Glacier National Park - Need Help

“Hey gang - need some help planning a trip to Glacier National Park - thinking end of July beginning of August 2003 - for a week (or two) of backcountry backpacking.

Here's what I'd like input on: how to get there, trailhead info, suggested routes, what to expect regarding terrain and weather, wildlife, suggested gear, and any other information you could help with....

PS - coming from the east coast and am pretty unfamiliar with the area

Thanks!”

“Twinkle Toes...

I believe I have a park map....

I'll check and see....”

“I guess I don't have one.

Sorry”

“grizzly bears...........lots of grizzly bears..........watch your ass”

“I think Glacier probably has the worst record of any NP for grizzly attacks.”

“alright guys - enough of the scary grizzly bears - besides for those of you that have seen my bear bag ;) it's taken care of hahahahahahahaha

any other info?”

“You might toss in Bob Marshall Wilderness for consideration.”

“we just want you to be safe. it sounds to me like youre really taking the idea way too lightly and really have no idea how dangerous grizz can be. if im reading you wrong, i apologize, but if youve never been in grizz country, i hope at least youre in a small group”

“I was also serious. Whether due to high use or high density and dangerous grizzlies, I don't know, but I have heard of more attacks there than Denali, Yellowstone or Teton.”

“of course i'm joking - no way do i take the bear situation lightly - thanks for the heads up


grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!! (not a sound i want to hear while BP'ing)”

“cool beans. id rather have you annoyed at us and not mauled than the other way around. now, to answer your question, i have never been to glacier, but national geographic makes great national parks maps. i have the isle royale, rocky mt, and hoosier nf. get the glacier map. you should see lots of great ideas”

“Twinkle -

How to get there: We drove from Michigan. Spent a night in Minnesota. A couple nights in the Black Hills and then on to GNP.

Routes: I can't really suggest a route cause it appears you plan to hike for a week. We did a 3-day trip. But, whatever you do, be prepared for whatever trail you pick to be under snow. Yes, even in July. I was there a few years ago and the loop I was planning wasn't accesible. Have a lower elevation, alternate route selected.

Elevation and terrain: Mountains! Big hills! :-) It wasn't too bad. Lots of switchbacks make the ups and downs more tolerable.

Weather: If I recall, it was warm (not hot) during the day. Prolly 75 or so. And, chilly at night, 50s. We had some rain, too. But, from what I know, you can expect just about anything.

Wildlife: They showed us a grizzly video before giving us our backcountry permit. Had me a little nervous. We saw two black bears while in the park, but never any grizzly. The people we ran into along the way had also had no bear sightings. We did see prints once, but I think they were black bear and not griz.

Have fun. It's an amazing place.”

“The nearest airport is in Kalispell on the Western side of the park.

Amtrak also serves the park on the Eastern side.

Transportation in and around the park will be the biggest difficulty. There is a shuttle that goes between the east and west sides if the park but it is designed for tourist and not hikers. Meaning they stop at every single photgraphable thing on the route. It can't get better for your webshots alblum but sucks for hikers who want to get to the trailhead.

I do have a phone number for a company that does offer rides around the park. I'm not at home but I'll look it up and post it here for you.

All the maps of the park are wrong. They all misstate trail mileage by up to 2 miles and elevation gain/loss by about 1000ft. Treebait and I planned a trip there two years ago and wasn't able to go due to an unexpected hospital stay. Well the other folks in our party were able to go and the trail distances all seemed longer than indicated on the maps and the climbs seemed steeper also as they didn't jive with three altimeters on the trip. They asked some of the backcountry rangers about their observations and the rangers all plainly stated that the maps are all wrong. In particular the hike from Kootenai (sp?) to Fifty Mountian was off by 3 miles and 2500 feet.

As far as great trips my friend who did go on our trip has most of his photos online at madmansarchive.com The route began at Chief mountain customs trailhead up and over Stony Indian Pass to Kootenai LAkes and south to Going to the Sun Raod via the Highline Trail. That is probably THE Glacier NP week long route as you get to see a very large cross section of the park.”

