Glacier Park Chat
We could not have asked for better weather. After the two weeks of rain in Calgary prior to our trip, we woke up the day we left to bright sunny skies that didn't quit the whole time we were there. We did get rain on Tuesday night, but it was after we were snug in our room at the Chalet so we never got wet.
The bears are out and about in Many, right in the vicinity of the campground. As we were setting up our tents a ranger came by to tell us that just that morning, one had been walking along the back of our campsite and those around it, but we didn't see or hear a thing either night we were there. Also, the day we were coming down Swiftcurrent Pass, we ran into a backpacker who warned us that there was a grizzly hanging around Red Rock Lake. He painted quite the picture when he told us a story of how 6 Asian tourists, all women, encountered the grizzly on the trail. They apparently felt they had come a far way and were not going to let the bear ruin their hike, so they held hands, raised them above their heads and walked toward the grizzly, chasing it off the trail. I'm not sure how true that story is, but the trail was posted for bear frequenting the next morning.
I know there were a lot of mixed feelings about Many Glacier Campground going to a reservation system. I have to say that it worked out really well for us. There is no way our trip would have been possible without it. We rolled in from Calgary around 4:00 and drove right to our site and set up. The next morning, we took down camp, loaded it in the car, moved the car to the Swiftcurrent parking lot, then caught the shuttle to St. Mary. After finishing our hike down from the Chalet, it was really nice to have everyone walk right to the campsite while I moved the car, then set up our tents.
Another benefit to the reservation system is the peace and quiet in that section of the loop come morning. No circling cars looking for a campsite. I walked through the campground our first morning to grab a coffee from the store and did not see any vacant sites in the reserved area, although I'm sure it happens.
The shuttle system also worked unbelievably smooth for us. After arriving at the St Mary visitor center on the xanterra shuttle, we caught the park shuttle 5 minutes later and were at Logan Pass in less than an hour and a half.
The hike itself was everything everyone says. I must admit that I prefer the Swiftcurrent Pass section over the Highline. The wildflowers were out of control, and we saw just about every type of wildlife you could ask for.
We ate very well at the Chalet, thanks to my friend who was willing to pack in 4 steaks on ice! She also packed in 6 eggs and managed to make it to the Chalet without breaking them. We were the envy of the kitchen with our steak and pasta dinner. Then we had pancakes for breakfast the next morning, and hard boiled eggs with our lunch on the hike back down. We erred on the side of too much food, but with two growing teenagers, it wasn't really a problem.
All in all, it was a great trip and it couldn't have worked out any better!
For all of you Pokemon Go fans, my son informed me that the Granite Park Chalet is a Poke Stop, but there were no Pokemon in the area.
