First Snowfall, Glacier East

After spending four days on the west side of Glacier National Park in mid-September, we moved on to the east side. We’d had sunny and warm weather, but after our arrival at St. Mary’s, it soon cooled down and clouded over, and by the following day, it was raining, with snow falling at higher elevations… Did that have to cut our stay short? I don’t think it should have, but it did. Between Bob’s aversion to snow, and the anxious park rangers, who were eager to vacate our loop at the campground, since berry-hungry bears were spotted too frequently for their comfort, we only ended up spending 3 days.

Hiking to Hidden Lake Overlook should not be missed. The day was gray and the wind blustery, but viewing increasingly incredible vistas with every foot of elevation gain made this hike completely worth it. I’d been hesitant to hike alone in a park famous (and sometimes infamous) for bears, but the steady stream of people on this popular trail encouraged me to go for it. Bob decided to wait at Logan Visitor Center, perusing their fine selection of books. But once I got started on the trail, I wished he would’ve done a little of it, because this is one of those hikes that rewards you with every step you take.

The eastern half of Going-to-the-Sun Road is if anything, more spectacular than the western half. St. Mary Lake is about as long as Lake McDonald (on the west side), but skinnier. The road follows its northern shore for 10 miles, with pullouts to view Wild Goose Island, narrow Sunrift Gorge and the short trail to St. Mary Falls. Jackson Glacier Overlook is one of the few places where a living glacier can be viewed from afar, right from the roadside.

It was on the east side we spotted the most wildlife. Bears apparently were all around us in the campground, but we were gone most of the time, so never actually saw one there. Up above Going-to-the-Sun Road in a thicket of bushes and berries, we spied a mama black bear and her two big cubs, far enough away to require binoculars, and just a bit too far for our not-so-powerful zoom lenses. Also viewed: big horn sheep and mountain goats.

Snow was our final highlight. I loved it, but Bob was ready to roll.

Quick Tips:

While planning your Glacier trip, there are some very cool websites that will not only give you great information, but are downright entertaining. National Park Service’s Glacier Multimedia pages include webcam pages that run all year, revealing snow much of the time, and even sometimes wildlife. Want to take a casual stroll or power hike without putting on your hiking boots? Check out Glacier’s e-hike page. An excellent and comprehensive Glacier overview from a climber’s perspective can be found at Summitpost.org.

A narrow window of time limits activities in the park. Sudden storms are always a possibility in these mountains and valleys, even in mid-summer. In 2006, Going-to-the-Sun Road didn’t open fully until June 23rd. More often it opens in the first part of June, and closes in October. Glacier Park itself remains open all year. Although roads close to motorized vehicles, hikers and bicyclists are almost always allowed in. Snowplowing progress can be checked on the daily update plowing page once road clearing begins in the Spring. Concessions, boat rides, and outdoor naturalist programs go full-bore in summer, less in shoulder season. Best times for wildflowers are late June to early August; a few late-blooming stragglers were still out mid-September at the higher elevations. Best time for Fall colors is late September to mid-October.

Grizzlies and black bears thrive in Glacier Park. Statistically speaking, a visitor to Glacier is much less likely to be harmed by a bear than to run off the road distracted by the superlative views. Of the almost two million visitors to the park yearly, one or two are attacked by a bear each year. In almost all instances, it is because they have inadvertently surprised the bear.

If attacked, dropping to the ground face-down, protecting the back of your neck with arms/hands/backpack may reduce injury. Due to the difference in nature between grizzlies and black bears, and also the fact that every bear is an individual with its own history and character, there are no pat, easy answers about how best to respond to a bear encounter. Bear Attacks, their Causes and Avoidance by Stephen Herrero made fascinating reading on a cold day next to the fireplace at Glacier Lodge. If nothing else, realize that these creatures demand the utmost respect. The National Park Service provides these tips.

Best Way To Get Around:

Getting there: Tucked away in the Northwest corner of Montana, the nearest Interstates are the I-90, 158 miles south (Missoula), and the I-15, 173 miles east (Great Falls). Rather surprisingly, Glacier Park has its own international airport. Five major airlines and Montana’s Big Sky provide daily flights from hubs such as Seattle, Boise, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, Calgary, even Phoenix, and soon Chicago and Denver.

From the Great Lake states or the Pacific Northwest, Amtrak’s Empire Builder stops daily at both East Glacier and West Glacier. Greyhound bus stops at nearby Kalispell and Whitefish, but not in Browning or on the east side.

