trip advice

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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McKee80
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trip advice

Post by McKee80 »

Hi again,

I wanted to see if someone could poke holes in this or suggest any improvements. I'm OK with spending lots of time at camps and doing side trips. My priorities are BOU, HOL, and FRA campsites, and Margaret Lake, and it would be cool to see some Moose at KOO. And I can't pick up my permit in Waterton. So I came up with the following plan (starting between Sept 5 and 10):

Day 1 - Fly to Calgary, check the available sites list
Day 2 - get to Saint Mary permit office around 5 AM (assuming I get a Northern Traverse trip, but not the sites I want). Drive to Waterton, stay in Townsite campground
Day 3 - paid shuttle to chief mountain (is the trailhead close enough to walk after getting dropped off on the Canadian side?). Hike to COS
Day 4 - COS to MOL (side trip to Margaret Lake)
Day 5 - MOL to KOO (the long up up up, down down down day)
Day 6 - KOO to HAW
Day 7 - HAW to BOU
Day 8 - BOU to HOL
Day 9 - HOL to FRA
Day 10 - FRA to Waterton and the car
Day 11 - Fly out from Calgary

I want to start at CME so I'll have a better chance at walkups with my most coveted campsites being at the end (BOU,HOL,FRA). I don't have a huge preference on the campsites near the beginning. What would you guys do with that amount of time averaging 8-10 miles a day? This is probably going to be my one chance to do a big backpack at Glacier. I know I'll be missing a lot of stuff, but am I hitting some high points? Thanks in advance, I'm super excited!

Sean
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Re: trip advice

Post by daschmit »

Assuming that you are talking about the Belly River Trailhead, yes, it is located about 100 yards from the U.S.-Canadian Border crossing. If you were travelling northwestwardly on the Chief Mountain Road toward the Canadian border, you would find a large parking lot to your left just as the Border Crossing comes into view. See http://enjoyyourparks.com/glacierparkbe ... trail.html. Incidentally, I believe that you will find that website to be a treasure trove of information for planning purposes, particularly in terms of the wealth of photographs that it provides, which gives you an excellent sense of what to expect visually on each trail.

The only time that I backpacked in that area was way back in 1978, well before the shuttles per se were in service. I embarked on that trail around the 18th of September and I later learned from the backcountry ranger that southern access to the Chief Mountain Road had been closed a couple of days after I began my packtrip. I had to stop by his cabin on the way out to make arrangements for someone to drive up from the St. Mary Visitor Center the next day for me to leave the area. (Note: As you can tell from the associated photograph, that ranger station is one "office" with an extraordinary view, not to mention zero traffic unless it is by foot or horseback.)

As part of the Stoney Indian Pass Trail, I believe that you will also enjoy the descriptions and photographs of the Cosley-Glenns-Mokowanis Lakes area provided by this webpage: http://enjoyyourparks.com/GlacierParkSt ... nPass.html. As stated therein, please be aware that the Mokowanis Lake-Mount Merritt area is PRIME GRIZZLY HABITAT. My stay at Mokowanis Lake was, indeed, most eventful in terms of wildlife contact, i.e. the first and only loon I have seen in the wild, bighorn/mountain goats high on the canyon walls (even with binoculars, it was almost impossible to be certain at that distance), and a late-night visit by a grizzly, elk or moose. Whatever the latter guest was, it made enough noise crashing through the brush to clearly indicate that it was big; I was not about to startle it by unzipping the fly on my tent just to satisfy my curiosity. Snow in the early morning hours pretty well covered its tracks, so I never discovered the identity of that visitor.
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Re: trip advice

Post by paul »

Hey Sean,

Looks like a great trip. Obviously, you'll want to make sure the boats are still running from Goat Haunt to the Waterton. While you're up at Boulder pass, you should try to climb Boulder peak. It's pretty much a walk up.

Paul
We are in the mountains and the mountains are in us. - John Muir
McKee80
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Re: trip advice

Post by McKee80 »

Thank you both. That enjoy your parks site took me from a 10/10 to a 15/10 on the excitement scale.

