Memorial Day Backcountry Trip

Are you a seasoned hiker, or just starting out? Let us know your questions or experience with the backcountry permit process.

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Memorial Day Backcountry Trip

Post by yamaphid »

Hey everyone,

I am planning my first trip to Glacier, and unfortunately it will be in Late May into the first week of June. Flying in from Ohio, I already had to lock in my flights for the trip. As my research continues I am having some serious weather woes(especially with the snow this winter in the park), and am now worried a backcountry trip might not even be possible. Unfortunately these were the only dates I could manage with work and the others joining me, I knew I was pushing it.

Will any of the mountain passes even be open? I am flying in May 28th (Saturday) and hoping to spend Sunday through Friday (June 3) on a backcountry trip. I left Saturday (June 4th) to explore the park a bit by rental car before flying out on Sunday (June 5th) I will have two inexperienced hikers, and another experienced hiker along with myself. What sections of the park do you recommend at this time of year as doable for the length of trip I have in mind? I want to take it easy on the inexperienced hikers (and also accounting for the weather) and limit ourselves to around 7 miles a day.

I have been looking the Kintla Lake-Boulder Pass-Bowman Lake horsehoe, spread over 5.5 days and 5 nights. I hoped that since the few stream crossings and single pass traverse might make it a possibility. Is Boulder Pass certain to be closed, and if not, what is the likelyhood it will be safe to hike? How helpful will the permit office be in finding an alternative trip for me?

If anyone has any advice about this trip, or can give me any insight as to areas of the park that might be a safer bet to hike in late May early June, please help a newbie out. I know the weather could be a crapshoot, but I want to be sure the people I'm taking have a great hike and I won't be compromising their safety at all.
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Re: Memorial Day Backcountry Trip

Post by Hockey Ref »

Unfortunately, I don't think there's any way at all that you'll be able to do the trip you want. It's going to be much too early, and I can't imagine that any backcountry passes will be safe, especially for inexperienced hikers. Late May is still winter in the high areas. The trails will be covered, the snow will be very deep, and you'll need crampons, ice axes, and the knowledge to self-arrest in the event you fall. Even the main road through the park (the GTTS Road) likely will still be closed. Your best bet will be to stick to the low valleys. The Belly River area comes to mind (northeast section of the park). You may be able to hike in at the Belly River ranger station and explore the valley, then come back out the way you came in (no loop). It's low, but there are still plenty of mountains around you. Go to the backcountry campsite map at http://www.nps.gov/archive/glac/whatsne ... /bcmap.htm and and check out the campsites labeled GAB, COS, GLF, GLH, MOJ, and MOL. Those probably will be accessible to you (however, the stream crossing at Cosley Lake will be quite dicey as the water will be high, ice cold, and running quite fast and there's no foot bridge there). Note that you'll still need the proper backcountry camping permits, but those should be easy to get at that time of the season. Stop at a ranger station when you get to the park to inquire about the sites above and others that might be accessible.

Also expect low temps and a lot of clouds, rain, and/or snow that time of year.

Finally, keep in mind that bears will be extremely active, having just emerged from their dens and being quite hungry. Sows are likely to have newborn cubs as well, which ratchets up the danger level. You'll need to be very alert and practice standard bear safety..

There's a lot of info for newbies at these FAQs, including information on backcountry camping: http://glacier.nationalparkschat.com/ph ... ?f=1&t=580

Good luck!
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Re: Memorial Day Backcountry Trip

Post by Ear Mountain »

Hockey Ref is correct. There is no way that inexperienced hikers would be able to do the Kintla, Boulder Pass, Brown Pass, Bowman Lake loop in late May.

May (pretty much all of it) is still winter in the high country of Glacier. I do not know of any mountain passes that you will be able to cross. There may be some warm sunny days but those only increase the avalanche danger. There is often a dry, sunny and warm period in May but it is followed by June, the wettest month of the year. Exactly when the weather changes from warm and dry to wet and miserable does not depend on the calendar.

The trails crews will not have all bridges installed by then either. Some are normally installed before Memorial Day but the stream flow and late snow melt may interfere with that. If you are considering the Belly River area keep in mind that there are two suspension bridges across the Belly River. One near the Belly River Ranger Station and the other upstream from the ranger station. If those bridges are not in place you will not be able to access the campsites Hockey Ref mentioned except for GAB.
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Re: Memorial Day Backcountry Trip

Post by Hockey Ref »

Sorry if Ralph and I rained on your parade, but the reality is that there's no way you are going to be able to hike mountain passes in late May and early June. In fact, you may be limited to valley day hikes along the fringes of the park as it's highly unlikely that you will be able to reach the heart of the park via the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The chances that it will be open all the way through are practically zero.