Getting around while there: Most people drive their own car or rent one. If you’re in an RV, it’s important to realize that Going-to-the-Sun Road is restricted to vehicles no larger than 21 feet long, 10 feet high, and 8 feet wide. Rehabilitation of Going-to-the-Sun Road began in 2006 and will continue through 2007. "Short traffic delays" are expected during peak summer months, with accelerated work (and longer delays or closures) during shoulder seasons. The alternative route from one side of the park to the other is much longer but also quite scenic Highway 2, skirting the southern boundaries between Glacier Park and Flathead and Lewis and Clark National Forests.

A brand new transit center is planned to open in Apgar summer 2007. During summer, concessionaire Glacier Park Inc. runs the famous convertible red buses, as well as an extensive system of shuttles, for hikers, Expresses, and in the Two Medicine area.

The Blackfeet Nation runs Sun Tours, a cultural tour across Going-to-the-Sun Road from east to west and back. Blackfeet guides narrate the all-day tour from a 25-passenger coach, emphasizing history and cultural values.

A General Delivery mail pickup at the post office brought us to East Glacier village on the Blackfeet Reservation. As it turned out, it was fortunate that we forgot to pick it up on the way to St. Mary, because there’s lots to see and enjoy in this little town that we might have missed otherwise. Walking on the main street through town, I almost succumbed to the huge pieces of pie in the window of a hole-in-the-wall diner, but Bob didn’t want any right then. Glad of it, because if he had, we wouldn’t have eaten at Glacier Park Lodge that evening.

Great Northern Steak and Rib House at historic Glacier Park Lodge, its window tables with Glacier peak views, is open May-September for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Already hungry from the pie I didn’t get to eat, it was easy to work up an appetite wandering around Glacier Park Lodge, outside in the gardens, then indoors, buying books at the gift shop. Somehow, weird as it sounds, reading a book about bears eating people in front of the blazing fireplace didn’t spoil my appetite.

The restaurant is at one end of the huge high-ceilinged lodge. A blackboard easel advertised tonight’s dinner specials, beginning at 5:30 PM. The dining room is attractive, with glossy hardwood floors, rough log beams, and Western décor. A huge brick fireplace hung with old skillets, big black cooking pot sitting on the hearth, and antique hutches and other furnishings create a homey feel.

We were first in line when Great Northern opened. Since they don’t take reservations, we got our pick of tables, and selected a windowside table with a fine view of Dancing Lady Mountain and other further-away peaks, enshrouded in mists. We were pleasantly surprised to find most of the dinner entrees, including barbecued steaks and pork ribs, between $15-20. Broiled rainbow trout with crab and shrimp stuffing was the tantalizing special, but we selected to split their combo dinner: beef brisket, barbecued pork ribs, and smoked sausage, served with cornbread, coleslaw, and ranch beans. Cost: $22.95.

While gazing out over the back lawns of the lodge to the misty mountains, we sipped White Zinfandel, and munched on delicious freshly baked buns. We each ordered tossed green salads and soups du jours, a light tasty cream of vegetable soup. With all that, the big combo dinner was more than enough for us both, the meats very tender, topped with sauces and onions.

The Great Northern has some unique special drinks. Among them, non-alcoholic Red Jammer sodas, choice of root beer or crème soda. For something fruitier with a kick, their huckleberry house drinks feature daiquiris, margaritas, and martinis, all livened up with blends, splashes and dollops of huckleberries. But it was cold outside; we wanted something to further warm our stomachs. Chief Mountain Nudge is a delectable concoction of brandy, kahlua, crème de cacao and coffee, topped with whipped cream, a perfect ending to a superb meal.

St. Mary Campground was virtually deserted when we arrived. We began circling the lowest of its three loops, Loop A. A few smaller units (campers, tents) were interspersed among the aspen. As we completed the loop, a ranger appeared and suggested we try Loop C, with larger spaces, where most of the bigger rigs park. Indeed, there were four big units on the high side of the loop, but the choicest spot with the best views was untaken. Not for long, as we quickly pulled into it!

A mile inside the park from the small resort town of St. Mary and ½ mile past St. Mary Visitor Center, St. Mary Campground is the biggest campground on the east side with 148 sites. C-Loop borders the Blackfeet Reservation on the east; the leaning log teepee fence boundary was across from our site, C138.

