Glacier National Park Trip

Joan and I just returned yesterday from a wonderful 10-day vacation to Glacier National Park in Montana.  The "Crown of the Continent" is a magnificent combination of clear skies, spectacular alpine scenery, unspoiled nature at its best and the chance to see plenty of wildlife in its natural setting. 

I've wanted to go ever since as a small child my mother told of her trip before I was born through the American Northwest, including Glacier.  My desire to go has received added impetus in recent years as I've read reports detailing the loss of many of the park's signature glaciers and the shrinkage of all the rest.  I wanted to see them before they are gone.

I was not disappointed!  We spent the first five days on the Western side of the park, staying at Lake McDonald, a 10-mile long lake carved by glaciers in the last Ice Age.  One of our activities was to take a boat tour of the lake.  We also did a 2-hour horseback trail ride (in the rain!) and some hiking.

Lake McDonald

The best hike there was to Avalanche Lake.  The ranger-led activity ended at an awe-inspiring cirque, a natural mountain amphitheater carved by glaciers with four beautiful waterfalls plunging from the heights.  We also spotted a moose on this trek.

Avalanche Lake

The best drive was over the incredible Going to the Sun Road, a 52-mile engineering marvel that took 11 years to build (1921-1932).  It's the only road over the Continental Divide linking the Western and Eastern halves of the Park.  We drove it once ourselves and then again as passengers in one of Glacier's famous "Red Bus" tours in one of their vintage 1936 vehicles.  Not to worry, they've been fully refurbished and run on propane gas.  The road is so precipitous I didn't really get to look at the scenery as much as I wanted the first time through!  Waterfalls were everywhere, complementing breathtaking overlooks.  The snow still lay deep at the top of Logan Pass, and we saw many mountain goats.

Red Bus at Logan Pass

We spent the last five days on the Eastern side of the Park at the Many Glacier Hotel.  We made a side trip to Two Medicine Valley and hiked to Running Eagle Falls, and another to adjacent Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada, both worthwhile excursions.  While at Many Glacier we went on a four-hour horse ride and got to see a moose coming toward us on the trail and a mother bear and her cub up close feeding in a meadow nearby.  Fortunately, they paid us no mind!  We did see a grizzly too, but from long range through a ranger's telescope.

Black Bear and Cub

  

The view right out the backdoor of the grand old hotel included Grinnel Peak and several snowfields and glaciers.  It is the jumping-off point for several terrific hiking trails.  We also enjoyed music in the evenings from Montana bard David Walburn and Native American poet laureate Jack Gladstone of the Blackfeet tribe. 

Many Glacier Hotel, Swiftcurrent Lake, Grinnel Peak

All in all, ten days of no news, telephone, television or email was refreshing and good for the serenity of the soul.  And as an added benefit, all the hiking and my every-other day morning running at high altitude made today's workout at home seem like a piece of cake.  This is a trip we will always treasure.