Belly River Suspension Bridge

[sbosecker]

I have a late September Itinerary - GAB,GLH,GLH,GAB (Sep 18-Sep22)...

Something just occured to me... Anyone know when the Belly River Suspension Bridge gets taken down for the season?

Scott

[Ear Mountain]

...Something just occured to me... Anyone know when the Belly River Suspension Bridge gets taken down for the season?
Scott

In years past the date of removal would be posted in the Trail Status pages. Not sure if that will happen this year. And even if it does that post might not be accurate. I had experience with bridges being removed well before the posted date on the Trail Status page.

I suggest that you be prepared to wade.

[orin]

In years past the bridge would still be up for your dates but who knows this year. There is a marked horse ford so you won’t need to scramble up and down the banks at least. The water level should be near its minimum in late September.

[sbosecker]

In years past the bridge would still be up for your dates but who knows this year. There is a marked horse ford so you won’t need to scramble up and down the banks at least. The water level should be near its minimum in late September.

In years past the date of removal would be posted in the Trail Status pages. Not sure if that will happen this year. And even if it does that post might not be accurate. I had experience with bridges being removed well before the posted date on the Trail Status page.

I suggest that you be prepared to wade.

Thanks guys!

I've sent an email to Glacier NP requesting information on when the bridge would be scheduled for removal. We'll see what they say.

...but yeah, we may have to get our feet wet.

Best regards,

Scott

[sbosecker]

Received a response this morning from Glacier...

Hi Scott,

We do not yet have a date for removal of the bridge for this year. Last year it was Sept 28, so you should be ok.

Backcountry Permit Rangers
Glacier National Park

So I've got that going for me... which is nice.

Scott

[paul]

The bridge was still up on Sept 1st when we crossed it.

[sbosecker]

The bridge was still up on Sept 1st when we crossed it.

Paul,

Thanks for the report! However, it has become a moot point.

The forecast weather for our itinerary (18th-22nd) was looking to be "interesting" with low temperatures and rain. I've been to Glacier enought to know that weather forecasts are problematic but... my buddy & I decided that discretion was the better part of valor and we canceled our trip.

This will be the second time in the past 20 years I haven't made it to Glacier - the first time was 2020 (Covid).

I seem to be having issues with the Belly River itinerary. I tried a solo in 2017 and one of my hiking boot's sole delaminated on day 1. Stayed overnight at GAB and then hiked back to Chief Mountain the next morning.

We'll see what happens next year.

Best regards,

Scott

[zozeppelin]

Sorry to hear Scott. I’ve been seeing the same as we’re starting the 19th.

[sbosecker]

Sorry to hear Scott. I’ve been seeing the same as we’re starting the 19th.

Be safe!

Best regards,

Scott

[paul]

The bridge was still up on Sept 1st when we crossed it.

Paul,

Thanks for the report! However, it has become a moot point.

The forecast weather for our itinerary (18th-22nd) was looking to be "interesting" with low temperatures and rain. I've been to Glacier enought to know that weather forecasts are problematic but... my buddy & I decided that disgression was the better part of valor and we canceled our trip.

Scott

Scott,

Sorry that's really too bad about your trip. The last day of our backpack there was a big storm blowing in just as we were hiking out. It looked like Boulder Pass was really socked in. We were pretty lucky with the weather. No rain, mostly sunny skies. Our problem was the smoke from the fires was messing up the scenery (except for Sunrises and Sunsets).

Paul

[sbosecker]

Scott,

Sorry that's really too bad about your trip. The last day of our backpack there was a big storm blowing in just as we were hiking out. It looked like Boulder Pass was really socked in. We were pretty lucky with the weather. No rain, mostly sunny skies. Our problem was the smoke from the fires was messing up the scenery (except for Sunrises and Sunsets).

Paul

Paul,

Glad to hear you had a good trip!

It looks like the Glenns Lake area might be getting some moisture tonight.

Best regards,

Scott