The Visitor Center is well worth checking out. Here you can learn about the glaciation processes that formed these valleys and mountains, view geological and natural history displays, and Blackfeet Indian cultural presentations in summer. Don’t miss Two Worlds at Two Medicine, an excellent 35-minute video about Blackfeet perspectives on Lewis and Clark, shown on request.

Though RV length limit was listed as 35 feet, most of the motor homes in C-Loop appeared longer. It’s best to reserve a site if you’re coming in July or August, because the campground fills up completely many nights. Sites include picnic tables, fire rings, and some have bear-proof food lockers, though we didn’t see any nearby on our loop. Food, beverages, and coolers must be stored in closed hard-sided vehicles or available food lockers, day and night. This is taken very seriously, as a bear that gets familiarized to people-food is often a doomed bear. Rangers will not hesitate to slap a $50 fine on campers violating food and garbage regulations.

Glacier campgrounds have some special rules different from other national park campgrounds. Generator use is more restricted. We hadn’t read everything yet our first evening, and were quickly notified to cut our generator when we had it running after 7pm. Campground stays are limited to 7 days, not 14.

Restrooms and water spigots are spread around the loops. Cell phone reception (Verizon 3 bars) and satellite Internet were no problem from our space, which was wide open. Groceries, gas, and restaurants are just a couple of miles away in St. Mary town. Though we didn’t spend much time at our campsite, our time there was enhanced by views of St. Mary Lake, Red Eagle, Singleshot, and East Flattop Mountains. We got to see them bare on the last warm day, then dusted with snow after a spectacular late afternoon sky-show of snow clouds drifting among the peaks.

St. Mary Campground is open from late May to late September. The fee rose in 2007 to $17 from $15. With Bob’s Golden Age Passport, we paid half-price. Reservations can be made online at Recreation.gov, or call (800) 365-2267.

Distance: 3 miles round trip – overlook (easy); longer hike, 6 miles round trip to Hidden Lake (moderate).
Elevation gain: 460 feet to overlook; 780 feet descent from overlook to Hidden Lake.

This hike was first recommended to me by a ranger as offering a view of Sperry Glacier, on the north slope of Gunsight Mountain. It’s an easy 1.5 mile hike starting at Logan Pass, behind the visitor center. The trail begins paved, then quickly turns into a well-constructed boardwalk gradually ascending across fragile alpine meadows.

Building of the boardwalk some years ago apparently generated some controversy, but it was a necessity due to the hordes of tourists, who were trampling the meadow into oblivion. Even though signs clearly instruct hikers to remain on the boardwalk, a few still chose to ignore them. Alpine country is like desert, slow to heal from human impact. Several older foot trails paralleling the boardwalk are still visible.

Two glacial horns feature prominently along this hike. Horns are jagged mountains sculpted by multiple glaciers scouring along on different sides, or one glacier encircling a single mountain. Clements Mountain, a horn, is visible if you’re driving from the east, long before arriving at the visitor center. At the end of the boardwalk portion, I am practically standing on its moraine. Reynold Mountain, another horn, looms on the east side of Hidden Lake. Though the lake itself is not in view until the overlook, Mt. Reynolds (9125 feet high) can already be seen from the start of the hike.

I find myself turning around often because the view from where I came becomes increasingly spectacular as I gain elevation. Prominent to the north is the Garden Wall, an imposingly massive arête (French for fishbone), a long jagged ridge that remained after glaciers worked on both of its sides. East of the Garden Wall stand Matahpi Peak and Going-to-the-Sun Mountain, part of the Lewis Range straddling the Continental Divide.

I also find myself looking down at the unusual rocks at my feet, tan, gray-green, and red, fractured and lined, wondering if any of them are stromatolites. These are sedimentary rocks fossilized with ancient cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), possibly over a billion years old.

Although I keep scanning the landscape for wildlife, perhaps there are too many humans around. Another hiker points out a dug up area, speculating it to be a grizzly-digging. I peer around somewhat anxiously and move on quickly, but see no bears.

At the overlook, which is right on the Continental Divide, the wind is gusty but the view of Hidden Lake captivates, and it’s difficult to restrain myself from continuing on down to the lake. Mount Reynolds rises from the entire eastern shoreline of the lake, but squint as I may through my binoculars, it’s too hazy to make out Sperry Glacier, beyond. Cold wind and thoughts of Bob waiting turn me around, back on an easy downhill to the Visitor Center.

