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| On top of Grinnell Glacier overlooking Grinnell Lake |
As the title suggests, if you
haven’t heard of Glacier N.P., do yourself a favour and Google it. It may not
be as well known as Yellowstone or Yosemite, or as popular, but it’s definitely
as good, if not better. In fact maybe that is why we liked it so much, getting away
from the crowds and really finding the ‘hikers’ park.
I call it the ‘hikers’ park
because there are no easy hikes in Glacier. You either see if from the comfort
of your car, or you get off your arse and walk. I would definitely recommend the
latter of these two options. That’s not to say you can’t enjoy it from the road
side, in fact the Going to the Sun Road (GTTSR) is one of its more well know
attractions.
But if you really want to
experience Glacier, you have to clock up the k’s.
The picks of the bunch were
Iceberg Lake and the Garden Wall, both quite gruelling hikes but both brought
back memories of our first foray into this hiking caper – Patagonia. And if
that’s not enough to convince you that Glacier needs to be high on your hit
list, where Patagonia wins in the scenery and serenity department, Glacier is
streaks ahead in the animal category.
The Garden Wall and Iceberg Lake
Throughout our stay in Glacier we
were graced with the presence of two bears doing as they pleased, a moose taking
an ice-cold bath, an owl recovering from a big night on the town, big horn
sheep doing a whole heap of f_ck all, and an up close and personal encounter with
a marmot not really interested in the daily goings on of our lives (that didn’t
stop me trying to tell him anyway). Sadly we missed out on catching the beavers
in action, or getting the grizzly encounter we, or at least I, have been
longing for, but that’s just the way the biscuit falls apart!
Hiking the Garden Wall can be as easy or hard as you want to make it, but again I encourage you to make it as hard as you can endure. Most people tackle Logan’s Pass, which from memory is a sedate 14 miles along the continental divide that gives you incredible views of the valley, all the way down to Lake McDonald and the high country.
The views along Logan's Pass
I would highly recommend fitting in the quick 3 mile round trip out to Hidden Lake just to warm the legs up. Firstly, it’s a boardwalk style hike. Secondly, it’s almost always cold up at Logan’s Pass, so stretching the legs isn’t a bad idea. And thirdly, Hidden Lake is pretty spectacular in its own rights!
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| Hidden Lake |
But if you really want to get the most out of the Garden Wall and Logan’s Pass, at about the half way point of the 14 miles, there is a steep climb up to a view point on top of Grinnell Glacier. And although the hike is steep, windy, gruelling and seems to go on forever, there aren’t too many places in the world where you can practically sit on top of a glacier.
Oh and the views down to Grinnell Lake, Lake Josephine, Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Sherburne aren’t too bad...In fact they are probably the pick the lot!
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| View atop Grinnell Glacier |
I think we clocked up close to 30 k’s this day, but if you have it in you, it’s probably the hike of the trip so far. Big call, but I’ll back it in.
Our other favourite hike was out to Iceberg Lake. A little easier only being 10 or 11 miles, but again worth every step. Along the way you pass a few waterfalls, and the scenery really is breath taking, but the lake at the end of it is where the money is at. Much like the Glacier Grey hike in Patagonia, it ends with at an electric blue lake, complete with more icebergs that the Titanic had to navigate – slight stretch there, but truly it is incredible to be able to sit back in the sunshine and just watch these icebergs just float about, whilst trying to work up the courage to take a dip!
That is one of the other best things about Glacier N.P. – most of the lakes are cold but not too cold to swim in. Barring Iceberg Lake, which as the name suggests is slightly on the frigid side of things, the rest are big enough to remain warm enough in the summer months to cool off in after one of those gruelling days on the foot falcon. And they are also cold enough to drop a few tins in, wait half an hour and the sink some pleasantly cold froths as the sun sets of the mountain ranges. And if that doesn’t excite you, I don’t know what would!
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| Sunset beers along the shores of Swiftcurrent Lake |
Sadly, experts are predicting that by 2030 all of the park’s glaciers will have disappeared, and with it one of America’s unsung wonders will melt away with them. So if you’ve got an American National Parks trip planned for the future, make it the near future and you won’t regret it.
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| Logan's Pass Boardwalk |
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