And thanks Paul. I thought you could only stay at FRA for one night per trip, so I put it later in the trip in case I needed to grab it on a walk up permit, it would be later in the trip.

In 2017, the boat schedule ran until the beginning of October, so I think I should be fine even though the schedule isn't out for 2018 yet.
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Re: trip advice

Post by daschmit »

If you haven’t already viewed them, two additional webpages that could be helpful are their overview of the Boulder Pass Trail (http://enjoyyourparks.com/boulderpassglacierpark.html) and “Tip For Multi-Day Hiking In Glacier Park: “Know When To Fold’em” (http://blog.enjoyyourparks.com/category/hikingtips/).

Depending on how weather patterns in Glacier unfold this summer, the latter article may or may not have direct bearing on your plans. However, I can attest to the fundamental accuracy of their observations. In 1978, I spent about five weeks in Glacier, roughly from the 20th of August until the 24th of September. The entire period was one long cycle consisting of two days of rainy squalls followed by one day of good hiking weather. Rinse and repeat ad nauseum. One day with nothing better to do, I watched the weather instruments at the St. Mary Visitor Center. One gust hit 73 miles per hour. At that time, a motorcyclist was entering the park. He had just paid his entrance fee when his motorcycle was broadsided by that gust. He immediately turned around and headed back out of the park. ‘twas definitely weather unfit for man or beast.
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Re: trip advice

Post by paul »

McKee80 wrote: And thanks Paul. I thought you could only stay at FRA for one night per trip, so I put it later in the trip in case I needed to grab it on a walk up permit, it would be later in the trip.
Yes, you can only stay at Francis for 1 night per trip. When I first replied to your post I didn't realize that. I thought it was just not on consecutive nights.
We are in the mountains and the mountains are in us. - John Muir
McKee80
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Re: trip advice

Post by McKee80 »

daschmit wrote:Depending on how weather patterns in Glacier unfold this summer, the latter article may or may not have direct bearing on your plans. However, I can attest to the fundamental accuracy of their observations. In 1978, I spent about five weeks in Glacier, roughly from the 20th of August until the 24th of September. The entire period was one long cycle consisting of two days of rainy squalls followed by one day of good hiking weather. Rinse and repeat ad nauseum. One day with nothing better to do, I watched the weather instruments at the St. Mary Visitor Center. One gust hit 73 miles per hour. At that time, a motorcyclist was entering the park. He had just paid his entrance fee when his motorcycle was broadsided by that gust. He immediately turned around and headed back out of the park. ‘twas definitely weather unfit for man or beast.
Thanks for the advice. I didn't see that one. From what I've read on that site and others, it is hit and miss. Part of the reason I'm trying to plan the trip the way I am is that we can get out at Goat Haunt/Waterton (where our car will be) halfway through. Or delay and start our trip up there if we have to wait out weather. It is a crapshoot, but that is when we can do it. Maybe I'll pull in the last exit date of my permit application to around the 15th, now that I'm thinking about it. I'm unlikely to get this opportunity with this much time again, so I'm willing to roll the dice :)
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Re: trip advice

Post by PeteE »

You need to give the system the widest possible range of dates consistent with whatever time period you'll have available. And within that time frame give the most flexibility you can to the system regarding camp sites. If you don't get what you want, fix it when you arrive.
Fudging with dates a few days one way or another for "weather" considerations is a hopeless task.
Just remember that September weather is always a crap shoot.
So prepare and pack gear accordingly.
Check the forecast from NWS out of Great Falls a couple days before leaving. Adjust clothing and gear if necessary.

pete :wink:
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And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

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McKee80
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Re: trip advice

Post by McKee80 »

Thanks Pete. I just thought if I was going to be the first one in line anyway, I might be better getting "anything" for the earlier part of Sept, then trying to change it on walk up. I guess the closer I can get to my desired itinerary, the better though.
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