We probably wouldn’t have returned to the town of East Glacier Park if it hadn’t been for forgetting to pick up our mail as we were driving through on our way up. Since we’re full time RVers, we notify our mail delivery service whenever we want our mail sent to us, General Delivery. We were so intent on getting to our destination, our omission didn’t even occur to us until the following day. As it had turned overcast and rainy, it wasn’t much of an outdoors day anyway, so we headed back down the 33 miles to East Glacier Park.

After picking up our mail, we parked along the main street through East Glacier Park, Highway 2. At the colorful gateway that is the boundary between the Blackfeet Reservation and Glacier National Park, we saw the sign we’d missed on the way up. The one advising against rigs as big as ours taking the Highway 49 "shortcut" to St. Mary. Also called Looking Glass Road, it ascends Looking Glass Hill past the Two Medicine area of Glacier Park, before steeply descending down to Kiowa on Highway 89. Though the scenery was great, at 38 feet plus towing our Hyundai, we were WAY too big for this road. Bob was white-knuckling it on the steering wheel, as I was biting my nails next to him. Over 32-feet long rigs/combos should NOT attempt this road.

East Glacier Park is divided into two parts, east of the railroad tracks (Blackfeet Country) and west of the railroad tracks (Glacier National Park). On the Blackfeet side of the aforementioned gateway stands one of four Blackfeet sentries, on horseback with spear held high, created by metal sculptor Jay Laber. Other sentries guard north, east, and south. Interpretive signs tell about Blackfeet history and culture, and the unfortunate confrontation between Meriwether Lewis (of Lewis and Clark) and a group of Piegan Blackfeet youth, on July 26th, 1806. Two of the young Blackfeet were killed by the Lewis party, who believed they were trying to steal their horses. The Blackfeet version of what transpired differs somewhat.

On the east side of Highway Two you’ll find numerous businesses, colorful even on this dreary gray day. Dancing Bears Inn (motel), log-style Laundromat with showers, Trailhead Saloon, Blue Buffalo Pizza, Old Goat Traders, Two Medicine Grill, and Glacier Park Trading Company. On a sidestreet, Backpackers Inn ($10 per night) and Serrano’s Mexican Food in an East Glacier Park historic 1909 building – renovated of course!
Two Medicine Grill was the place that came close to enticing me inside with its fresh pies… Alas, if only we’d had another day.

Across the highway from all the businesses stands the log and wood-siding 1913-built East Glacier Park Railroad Station. It was built in the same Swiss alpine rustic style as Glacier Park Lodge, west from the station across lawns and gardens. Amtrak’s Empire Builder makes daily stops here all summer long. Though the station was closed, peering into the windows reveals a well-preserved interior with hardwood floors, wooden benches, and wall displays.

Glacier Park Lodge was and is the first and grandest of the four lodges and nine Swiss-style chalets built here by Great Northern Railway. All four lodges still stand, but only three of the chalets are still in operation: Belton Chalet in West Glacier, and Granite Park and Sperry Chalets, accessible only by trail in Glacier National Park. Glacier Park Lodge opened in 1913. Its cavernous lobby is framed by 40-feet high Douglas fir pillars.

The gardens around the lodge were fading at end-of-season, but riveting in its intensity was another metal sculpture of an Indian with braids and feet flying, across the drive from the entrance. Traditional totem poles and a stiff wooden Indian braced against a log pillar watch the proud dancing metal warrior, tomahawk raised, visage defiant.

Indoors, visitors are gathered around the big blazing fireplace at one end of the lobby. A white mountain goat stands stuffed on a rock inside a glass cage. More cutting-edge metal art outside the bookshop. I wander inside and pick out a couple of books to leaf through in front of the fireplace. Before I sit down though, I look at the displays about the park, hotels, Rocky the mountain goat, and Gladys Johnson’s 1926-27 adventures in the park. But before long, I’m lost in the world of black bears and grizzlies, in Stephen Herrero’s fascinating book about them.

An enjoyable, tasty and relaxing meal at Great Northern Steak and Rib House at the opposite end from my reading fireplace (but with a comparable fireplace of its own) made a great ending to our day at East Glacier Park.

The eastern portion of the famed Going-to-the-Sun Road is where you really get to see what glaciers are capable of. Their awesome icy power is now mostly a thing of the past in this park named for them. Remnants of much larger glaciers can be viewed from Going-to-the-Sun Road, at Jackson Glacier Overlook, and Sperry Glacier from Hidden Lake Overlook, 1.5 miles up a trail from Logan Visitor Center.

