There are dozens of places I want to visit in the Rocky Mountains, and the extensive size of the range leaves lots of places left for me to explore. Glacier National Park in Montana, however, really lives up to its nickname: “Crown of the Continent.” GNP offers some of the best mountain hiking and sightseeing of any place I’ve been. What it lacks in sheer altitude (compared to Rocky Mountain National Park) it makes up for with stunning, characteristic vistas and serene blue lakes. Looking at the pictures I’ve captured, it’s tempting to believe that the piercing blue tone of the lakes is mostly artificial, an after effect of the editing process or fluke of the image sensor. The truth is that the colors are truly that saturated in first person!
Fort Robinson
Saturday, July 13
The first day was spent almost entirely on the road. We drove across the entire state of Nebraska, to the very northwestern corner, finally arriving at Fort Robinson. We made a couple of stops along the way, including Lake McConaughy and car henge. These places made for great photo opportunities!
Devil’s Tower
Sunday, July 14
On the second day of the trip, we continued our journey northwest into the state of Wyoming. Along the way, we visited Devils Tower. I can never get over just how isolated the tower is! It truly comes out of nowhere. There’s a very enjoyable 4 mile hike around the tower. As always, we managed to find some spots along the way for some great family pictures!
Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument
I’ve visited a couple of different battlefield monuments, and this was definitely the most memorable. The monument consists mainly of a small visitor center and self-tour driving path. The path follows the natural landscape, which consists mostly of a prominent hill and ridge. Our arrival corresponded with an approaching thunderstorm, which made for an excellent backdrop to our picture!
A short drive and dramatic evening of nearly sinking the camper in the fresh mud of someone’s front lawn later, we arrived for an overnight stay at a cabela’s parking lot in Billings.
St. Mary
Monday, July 15
The next day, we drove to St. Mary campground on the east side of Glacier National Park. Compared to other national parks, this site was surprisingly exposed. There was little to no tree cover, meaning that the winds were more intense and the temperature was significantly cooler. Those sacrifices were well worth it however, since little tree cover means great views of the mountain peaks. Our campsite had an excellent view of Divide Mountain, a prominent pyramidal peak that stood out from the surrounding summits. After an evening ranger talk about the state of light polution in the park, we turned in.
Gunsight Trail
Tuesday, July 16
The next day we got on the earliest shuttle we could and rode to the trailhead for gunsight trail. Gunsight is a 9.7 mile round trip hike to Florence Falls. Florence is considered one of the more impressive falls in the park, so it was an exciting journey! The trail was well grown, in some places reaching above my waist.
In one place, the trail opened into a clearing where a glacial stream cut a deep groove into the rock.
The trail also included some of the coolest trail bridges I’ve ever hiked on!
Although the trail was mostly overgrown and wooded, there were some brief moments with excellent views of the towering mountains nearby.
Finally, after a grueling final climb we arrived at Florence Falls! To take this photo I had to climb a nearly sheer wall of mud and rock to a small ledge.
After a long climb back out of the pass, the group consensus on gunsight wasn’t that positive. It was a poor choice for a first trail, being more difficult than anticipated and less rewarding than several of the hikes we did later.
Waterton Lakes National Park Albert, Canada
Wednesday, July 17
The next morning we made the fairly short journey north to the Canadian border. After customs confiscated our dirty American firewood, we proceeded to Waterton Lakes National Park. Glacier and Waterton share a lot in common, although the canadian side was definitely less developed. The center of the park consists mainly of a small town, where we obtained advise on what hikes we should try. After considering the advice from the park rangers, we decided to hike the Lower Bertha Falls trail.
After starting the hike, the weather immediately took a turn for the worse. It began to rain and the temperature dropped. I was certainly relieved I had brought my rain gear! It was unfortunately wet enough that I couldn’t take an abundance of photos. This was a real shame, considering how inspiring the landscape was. The bluest lakes surrounded by the most rugged mountains.
Soon, however, the rain dissipated. We continued our hike back from the falls, with a surprising amount of wildlife coming out of hiding! Our only Canadian hike of the trip was completed with a fitting greeting of a bald eagle, flying directly overhead!
Mountain Weather
Thursday, July 18
Piece of advice: in the mountains, be flexible. The next day the weather turned against us, preventing us from doing the Grinnell Glacier hike, one of the highest touted hikes in the park.
Instead, we took the opportunity to ride the shuttle along the Going-to-the-sun road and exploring the park. This was a good call, as shortly after arriving at the Logan Pass visitor center half way through the route it began to sleet and rain intensely. Although this was less than comfortable to stand in, it made for some excellent photos! One of my favorite mountains, Heaven’s Peak, was excellently framed by the weather. I managed to snap a great picture right as some light broke through the clouds and landed on the summit. Stylistically, I really couldn’t decide whether I liked this image in color or black and white, so I’ve included both!
The Group Shrinks
Friday, July 19
It’s a shame how bad the weather’s timing was. The very next day Katelyn and my brothers had to leave to head back to Nebraska. This left me and my parent’s to enjoy the rest of the hiking on our own!
After moving camp to the west side of the park, the first thing we noticed was how much more forested it was. The west side felt far more like a classic national park camping ground.
Grinnell Glacier Trail
Saturday, July 20
The thing about long hikes in the mountains is that you need to ensure you can get off the mountain by noon. This is a safety precaution, as thunderstorms usually roll in after noon. Since some of these hikes can take in excess of 6 hours, this means an early morning. This was no exception to the rule. We awoke at 4:30am and drove the entire distance of the going-to-the-sun road and north to the Many Glacier area of the park.
That early start was well worth it. The hiking was intensely beautiful, and deservingly challenging.
The hike consisted of a short trip around two small lakes followed by a steep climb on a rocky ridge. From this ridge you are granted stunning views of the surrounding lakes, including Grinnell lake itself.
This trail was especially rewarding at the end.
I can’t speak highly enough of this trail. It was easily one of the coolest hikes I’ve ever done, right up there with Angel’s landing.
Mountain Goats!
Sunday, July 21
After such a long and challenging hike we took advantage of the next day to sleep in. After a proper breakfast, we drove to the shuttle stop and rode up to the Logan Pass visitor center. From here, we took the short hike to the hidden lake overlook. This hike was well worth the effort, not just for the views of the scenery and lake, but because a herd of mountain goats happened to be there at the time. These guys made for some excellent photos!
The hidden lake itself was closed to visitors due to bear activity. Although we couldn’t see any bears from the overlook, the view was far from dissapointing.
Avalanche Lake
Monday, July 22
If you think we’d be done hiking at this point, you’re wrong! We did yet another hike the next day, this time a shorter trek to Avalanche Lake. The hike was fairly easy, short, and the titular lake was unique, with several glacial waterfalls feeding it continuously.
The Highline
Tuesday, July 23
After 11 days we had arrived at the final day in the park. Wanting to take full advantage of our time, my Mom and I decided to hike the highline trail. The highline is the highest rated trail in the park, running along “The Garden Wall” mountain ridge, and leading to the Granite Park Chale. We’re fortunate to have had the opportunity to hike it, as it was closed when we arrived at the park, opening just days before we had a chance to do it.
The trail provided fantastic views of the mountain range and heaven’s peak, as well as a surprising amount of wildlife!
This was an excellent hike. I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to hike with my Mom along the “crown of the continent”.