Click the link below to see a map of the park's roadways. Note how much of the GTTS Road currently is closed. By the time you get there, you may be able to go as far as Avalanche on the west side and Jackson Glacier Overlook on the east side. The odds are that everything else in the middle will still be closed.

http://home.nps.gov/applications/glac/r ... status.cfm

If you still want to camp, several of the front-country campgrounds may be open when you arrive but may not have much in the way of services yet. Visit http://home.nps.gov/applications/glac/c ... status.cfm as your arrival date gets closer to see which sites might be open for you.

Also, most of the park's lodging, restaurants, etc. will still be closed when you arrive. Glacier Park Lodge on the southeast side and Lake McDonald Lodge and the Village Inn on the west side will be open, but everything else will still be closed. Swiftcurrent Motor Inn in the Many Glacier region is scheduled to open on June 3. I don't know the opening dates for lodging or restaurants just outside the park. See http://www.glacierparkinc.com/ for more info on park lodging.

You'll want to keep all of this in mind as alternatives if you are unable to do any backcountry camping.

Valley day hikes that you can probably do will include:
- Avalanche Lake (west side) (6 miles round trip and mostly flat)
- Swiftcurrent Valley (7 miles round trip to the headwall of the pass in the Many Glacier region on the east side)
- The lower portions of the Iceberg Lake and Grinnell Glacier trails, along with Grinnell Lake (Many Glacier region) (varying lengths depending on how far you can go, but nothing more than 7 miles or so)
- Hikes around Two Medicine Lake in the Two Medicine region (southeast area) (varying lengths)
- Red Eagle Lake (east side near the St. Mary park entrance) (15 miles round trip, but flat all the way)

Hope that's not too much of a downer for you, but it is what it is. Let us know if you have additional questions.
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Re: Memorial Day Backcountry Trip

Post by yamaphid »

I appreciate all of the insight and information (no matter how depressing). This site has been a great source of information and help, and I'd be in a tough spot without it. I think its either time to take the 'backcountry' out of my trip and investigate various day hikes, or it might even be time to contact my airline about flying elsewhere. I knew these dates were pushing it as far as alpine country is concerned, but didn't realize just how long Glacier takes to rebound from the winters (learning the hard way!). Glacier is my dream hike and I'd like to see it in all its glory. Might just have to wait another year :(

That said, anyone have any alternative parks that might work this time of year? I would hate to have to cancel a backcountry trip altoghether... I had my eye on Zion National Park as a possible plan B...
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Re: Memorial Day Backcountry Trip

Post by Hockey Ref »

If you do decide to go to Glacier another time, I'd wait until at least the second half of July if you're interested in a multi-day backpacking trip.
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Re: Memorial Day Backcountry Trip

Post by Apikuni »

That said, anyone have any alternative parks that might work this time of year? I would hate to have to cancel a backcountry trip altoghether... I had my eye on Zion National Park as a possible plan B...
This would be a good choice in my opinion. The West Rim Trail is off the charts as far as beauty goes. I don't think snow will be an issue but they've had alot this year so I don't know. I would look at using one of the shuttle services to drive you to Lava Point and do it as a thru hike. Its pretty much all downhill! Great for the noobs.

Also make sure you eat at Oscar's Cafe in Springdale.
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Re: Memorial Day Backcountry Trip

Post by mattB »

While not comparable to the Kintla, BoulderPass, Bowman Loop, a couple other options that would give you at least a taste of some backcountry would be the Quartz Lake loop from Bowman campground, or maybe the Logging Lake to Grace Lake trip. There's no high-passes on those trails, although they may still have significant snow coverage that time of year, but I don't think there are any big stream crossings on those routes.

I would think the campsites in the TwoMedicine Lake area might be open by then (OldMan Lake, NoName lake, UpperTwo Medicine, Cobalt Lake), but the upper passes will be closed so there wouldn't really be any loop routes that would work.

The Park Creek, Oly Creek, and Oly Lake campsites on the south end of the park may also be accessible by then?
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Re: Memorial Day Backcountry Trip

Post by Ear Mountain »

mattB wrote:While not comparable to the Kintla, BoulderPass, Bowman Loop, a couple other options that would give you at least a taste of some backcountry would be the Quartz Lake loop from Bowman campground, or maybe the Logging Lake to Grace Lake trip. There's no high-passes on those trails, although they may still have significant snow coverage that time of year, but I don't think there are any big stream crossings on those routes.

I would think the campsites in the TwoMedicine Lake area might be open by then (OldMan Lake, NoName lake, UpperTwo Medicine, Cobalt Lake), but the upper passes will be closed so there wouldn't really be any loop routes that would work.

The Park Creek, Oly Creek, and Oly Lake campsites on the south end of the park may also be accessible by then?
The Old Man, No Name and Cobalt Lake campsites are usually closed around Memorial Day. No-Name may open the earliest of these but the other two usually don't open until July, maybe late July for Cobalt Lake.