Glaciers are basically rivers of ice that are born when there is more snowfall every winter than melts every summer, compacting into ice. A hard brittle surface layer overlies a more flexible underlayer of ice, which due to the immense pressure above it, the angle of the mountainside, and gravity, begins to move, becoming a glacier. Glacier Park’s glaciers, though ancient by human standards, are all geologically young, born in the Little Ice Age. This period of cooling and glacial advancement, mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, began somewhere between 1250 and 1450, and ended in the mid-1800s. Since then, glaciers worldwide have been receding. In 1968, the USGS listed 34 glaciers in Glacier Park; currently there are 27.

How do glaciers carve and sculpt the landscape? These rivers of ice are filled with rocks and gravel that grind and scour like sandpaper, creating broad U-shaped valleys, sharp peaks, and cirque lakes. The piles of rocks and debris on the sides and in front of glaciers are called moraines. Horns are pointy peaks, and arêtes long narrow ridges, both formed by glacial flow. Hanging valleys were formed by glacial tributaries moving down side-canyons, and often contain waterfalls.

Contributing to the spectacular nature of Glacier Park’s scenery is the Lewis Overthrust, a much older geological feature caused by the collision of two tectonic plates 170 million years ago, giving birth to the Lewis and Livingston Ranges of the Rocky Mountains, in Canada and Montana. The upper Precambrian rocks on this long eastward-moving thrust fault are 1300 million years old, covering younger softer Cretaceous rocks underneath.

Clouds formed a uniform, hazy and somewhat drab overcast on the morning we took off from St. Mary Campground to drive the eastern portion of the Going-to-the-Sun Road, not an optimal day for viewing or photography, but our last day at Glacier. There are numerous pullouts to park and view the surroundings, and we took our time doing so.

Oft-photographed Wild Goose Island at the western end of Lake St. Mary is a tiny picturesque islet growing a few spruce and fir trees, presumably a landing or nesting place for wild geese. The islet sits pretty with a dramatic backdrop of glacial peak after peak.

Sunrift Gorge pullout is a must-stop for some very easy walks to a narrow gorge and waterfalls. The trail north of the bridge takes you on a 200-foot walk (40 foot climb) up to narrow Sunrift Gorge, through which Baring creek rushes. South of the bridge, walk past the grizzly-bear warning/fire hazard signs 1/3 mile down (100 feet) to 40-foot Baring Falls. A bit further up the road, at the St. Mary Falls trailhead, you can hike to two more waterfalls, St. Mary Falls, 0.8 miles and 260 feet down, and Virginia Falls, another 0.7 miles and 285 feet up.

Jackson Glacier overlook provides impressive views of one of Glacier Parks remaining 27 glaciers. A young couple next to me were delighted to learn from the interpretive sign that the "ice began its retreat in 1860." "See, this proves it: global warming is bunk; SUV’s have nothing to do with it. It was already happening before there were cars!" I bite my tongue, guardedly roll my eyes, and think better of saying anything.

Past wide-open glacial vistas, over bridges built of park rocks, under the late-summer trickle of Cataract Creek which passes under the road, and passing through a tunnel, we make our way up to Logan Pass. Roadwork is in progress. We’re pleased to see they’re using portable solar cells to operate a temporary stoplight.

Logan Pass Visitor Center has natural history displays, good selections of books and posters, and rangers to answer questions. But I’m eager to begin my hike to Hidden Lake Overlook, 1.5 miles up from the visitor center, also covered in this journal. Bob stays at the center looking through books.

On the way back down from Logan Pass in gathering dusk, we pull over once again to get some more shots of an irresistible vista, when I hear rustling to my left, on the mountain-side of the road. It’s a couple of bighorn sheep, crossing a stream. Soon they look up attentively from where they came, more rustling. Four more bighorns! I watch, enthralled, taking photos and hoping there’s still enough light. Bob, across the street, hasn’t noticed them and I keep quiet, not wanting to scare them. They run off anyway all too soon, but it’s a nice end to our day on Going-to-the-Sun Road.

That night it snows, enough for Logan Pass to close temporarily the following day, and we leave Glacier Park. For up-to-date information on all park roads status, check Glacier National Park’s What’s New section.

For a unique view of Going-to-the-Sun Road and Glacier Park, consider taking Blackfeet Indian run and operated SunTours, also known as the Blackfeet Cultural Tour. On these daily tours that run all summer, Blackfeet Indian guides show visitors historical, natural and cultural features of their Glacier Park homeland, on an all-day round-trip bus tour, east to west to east, with frequent stops and a lunch break at Lake McDonald.