Throughout our big trip, whenever we would be talking with people about all the national parks we had visited, the most common response we got was “What did you think of Glacier?” Unfortunately, due to the nature of our route, Glacier was not on the itinerary (we had already been to Montana the year before during our Yellowstone trip, and it was just a bit far out of the way considering everything else we wanted to see).
We decided that we couldn’t move overseas before going to Glacier – so we planned a week in August for the trip.Unfortunately, the week before our trip started, the wildfires that were raging all throughout the Northwest flared up in the park. Most of the time, visibility was significantly reduced by the smoke, but we still saw enough to appreciate how amazing Glacier National Park is.
Tuesday, August 14
On Tuesday we left Portland and drove to Spokane, under a haze of wildfire smoke the entire way. A quick stop at Palouse Falls (recently named Washington’s official state waterfall) left us in awe as to where it came from. Given the barren and dry landscape surrounding it, it seemed impossible for such a large waterfall be hiding in the rolling hills. It was quite impressive and definitely worth the short detour.
After the waterfall, we continued on to the campground in Spokane where we would be staying to break up the long drive. Unfortunately the campground was right next train tracks, so we didn’t get the greatest sleep and were woken up earlier than we would have liked.
Wednesday, August 15
The next morning we packed up and continued on our way. We drove through Wallace, Idaho, a cute town known for being the last stoplight on I-80. When the interstate was routed through Wallace, the design called for the destruction of most the historic downtown area. Needless to say, residents weren’t thrilled and fought back, finally forcing the interstate to be built on an elevated viaduct that spared the downtown area. Next, we stopped in Kalispell for a barbecue lunch and a full tank of gas. Then it was back on the road to continue around to the east side Glacier, making it to our campsite in Many Glacier Campground around early evening.
Thursday, August 16
After a good night sleep in RC, we made our way to the Grinnel Glacier trailhead. The first part of the hike was relatively flat. Once we made our way around the lake and gained some elevation, we looked back down below and saw a female moose and her young calf frolicking along the edge of the lake. It was our first time ever seeing a moose, so it was really neat to watch a young calf having fun, totally unaware of our presence.
Once we started climbing above the lake, the trail got much tougher as it climbed towards the glacier. The views all along the way were incredible, even though our visibility wasn’t great because of the wildfire smoke. The final destination for the hike is the Grinnel Glacier, which sits tucked below the impressive sheer north face of Mount Gould. The glacier has receded quite a bit since it was first photographed in the mid-1800s, but the remaining glacier and seasonal lake are still very photogenic with the sheer cliffs towering over them.
After making our way back down to the campground, we were fairly exhausted from what ended up being roughly 14 miles of hiking in total, so we spent the rest of the day relaxing in the van and enjoying our riverside campsite.
Friday, August 17
The next day, we woke to what would end up being the clearest day of the entire trip. To take advantage, we got a pretty early start and tackled the Swiftcurrent Pass trail. The first few miles of the trail are an easy walk along several glacier-fed lakes with awesome views of the surrounding mountains. If you get an early start like we did, you might also get lucky and see some wildlife. You have to be looking for it, though. Tracey noticed a huge bull moose sitting only twenty feet or so off the trail that we almost walked right past.
After getting warmed up on the flat part of the trail, you’ll find yourself at the base of Swiftcurrent Mountain, staring at cliffs that rise pretty steeply in all directions except where you just came from. It was time to start a steep climb. The next part of the hike is an exciting set of switchbacks that take you far above the valley floor. The trail hugs the side of the cliff and the drop-offs can be fairly steep in several places. The views of the Swiftcurrent Valley, though, are totally worth it.
After a pretty good climb, there’s a short stretch to “rest” before the final climb to the top of the pass. The views west from here were marred by the heavier smoke on the west side of the park, so we were a little disappointed. Luckily, we brought a hot lunch which perked us up and gave us some much-needed fuel for the return hike.
After returning to the campground, we collapsed for a much needed rest. After another day of hiking 14+ miles up the side of a mountain, we were done.
Saturday, August 18
On Saturday, we were ready to take a break from the serious hiking and enjoy a more relaxing day at the campground. It turned out to be a good choice, because while Michael was chatting with our neighbors, Tracey noticed something in the bushes just across the river from our campsite. It was a bear! We originally thought it was a grizzly, but it turned out to be a large brown mama bear. It was pretty amazing (and a little frightening) to see a bear so close, but it did not decide to cross the river.
After the excitement, it was time to eat, so we treated ourselves to lunch at the Swiftcurrent Restaurant. Then we walked a couple of miles down the road to the historic Many Glacier Hotel, built by the Great Northern Railway in 1915. The huge lodge was built to feel like a Swiss chalet, and the setting is magnificent.
Sunday, August 19
Sunday morning we packed up the van and got back on the road. Our original plan was to drive the Going-to-the-Sun Road to our next campground on the west side of the park, Fish Creek. However, the road was closed at Logan’s Pass due to the wildfires, so we stopped there and hiked about 4 miles out on the Highline Trail, which ultimately leads to the top of Swiftcurrent Pass (which we had hiked from the opposite direction on Friday). We didn’t go all the way to the top, since we had to have time to drive back down to the main highways and drive around the park. We did get some great (but smoky) views, and we had a really neat encounter with a mountain goat.
After the hike, we stopped in visitors center and saw that the Fish Creek Campground had been evacuated and was now closed due to the fire. We didn’t want to continue to fight the smoke, which was much worse on the west side of the park, so we decided to cut our trip short and begin making our way back home. We booked a hotel outside of Spokane and stayed there for the night.
Monday, August 20
After an exhausting week, we had an uneventful drive home from Spokane.