The Ole (note spelling) Creek campsite might well be flooded around Memorial Day. To reach Ole Lake requires a very dangerous early season ford of Ole Creek or a crossing of Firebrand Pass which will most likely be clogged by snow then. So I would not suggest those camps.

Park Creek is an option but going beyond the lower Park Creek campsite will require some fording of streams. There are no bridges across the streams in that drainage.
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Re: Memorial Day Backcountry Trip

Post by llholmes1948 »

I agree with the prior posts by Hockey Ref and Ear Mountain that late May is way too early to do much backcountry hiking in Glacier. You might want to pour through the trip report section for the past several years and read some of the reports from May and early June to give you a flavor the Park at that time. My trip report from early June, 2007 is at the following link:

http://glacier.nationalparkschat.com/ph ... =11&t=1182

I found early June to be a great time to visit the Park - very few visitors, great wildlife sightings, and waterfalls and creeks just blasting with water. However it is just not a great time to do extensive hiking except for low elevation hikes and some of those can involve flooded trails and creeks difficult to cross as many bridges will not have been installed by then. Most backcountry campgrounds will not be open.

As the Hockey Ref indicates if you are interested in hiking the higher elevation passes, you should go in late July or August.

Zion and Bryce would probably be great parks to visit in late May. Among other hikes that we did in Zion this past October, I hiked a ways along the East Rim trail and that is a trail I would like to explore more next time.

Hope this helps and whatever you decide to do, I hope you have a great trip.

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Re: Memorial Day Backcountry Trip

Post by yamaphid »

Thanks for all of the helpful replies everyone. It looks like I'm going to move on with a trip to Zion. When (hopefully sooner than later) I make my trip to Glacier I'll be sure to utilize this extremely helpful forum, donate to it, and post a nice trip report when I return!

Thanks again everyone, got a good thing going here.
Jen

Re: Memorial Day Backcountry Trip

Post by Jen »

yamaphid wrote:and post a nice trip report when I return!
Feel free to post a Zion TR in the other National Parks section. (just sayin :wink: )
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Re: Memorial Day Backcountry Trip

Post by mikie »

I do more hiking in the Winter then the Summer. Some of the best hikes I have done have been on snowshoes. I find that you have clearer skies, and more isolation, and sometimes a better experience. For every great experience I have in the summer, I have five great experiences in the Winter. Spring snowshoeing is very nice because the snowpack is usually hard, so traveling is easier.

I did visit Glacier in early June in 2000. Brought my snowshoes, and did some very nice snowshoe hikes. But, the snowpack was low in June of 2000. This year there is a lot of snow. But, if it gets hot, the snow could melt very quickly. Never know what it will be like.

If I was in your shoes, I would bring snowshoes, and winter gear. I would do a walkin and ask for permit for the backcountry. Ask the rangers where you could go for a nice snowshoe backcountry experience. I can think of some nice 1-3 day hikes. You could probably do several of those. In my experience that might be better experience then a summer hike.

In late May or early June it may be 70 degrees and sunny or it may be snowing. Or, you might get both within an hour. Be prepared for anything.
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Re: Memorial Day Backcountry Trip

Post by Jay w »

The analogy for Glacier is to a musician playing late night gigs. They don't get up until after noon, and Glacier doesn't wake up after July 1. It's hot everywhere, but it's still spring in Glacier. My first Glacier trip was was around June 20-30th, and I loved it. There was mud on the trails, Iceberg Lake was totally frozen over, and most hikes to elevation (into the snow) had rain, but I still fell in love with the place.

For an early trip, I'd recommend hangin' out at Avalanche campground (really beautiful and fairly warm) and Two Medicine. When you check out a trail map, you have to really pay close attention to the bridges, and pretty much assume none of them will be in place.

Or Zion.

Or a Rim-to-rim-to-rim in the Grand Canyon. Did I mention the National 100 km Championships are this weekend in Madison? Anyone up for a 62 mile run?

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Re: Memorial Day Backcountry Trip

Post by liketohike »

Ear Mountain wrote: Sun Mar 06, 2011 1:08 pm
The Ole (note spelling) Creek campsite might well be flooded around Memorial Day. To reach Ole Lake requires a very dangerous early season ford of Ole Creek or a crossing of Firebrand Pass which will most likely be clogged by snow then. So I would not suggest those camps.
Ralph,
are you referring to the creek crossing between Ole Creek Campsite and Ole Lake? Or the one between Ole Creek camp and Fielding trailhead?
I am guessing they will both be a challenge early in the season, but is one worse than the other?
We will be in East Glacier last week in June and looking for alternative options for a 2-4 night route. Got a permit for St Mary to Two Med (REF, ATL), but not sure if that will be doable given the current snowpack and precipitation forecasted.

Thank you,
Blanka
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