Glacier National Park Chat

Based on my experience this past Wednesday...
At about 3 minutes you will see exactly how the process works.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-T92 ... L-1920.mp4
I would avoid arriving around the "transition" time if possible.
Lotta "moving parts" to the system for handling early arrivals at West Glacier.
It'll be interesting to see how well it works if they get some really big days.
That said, things went very smoothly for me.

This transition period doesn't last long but while it lasts it's labor intensive.
There were at least 7 people that I could see(and maybe 2-3 more) involved in handling traffic during this transition time.

When I discovered that my "parking lot attendant" was Brian McKeon, Backcountry Office Supervisor...
I asked Brian, "What are you doing being a parking lot attendant?"
He said, "It's a team effort, everyone pitches in."
Interesting...

pete

GttSR fully open!

zozeppelin wrote: ↑Fri Jun 25, 2021 7:50 pm GttSR fully open!

I couldn't go yesterday so I'm on the way to Logan Pass here at 3:05AM
Going now before this arrives: https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.p ... Nbt_uhKiUm
Pics later if I can stay awake.

pete

I talk about the apparent smaller crowds in my Photography channel but here's an example of what what I mean.
This Logan Pass parking just now 2:07PM Perfect cloudless day, temp 84F, and......
PLENTY of parking. This has not been the case in recent years.
So there ya go.

That is strange to see for sure. It must be the result of ticketed entry. Or people unable to afford a rental car.

Or people arriving before 6 am and after 5 pm?

Plenty of parking at 6:30PM today. Some of these cars are "after5PM" cars.
Does that mean sparse crowds for the ticket holders? Heat related?

The Hidden Lake trail is closed at the visitor center and the Highline isn’t open yet, so maybe that has something to do with the sparse crowds. There’s really nowhere to hike up there right now.

I see now that Hidden Lake is closed. Candy asses have taken over the National Park Service.
Whatever happened to people being allowed to decide for themselves the risk they want to take?
The NPS doesn't forbid backpackers from setting out in bad weather. Nor do they stop people from climbing mountains. I'm sick of all these "nanny state" types forbidding people from doing anything because THEY think it's "dangerous".

pete

PeteE wrote: ↑Fri Jul 02, 2021 9:09 am I see now that Hidden Lake is closed. Candy asses have taken over the National Park Service.
Whatever happened to people being allowed to decide for themselves the risk they want to take?
The NPS doesn't forbid backpackers from setting out in bad weather. Nor do they stop people from climbing mountains. I'm sick of all these "nanny state" types forbidding people from doing anything because THEY think it's "dangerous".

pete

Why is it closed, what is the perceived danger? Is it just snowfields and stuff like that? I can see that the highline trail might be dangerous in some places because of snow cover. Not sure the hidden lake trail has that same problem at least to the overlook.

There is a sow with cubs frequenting the meadows behind the visitor center.

teapot57 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 02, 2021 10:01 am There is a sow with cubs frequenting the meadows behind the visitor center.

Sow with two cubs. Great! I could get some good pictures and video.
Well...I could if the park nannies would let ME decide if the risk isworth a picture.

FWI for Glacier Newbies. There are grizzly sows with cubs ALL OVER Glacier National Park.
They can show up virtually anywhere in the park at any given time--including the tops of GNP's 10,000ft mountains.
The park is crowded as it is. Closing trails just makes the remaining trails more crowded. If someone, including me, gets mauled or killed because they accepted the risk and used a posted trail---then that mistake is on ME or whoever!

As for the Highline, last Saturday the only remaining snow fields on the HighLine trail were TINY--not deep at all.
They could be cleared in a day. One would think that the Highline would be a priority for clearing in this day and age.

And should the park service see this, don't worry, my days in GNP are numbered.
It's no longer fun to go to GNP. Let the candy asses have the place.

pete

I may have jumped the gun on Logan Pass parking.
Yesterday July 7th I arrived at Logan Pass at 0533. The parking lot was between 1/3 and 1/2 full already!
I still managed to get the Number 1 spot
The rain was HAMMERING down driving up between the Loop and the Big Bend. NOT Fun.

I waited until the rain stopped and began my hike at 0632---and the Logan Pass Parking Lot was FULL!
The rain had stopped but the wind was blowing 20-gusting to 30mph.
Keep in mind the weather was SH1T and still this crowd showed up.
At 0948 when I returned to the parking lot, the lot was closed with the usual "circling" drivers.

So the truth is that the fill time for Logan Pass Parking is just impossible to predict.
So if you need to park at Logan Pass, go early.
******************************************************************

I had to quit my hike to the Dragons Tail.
1) I had a time constraint and didn't believe I could get back in time. Had to be back at work by 1300.
2) As I was putting on MicroSpikes to cross the first snow field, two guys came walking towards me.
They said the WIND was just HOWLING at the first saddle. They were going to do Reynolds MT.
I looked over and the heavy clouds were just zipping past Reynolds.
Both were experienced climbers and said it just wasn't worth the hassle and risk.

So I said screw it, I'll do the Dragons Tail Saturday. It will be sunny and 70F.
I'll have all day

pete

Sounds like a wise decision to me

Ditto. It's nice to have the option.