Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park ranks among the other national park classics such as Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon.  The only place in the lower 48 states where grizzly bears still roam in abundance.  Can you imagine how nervous I get when Andrew goes hiking?

The 50 mile scenic paved road in the park, the Going-to-the Sun-Road, goes through the main part of the park but RVs the size of ours are not allowed on this road after the first 6 miles.  The park provides buses large and small to take people from spot to spot.  The Going-to-the Sun-Road is considered by many to be one of the world’s most spectacular highways with huge drop offs and fantastic views of peaks and glaciers.  It is certainly the finest in America.  The road climbs from the fringe of the Great Plains to the Continental Divide and then drops into the rainforests of the McDonald Valley in the park.  In Glacier NP the Continental Divide not only separates Pacific and Atlantic watersheds but also forms a climatic divide.  Roadworks are always in progress in the park as the snow takes a harsh toll on these roads and the season is very short.

We hiked the 3 mile round trip Hidden Lake overlook nature trail which begins with a boardwalk and climbs steadily up to the lower glaciers and finally overlooks Hidden Lake.  The track from the overlook down to the lake was closed the day we were there as 3 grizzlies were fishing at the lake.

Here is a panorama shot at the overlook.

Campgrounds are hard to get into during July-August.  At the first come first served Many Glacier campground we were lucky to grab a site at just before 7.00am.  By 7.30am all were gone.  You feel as if you have won the lottery settling into your basic $20 a night campsite among the trees and having breakfast.

Andrew met a fellow Australian from Howard Springs, Darwin who is as keen a hiker as he is.  The two of them went off on a serious hike lasting 6 hours and were gone for the day leaving me at Many Glacier campground in Glacier NP for the entire day.  But I was delighted that Andrew was not alone in case he came across a grizzly bear.

Panorama of the Grinnell Glacier that Andrew and Paul hiked to.

Many Glacier Lake.

Dawn at the lake.

Pitamakan Pass where Andrew and Paul hiked.  Below is the panorama shot.