“Hey Twinkle Toes! I've worked in Glacier for the past two summers and plan on returning for a third time this summer. We should hook up while you are there!
I have friends that worked in backcountry permits. Take the Griz warnings seriously, but don't let fear ruin your trip. Layer, take rain protection for sure. All of my advice is typical, so I'll stop rambling. Feel free to email me. I'd love to meet up next summer.”

“Read "Bear Attacks: Their causes and Avoidance" by Steven Herrero.”

“There are a number of good books on Glacier and its hiking trails. Amazon.com would be a start.

We did The Northern Loop two years ago, into the Belly River Country. We also climbed Mt. Siyeh and got up close and personal with a full-grown grizzly in Preston Park. Those are two spectacular hikes.

Take the reservation system seriously. The trails in Glacier fill up in a hurry. A friend who lives next to Glacier dropped off our itinerary, at the local post office, the first day that it was allowed to go in the mail. We were reservation 109 and had to settle for our second itinerary. When we got there, a couple of the trails were closed due to grizzly activity. We had to change our itinerary again, which created some transportation problems. Send your itnierary by express mail, be prepaired to do your second or third choice hike, and be prepaired for last minute changes at the park.

If you expect to stay at one of the lodges in the park, you had better start on reservations as soon as you can. We stayed at Lake McDonald and Many Glacier. The lodges are old but the settings are spectacular, especially The Many Glacier Lodge. You shouldn't miss staying at the Many Glacier Lodge. Doing the Northern Loop,we had intended to use Many Glacier as our start and stop point. There are some good dayhikes from Many Glacier as well.

Awesome place. I'll visit again.”

“I went there in '95 at the end of July. We crossed the Going-to-the-sun highway on the first day of the year that it was open. Well, actually, they had opened it a few days earlier but some Japaneese lady got killed by a falling rock so they closed it again for a few days. Many of the higher trails were still closed.
I didn't backpack (had small kids along) but we did some great dayhikes. The trails we hiked were established as horse trails and were broad and almost easy enough for a wheelchair.
I saw one grizzly, from a distance.
Very nice place. I'd love to go again. Have fun!”

“Take the reservation system seriously. The trails in Glacier fill up in a hurry
arclite
05:48:39 AM
01/30/032

listen to the man”

“Some more required reading. And if you don't think this book will scare the crap out of you, check out the items that people who bought this book also shop for.”

“Slight correction: look under "Customers who wear clothes also shop for:" (which is kind of a bizarre statement anyway, now that I think about it)....”

“Here's a link for ya:

Area Parks”

“thanks for the information”

“A couple of thoughts - Glacier is gorgeous, well worth the hassles of permits etc. They only give permits for six days. If you are out longer, you have to pick up a second permit, midway. (Mostly so that they can let you know if a trail is closed because of bear activity.) When we went in the summer of 1998 we hiked the CDT route from Waterton to East Glacier. The highline Trail was gorgeous but my favorite part was the Pitamkan Pass to Dawson Pass stretch -- not for the acrophobic! In 1999 we hiked in from Chief Mountain, which is snow free earlier than the Highline Trail. Both are nice routes. Several people have told us that the east-west route in the north of the park is very good too. We flew in to Kalispell, took a cab to Whitefish, spent the night and caught the train to East Glacier. Then we took the park bus to Waterton the following day. We were flexible with the permit and were given a route similar to the one we asked for, but with two layover days midway. Flexibility is key. One problem is that you have to pay a per night camping fee and a park entry fee and also pay an advanced reservation fee. Some of the campsites are nice, some have the campsites right on top of each other. Of course, that is sometimes in bear areas where there is safety in numbers. If there are any active griz in the area that you are hiking, they will simply close the trail. So, be prepared with alternate routes.”

“Oh yeah Twink... I am totally jealous! Enjoy!”

“Wow! That is going to be a great trip! I'm thoroughly jealous. I have no experience with this park but will be interested to hear your trip report as its on the list of places to see in this life.

Keep us updated and good luck!”