Glacier NP

We were driving northwards through the Gallatin NF after getting up close to the Grizzlies at the Discovery Centre in West Yellowstone. It was a lovely scenic road where every now and then we’d get glimpses of trout fisherman casting their flies along the river.

Grizzly at the Discovery Centre

Then a decision was made easy for us about whether to arrive at the East or West side of Glacier when we read vehicles over 21 feet were prohibited from driving over Logan Pass.

Going to the Sun Road "Logan Pass"

Arriving in Glacier NP we got a sense that it’s beautiful, tranquil scenery belied a wild and rugged side. The impact of last winter’s epic snow fall was still being felt. Road works were under way and with such a short season it seemed impossible they would have it completed before the onset of winter.  Sperry Chalet was already closed for repairs due to avalanche damage and all available Rangers we searching for a hiker….missing for 3 days.

Tranquil beauty

A sign at the campground suddenly had my mind reeling, it read “Avalanche Campground will close after Labour Day”. Wow, I wasn’t prepared to start thinking about the end of our journey just yet. Then another sign “Shuttle buses will cease service after Labour Day”. With this in mind we began to explore the East side first.

We called into the back country office and walked out with lots to think about. Did we want to navigate our way over an avalanche to get to the campsite, the ranger commented hikers were getting lost trying to go around and some had injured themselves scrambling over. A bridge was out and the river would have to be forded around thigh deep. The pass was still covered in snow and more snow was forecast in the next few days. Trail closures limited our options due to a bear encounter and lots of bear sightings. Taking it all in, it occurred to me, this could be the makings of a survival tale. It didn’t take long to come up with a new plan.

Since we were camped at Avalanche Campground we decided to join a Ranger led walk out to Avalanche Lake. Douglas, our spritely 85 years young Ranger led us through thick Cedar and Hemlock forests out to the lake while entertaining us with interesting snippets from his 50 years of life as a park ranger.

Avalanche Lake

The next morning we arrived in time to catch the 7.15 express to Logan Pass. It was one of those perfect sunny days as we made our way up to Siyeh Pass. Along the way we could hear hikers ahead discussing treats of home made goodies which had us thinking we should join them as our trail mix and biscuits didn’t seem nearly as interesting. Upon reaching the Pass we were rewarded with expansive views of Glaciers and Lake Mary. One of the best things about the day was on the way down we came across some very pickable Huckleberries…!!

The following morning we had the same routine up to Logan Pass. This time we were going to hike the Highline trail. As we stepped off the bus we were blasted with a cold wind and grey cloud that looked like at any moment it would snow.  We set off hastily wearing our beanies and wind jackets that was only just keeping us warm. It turned out to be a short hike because an avalanche during the night had closed the trail. While deciding how to spend the rest of the day we walked out to the overlook.....it started to snow. Bear sightings had closed the trail down to Hidden Lake and so we sheltered behind some rocks sipping hot chocolate to try to warm up.



Enjoying the elements as we walked out to Hidden Lake overlook

It was time to head to warmer temperatures so we caught the bus down to Mary’s Lake where we hiked out to some very scenic waterfalls.

Ever since Colorado I had been talking about going for a horse ride and today was the day we got to saddle up. We made our way to the horse corral and in no time John was sitting on Big Red and I was sitting on Nick.



All saddled up and ready to go...

Then in a cloud of dust we set off on our 7 mile ride up to Sperry Chalet. It was a very relaxing riding up through the forests and crossing streams and with the valley below opening out before us we reached the top. It was time for lunch.......but by now our legs had stiffened up and faint cries of pain could be heard echoing through the mountains as we stumbled off our horses. We were joined by a goat as we made our way over to the cliff to eat our lunch. We quickly realised that our uninvited guest was as intent on eating our goodies as we were and only the more persistent was going to eat......!!

Don't mess with me....check out my horns...

Then making our way back down we realised 14 miles in the saddle had been a bit ambitious for our first ride and we were really......really glad to arrive back at the horse corral.

Trail leading up to Sperry Chalet

Before leaving Glacier NP John got to celebrate his Birthday. Thinking about how we would have celebrated compared to finding ourselves in this beautiful wild wilderness was poles apart but equally amazing. Birthday wishes from family and friends and the phone call from wonderful friends house sitting in Asia really made his day memorable.

Celebrating John's Birthday