Glacier Park Chat
8/21/16
Chief Mountain to Elizabeth Lake Ft. (10 Mi.)
We woke up the next morning, packed up and headed to the Swiftcurrent Inn for some fresh brewed coffee for the last time. On our way to Chief Customs, we were charging our cell phones , dodging cows and enjoying the view. We pulled into the parking lot, got our bags out and ran thru our checklist one more time. OK here we go. As we headed to the trailhead, we started the ol “hey bear”. I think we were still in the parking lot. We were definitely on high alert thru the whole trip, but them first few miles were off the scale. The first few miles were in the woods and we were yelling, singing and clapping all the way thru. If nothing was awake yet, it was by the time we walked thru. I thought a bear would attack us just to shut us up. After a few miles the trail opened up to a golden meadow with knee high grass, with the mountains in the background. It was a nice and relaxing hike, with really no elevation change. About half way, we stumble upon a Ranger Station that looked straight out of the movie “Dances with Wolves”. It looked like an old fort, with the American Flag flying high, and the mountains in the background. I guess when I think of old America, that’s what I picture. I sat there and had a break and thought about how fortunate we are to live in a great country that is willing to preserve and fund its greatest attributes like Glacier National Park. We made it to Elizabeth Lake that Evening and set up camp. People were starting to gather around the food prep area, so we went to join them for dinner. When I first started backpacking a couple of years ago, I learned quickly how friendly and interesting people are that you meet on the trail. I love hearing peoples experiences, where they been, where they are going, and what brought them to the exact same spot I am. Sometimes you even learn something new about hiking and camping.
8/22/16
Elizabeth Lake to Mokowanis Lake (10 Mi.)
We got off to an early start again. We packed up our gear, ate some breakfast and hit the trail. After a mile or two in, we came across the Cosley Lake ford. It was still early and the water was cold. It wasn’t that bad until about the 3/4 mark. Then it started burning a little. Again, the scenery was beautiful and the hike was relaxing. There were parts of the trail that was in forest and thick under growth, but there were parts that were open and gorgeous. We made to Mokowanis Lake and couldn’t have been happier with our choice. The food prep area was right on the lake and the scenery was stunning. We quickly hung our food and set up our tent and headed to I believe Pyramid Falls, right under Margret Lake. That was definitely worth the short hike. On the way there, the mountians surround you, making feel pretty small. The waterfall were amazing, and fun to climb up. We returned to camp, and met some more people at the food prep area. There was 1 woman and 2 men. They were brothers and sisters, living in different regions of the U.S. They all met at Glacier for a week of hiking. After we sat there for a minute, one of the brothers got up and went to the lake and pulled out a 12 pack of coors light. I couldn’t believe it. Here we are, two days into Glacier and this guy packs in a 12 pack of beer. Then the woman breaks out steaks and zucchini and squash. I guess they have an ongoing bet every year on whose pack will weigh the most. I would lose that bet everytime.
8/23/16
Mokowanis Lake to Kootenia Lake (12 mi.)
Up and at it early again. We knew this was going to be our biggest day. With 12mi. and 2400’ elevation rise and 3100 elevation drop, we wanted to get an early start. I’m far from being a marathon hiker. I like to go at a steady pace, stop and look around. Pretty much right away we started going up hill. To my surprise it wasn’t hard at all. I think the scenery helped on taking your mind off the incline. The scenery was the best of the trip so far. Surrounded by the mountains, waterfalls, wildflowers, and snowfields. We were pretty much in awe all they way up to Stoney Indian Pass. We did step up our yelling, singing, and clapping due to the fact there were some thick huckleberry patches along the trail. It was cool to look back and see Glens Lake and Cosley Lake and get a feel of where you came from the last couple days. Once we got on top of Stoney Indian Pass, we took our packs off for a break and took in the view. I think this was my favorite spot thus far of the trip. We started to head down and in no time it seemed like we were at the bottom by Stoney Indian Lake. We continued down, heading to the Waterton Valley. This stretch of the hike seemed like it took forever and it was all downhill, which to me was worse than going uphill. But regardless, I really didn’t think much of it because of the mountain peaks in front of us. We made it to our campsite and was pretty tired. We set up our tents made dinner and went to bed. The mosquitoes seemed to be heavier in that area. It wasn’t miserable by no means but you could tell they were there.
