Glacier 2021

This trip to Glacier National Park was supposed to be a make up for the area’s we had missed during our previous trip, however it did not go as planned. While we had fun on the days we could we took it much slower than the previous time. We did hike new trails and see knew areas of the park but for the most part it was reliving our previous time spent in this beautiful mountain range.

Day One and Two

We left Milwaukee after Jerry had finished work and spent the same night in La Crosse with some friends we hadn’t seen in a while. Our plan was to use the following day from La Crosse as our kick off to the long 21 hour drive ahead of us. After a night of needed rest we said goodbye to our friends and began our adventure out west. We traveled through the vast plains of South Dakota, made a brief trek through Wyoming, and then a long journey up to the northern area of Montana. We had gone through our entire playlists and then some and stopped multiple times along the way for gas, bathroom, and snack breaks. Exhausted and in need of a good meal we prepared a freeze dried meal in our lodge room and then promptly went to bed.

It was all but a few hours before I sadly woke up and discovered that I had a bad case of food poisoning. I will not go into too much detail for the sake of everyones stomach but it was a long night that bled into the following day. Jerry had been so helpful and retrieved medicine and ginger ale for me while I tried to battle whatever was going on inside. Eventually with the help of some sleep and crappy TV I began to recover.

Around 1pm I urged Jerry that we should at least go see Lake McDonald and get some fresh air. He was hesitant but caved in to my stubborn attitude. That was how we spent our first full day in Montana, nothing too exciting but a core memory for one of us for sure.

Day Three

Today was an exciting day. Jerry and I had woke around 5am excited for the trail we were about to hike on. It is the most hiked trail in Glacier and probably the trail everyone knows the park is prized for. Today we were hiking Logans Pass. We woke up as early as we had because to hike Logans Pass you need to find a parking spot at the lot across from the trail head, this lot fills up fast and by the time we arrived most of the spots were taken. After successfully nabbing a spot and sitting in the car gloating about our success we grabbed our gear and walked to the trail head.

For those who may not know, the reason that The Highline Trail is such an iconic trail is because of how the trail starts. Logans Pass is carved into the side of the mountain and towers over the Going-to-the-sun-road. Graciously the park had attached cables on the right side of the wall for people to hold on to. Here the trail is very narrow, sometimes barely two people can fit along the most narrow parts making it difficult during busy times. For those nervous of heights this is probably not the best hike for you. When we began walking along this part it wasn’t very busy and we took our time looking at the mountain range.

We did not hike the entire Highline Trail or even make it to the halfway point because sadly I was still recovering from the exerction of food poisoning the day before. None the less this was a bucket list item for me and I was happy to get the chance to do it at all. After returning to the car we heated up some water and enjoyed another rehydrated meal with the company of some small creatures.

With lunch completed and our fuzzy friends gone we made our way down to Saint Mary’s Lake. It always amazes me how much the weather changes in the mountain regions. At Logan’s Pass the weather was cool but comfortable enough to eat outside in. At Saint Mary’s the wind was ripping at our clothes and pushing us around like we weighed nothing. The previous time we were here it was calm and so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Jerry and I had to yell to each other the entire time we were there just to be heard over the wind in our ears.

We explored the Saint Mary’s Visitor Center and seen Jackson Glacier on our way back to the west side of the park. It may sound like the day was only half over and that we had tons of time left to hike other trails but the going to the sun road is a two hour drive, and we had stopped multiple times to see some views, so when we reached the west side village it was dinner time. We ate at Freda’s and people watched for a while before we headed back to our lodge ending day three.

Day Four

Today started off easy. We woke up and headed to lake McDonald where we did some photography of the area. From the bottom of the mountains we could see snow lightly covering the tops of the peaks. Curious and excited to see snow on the first day of september we hopped in the car and drove up to Logan’s Pass again. The air up top was cold and the wind made it worse. A complete 180 from the pervious day. We bundled up in our warmest gear and decided to hike the Hidden Lake overlook. The trail up was either loose gravel, slippery ice or rock steps making this hike feel like a triathalon but the views from up top were amazing. We even met some new furry friends up there!

View from Hidden Lake Overlook

Bones chilled and noses dripping, we headed back down the mountain to dethaw in the warmer air. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and checking out some small trails scattered along the Going-to-the-sun-road.

Day Five

Today was our last full day in Montana and we had big plans. Since our first time arriving in Glacier National Park Jerry and I have always wanted to see Grinnel Lake and Grinnel Glacier. The last time we came we didn’t get the chance because our group decided it would be more interesting going to Yellowstone National Park but this was the redemption trip and we were determined to make it this time. Since I was still not in the best condition Jerry had purchased ferry tickets that when we arrived at Many Glacier would drive us across swift current lake and Saint Joesephine cutting the hiking time down considerably. The ferry rides were relaxing and beautiful but we were told by our boat guide that when we reached the trail at the end of Saint Josephine we would be unable to make the hike up to Grinnel Lake due to bear activity. We were crushed. This was now the second time we would be unable to see the lake and glacier. With our hopes battered we headed back to Many Glacier Lodge and walked around taking pictures of the views.

The most interesting view to me was Grinnel Point. A mountain resting arcross Swiftcurrent Lake shaped like a sharks tooth pointing up to the sky. We sat outside with the view of the Grinnel Point for a while and then headed back to the western side of the park.

On our way back into the main portions of Glacier we spotted a Mama bear and her cub. We were so excited to get the chance to see them and gawked about it over and over again for the rest of the day.

Before our final descent down the mountain we stopped at an overlook and took in the beautiful views one last time.

Not wanting to waste a moment of day light we took what time we had left in the park to wander around areas we had been to on our previous trip. We walked around Trail of The Cedars and retook my favorite picture of Jerry from our previous time here.

With enough goofing around done we sat by Lake Mcdonald and watched as the sun set. Though the trip was technically not over yet we reminisced about our time spent here again. We agreed that it had a rocky start but overall was a worthwhile experience.

We will return to Glacier National Park again in the future and hopefully next time when we go we can better document the sights and finally see Grinnel Glacier!