Glacier Park Chat
In December I started a new job with more flexibility. Being able to take vacation in September/October played a major role in my decision to leave my previous employer. So of course this year I decided to put in an advance reservation request for a GNP trip in September. On our original advanced reservation, we requested Mokowanis Lake, but they substituted Mokowanis Junction. So when I picked up our permit I was hoping I could switch it back to Mokowanis Lake. Unfortunately the campsite was full that night. Having hiked past Mokowanis Junction before I knew we really didn’t want to stay there – luckily Glenns Lake Head was available so we were able to switch it.
The Backcountry Office also warned us of a weather system moving in on 9/14, they were predicting snowfall in higher elevations, being from Minnesota – a little snow in the forecast did not deter us, but we were a little nervous.
We spent the night before at the Many Glacier Hotel and headed out the next morning.
The last time I hiked through the Ptarmigan tunnel was on our first trip to Glacier over 15 years ago. There were a few small patches of snow on the Elizabeth Lake side, otherwise it was snow free.
It rained all afternoon and all night at Elizabeth lake and when we woke up the next morning it was just barely above freezing. You could see some fresh snow up in the mountains – but not much. We began to question if hiking in Glacier in September was a good idea.
The hike to Glenns Lake Head was pretty much a wet muddy slog. The stream crossing at Cosley lake was pretty brutal. It was only about a foot deep, but when the air temp is hovering around 40 degrees and the wind is howling it is not a pleasant experience. Normally I actually look forward to stream crossings, the water feels great on my feet in August when its 80 degrees.
As we reached Glenns Lake Head, we could smell a campfire (my permit said fires were allowed). A nice group of Texans had a small fire going. We were able to dry out some of our clothes that night. This was our first stay at Glenns Lake Head - it is a nice campground with great views. One of the guys in the Texas group caught a number of real nice lake trout near the inlet at the head of the lake, one was probably over 30”.
The next day we headed up to Stoney Indian Pass. A few years ago we hiked through the pass from the west after spending the night at Stoney Indian Lake. I would highly recommend hiking it from the east. You basically get to hike up the 2400 feet of elevation gain in three separate sections – giving you some time to rest and recover between each section.
As we hiked above Atsina Lake we could see some mountain goats perched low on the cliff face. I thought it was strange for them to be there in the early afternoon, and assumed there must be a predator around. Sure enough there was bear sign all along the trail. Later we met up with the same group from Texas at the top of Stoney Indian Pass, and they had seen a Grizzly in the basin before the final hike up to the pass. After talking with others along the trail and at the Stoney Indian campsite, multiple Grizzlies had been seen around the pass over the past few days.
The water level at Stoney Indian Lake was significantly lower than when we were there previously. The outlet was completely dry. That afternoon we set up camp and relaxed in our sleeping bags as a few snow flurries passed through the area. The next morning our water bottles had a significant layer of ice, and the fly on my tent had a thick layer of frost.
My wife and I had never been on the stretch of the Highline Trail from the Waterton junction up to Granite Park, and were really looking forward to the next two days. The weather was perfect on the hike to Fifty Mountain, sunshine and temps in the 50’s.
The final few miles are really quite scenic as you approach the Fifty Mountain campsite.
Many of the tent sites at Fifty Mountain are quite exposed due to the burned out trees. We were fortunate to be the first in camp and got the choice tent site with protection from the wind and our own private creek.
Unfortunately things clouded up overnight, and our hike to Granite Park the next day would turn into a walk in the clouds. The mountain tops were hidden by the clouds, which limited our views but it was still a gorgeous hike.
There was plenty of bear sign along the trail.
We encountered a solo hiker who had come upon a young Grizzly scratching its back on a tree.
We arrived at Granite Park and set up camp just as a few rain showers came through.
Granite Park ranks pretty low on my list of favorite campsites, I cant think of another campsite I have stayed at that I disliked more. All the tent sites are very close together and the food prep area is tiny. You can easily hear the people next to you. Especially when they get up at 3 am, shine their headlamp around – and then decide to pee in the trees right next to their tent. Hard to believe there are nuisance deer all over this area.
The next morning we hiked up to the Chalet to cook breakfast. I thought the Chalet would still be open, but noticed as we hiked into camp the previous afternoon that it was boarded up. It was much better than fighting for a spot at the food prep area, we had our own picnic table and the entire Chalet area to ourselves.
There were a number of nuisance deer in this area as well.
We kept waiting and hoping for the weather to break and the sky to clear before he hiked up to Swiftcurrent pass, but it never did. The hike up to and across the pass was completely in the clouds.
Fortunately as we descended we did get some nice views down the valley.
We could actually see a Moose walking across Bullhead Lake.
Once we reached the valley floor we began the long hike out along the lakes.
As we approached the head of bullhead lake I noticed a cow moose on the opposite shore.
I assumed it was the moose we had seen from the top of the pass. As we continued on, we were just beyond bullhead lake when I heard a noise along the trail and stopped. It was a bull moose grunting. I looked off into the woods and could just barely see its antlers about 30 yards away. As I pointed it out to my wife, it suddenly turned and started heading right towards us. We quickly started backing down the trail, it came out of the woods and turned right towards me. Luckily it saw I was not a threat a lumbered back off into the woods. It was grunting the entire time, and was definitely looking for a fight. I was way too close, and should have been trying to get further away instead of taking its picture. 6 days and 50 miles and I almost get stomped by a Bull Moose 3 miles from my truck...
All in all, it was a great trip. I left a little disappointed with the weather, but in our previous 4 trips we had near perfect weather conditions so I figured that was bound to change. We still had some very nice days, and met a number of really nice people along the trail. There were quite a few people still out enjoying the park, more than I expected. We spent the night at the St. Mary Lodge, where the next morning we were blessed with an amazing sunrise. I really like the before and after of these two photo's. Pretty annoying that two of my favorite photo's from the trip were taken while standing on the deck at the hotel!
The only area of the park that we have yet to explore is the Two Medicine Area (and the Coal Creek Area), so that will likely be our next trip - I'm just not sure if it will be in September
At least you didn't encountered very heavy snows like last year, I heard a few stories on my recent backpack trip from a few campers. I agree with you on Granite Park. That's why I spent the money and stay at the Chalet instead. Great sunsets and views there. The Fifty Mountain meadows are as good as it gets. 
