and we had been complaining the whole trip about not seeing a bear.

The backcountry in Glacier is very regulated so you need to have you plans solid before applying for permits. Some campsites are not available for reservation until August 15 or later due to snow. Space is very limited so if you do get a permit you won't see many people out there which is nice.

 

[Jean]

My girlfriend and I spent 10 days in GNP in August last year and it was a memorable experience despite the fact that half the park was closed due to forest fires. The scenery is spectacular and the hiking options are almost endless.
If you are interested in backpacking I would recommand reading:
"Hiking Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks" by Erik Molvar
If you are more interested in getting off the trails to do some peakbagging, I highly recommand:
"A climber's guide to Glacier National Park" by J.Gordon Edwards.

For specific questions, I recommand this chat page:
http://www.glacier.national-park.com/wwwboard/glacchat.htm
Also...more info and webcams...
http://www.nps.gov/glac/whatsnew.htm

 

[halfmoon]

I second all of Jean's recommendations on books and websites, I used all of those extensively in my preparations.

One more hting I forgot to mention, if you care to you can view my pictures from the trip, they aren't great because it was smokey when I was there, but you can get a little feel for what the park has to offer. Here it is: http://www.pbase.com/pudgy_groundhog , just click on the GNP album.

 

[Shewolf]

Great info!!!

Thanks Jean and Halfmoon! I'm getting exactly what I was looking for, INFORMATION!

Jean, thanks for the recommended books. They sound like what I'm looking for...I'll let you know how the park looks minus the fires.

Halfmoon, thanks for the heads up regarding the permits. I was figuring it would be a little harder to get a permit there than it is in Denali. Holy cow on your grizzly encounter. That definitely could have had a completely different outcome!!!! How long did it take you boys to come down off that adreneline rush???

While looking at the pics on your website(I'm emailing the site to the others in the group...WOW!!!), I had noticed you had gone to Yosemite. I am going there in April to go to a wedding a the chapel and am going to have two extra days on my hands before the wedding festivities begin. I'm going to be staying at the Wawona Hotel before the wedding. Not roughing it whatsoever for that trip, but I'm going to want to get out and do some dayhikes!