8/24/16
Kootenia Lake to Goat Haunt to Waterton (2.7 mi.)
We only had 2.7 miles to get to Goat Haunt and catch the ferry at 11:15 am. We decided to eat a quick Cliff Bar and get on our way. We were hiking along and me and my wife was ahead of my brother and his wife by about 20 yards. We were making noise and giving it the ol “Hey Bear” until I heard my brother yell for us in a panic tone. I guess they seen a brown bear stand up just off the trail. They said it looked at them and went back down, then it ran further into the woods. I guess we broke the rule of staying close together. My wife and I were hiking ahead and didn’t realize we separated ourselves that much. The bear must have heard us coming and laid down in the brush. He must have thought we passed and stood up to leave, unknowing that my brother and his wife were behind us. Close call and fortunate. Lesson learned. We made it to Goat haunt and waited for the boat to arrive. I know I keep repeating myself, but the view was outstanding. Looking down waterton lake, with the mountains on both sides was stunning. The boat came and it took us to Waterton. The Boat ride was chilly but it was worth it. The tour guide was informative and funny. We got off the boat and took our bags to the bus shuttle to drop them off. We had about an hour and half to until the bus left, so we walked down to a pizza joint call 49 degrees North. The pizza was good, and so was the beer. We got done and went to our shuttle back to Chief Customs. We were the only one there, so that was nice. On the way back the driver stopped off at an overlook call “where the planes meet the moutains.” Worth the stop for sure. We made it back to our car and headed out to St. Marys Campground. We got to the campground and hit the showers. I was really impressed with how clean and well maintain everything was. We made thru our backcountry hiking, now we were going to day hikes for a couple days.
8/25/16
Grinnell Glacier
Our original plan was to do the highline loop, but it was still closed so we pondered on what to do. I brought the Falcons Guide Book and read thru some hikes and decided on Grinnell Glacier. We ended up taking the boat across the lakes to start the hike. On our way we seen two bears wrestling around. It was a cool way to start the day. I’m not going to bore you with details of this hike because its such a popular hike. But as far as the whole trip, this was my favorite. The view as you climb, the wildflowers, and the glacier at the top was breath taking. On our way back down it started raining, so we put on our rain gear. When we got back to the bottom there was a shelter we sat in while we waited on the boat to take us back. On the way back we seen another bear at the edge of the lake. Pretty exciting. We got off the the boat and had to walk about 1/4 mile to catch another boat. On the way there was a bear that came out of the woods onto the trail. He looked at us and continued on his way up the hill. There were probably 50 people, and some people were trying to get close for a picture. My brother was yelling at them to get back and they were looking at him like he had two heads. Not for sure what goes thru peoples minds sometimes.
8/26/16
Highline Loop
The next day, the highline loop opened up, so we decided to go. Seen some sheep at the visitor center, so another good way to start the day. This was a great hike too. We stopped off at the Chalet and had lunch then finished our hike.
8/27/16
We woke up early and packed all of our gear up and headed to fed ex to ship our gear back home. Came back to Glacier to do some kayaking and just hang out for the day. We visited some stores for souvenirs then headed back to the Tamarac Lodge for our final night. Our flight left at 6:00 am so we had an early night. The trip couldn’t have been any better in my eyes. The weather was great except for a few hours on our Grinnell hike. Everyone was super friendly and helpful. Customer service was great everywhere we went. Also thanks to everyone that supports this forum. There is so much useful information on here and I took full advantage of it. Hopefully I can do another Glacier trip report in the future.
