Location: Glacier National Park is located in the northwestern corner of Montana U.S.A
About:  Glacier is joined by Canada's Waterton National Park to form the Glacier-Waterton International Peace park.  Glacier Nat'l Park was formed through glacial activity and still has many glaciers within the park.
Official National Park Service URL:  http://www.nps.gov/glac
Map: http://www.nps.gov/glac/pphtml/maps.html
Time of year visited:  Late July 2003
Elevation:  Bowman Lake parking lot: 4050 ft/1234m, Max elevation near Hole-in-the-wall Spur trail: 6882 ft/2097m.
Locations within park photographed:  Going to the Sun Road, Logan Pass Hidden Lake trail, Bowman Lake to Brown Pass backcountry trail
Route Map

Map source:  US National Park Service Glacier N.P maps

Travelogue:

Day one:  Glacier Going to the Sun Road

Glacier is the photographer's favorite park in the U.S. National Park system.  The beautiful flora and fauna set against a backdrop of rugged peaks and valleys carved out by glaciers over the millennia offers a truly unique park experience.

We visited the park in July, which, along with August, is the peak time of the year to visit the park.  Many of the backcountry trails will be clear of snow, though exceptionally wet winters could mean snow can be found in the higher elevations of the park even in August. 

The park has a single 2 lane road that crosses east to west, known as the Going-to-the-Sun road.  This is a spectacular drive that offers great views of several valleys, rivers, streams, waterfalls and mountain peaks.  During the peak season traffic can be backed up on this road, and finding locations to pull off to enjoy the scenery can be challenging.  Best tip is to be patient or, for a more relaxing experience, use one of the park's open top shuttles that will transport you across the park.

We arrived in Glacier the day before we were planning to start our 4 night backcountry stay.  We booked our campground reservations in advance and came in the day before to pick up our permits, and to finalize our reservations.  Finalization must be completed by 10:00 a.m the day of your backcountry departure or risk forfeiture of the reservation.  Backpackers are required to watch a 15 minute video on backcountry safety as Glacier is populated by black bears, grizzly bears and mountain lions.

We chose to drive up to the Logan Pass visitor center that afternoon and walk up to the Hidden lake overlook for some sunset pictures.  The late afternoon drive was quiet as we were there on a weekday and traffic tends to lighten up in the evenings.  The hidden lake overlook trail is about 1 mile/1.6 kilometers long, and starts at the Logan pass visitor center and gently climbs about 950 feet/290 meters
 

The trail takes you through a sub-alpine  zone, so there is little tree coverage. What few trees that do grow at this level are small and certainly offer no shade except to small creatures.  The harsh sub-alpine conditions keep the trees from growing to large heights, though there are a few sparse stands near the top of the trail that has managed to eek out a reasonable height.  When we visited there was still substantial amounts of snow and ice on the trail, so good sturdy shoes (not sandals or tennis shoes) are recommended.

Along the trail you will commonly see mountain goats.  They are medium sized animals, roughly 3 - 4 feet (1 - 1.25  meters) tall at the shoulder.  They are use to humans, though you should still try to stay clear of them, especially around mothers with their young.   Its not uncommon to have to move to the side to allow a group of mountain goats to pass by on the trail.   It's also not uncommon to see them loitering about the parking lot of the visitor center looking for scraps of food.  For the protection of the animals, please do not feed the mountain goats or any other animals within the park. 

Bighorn sheep can also be found along the trail, though perhaps not as frequently as the mountain goats.  During our trip, we encountered both mountain goats and big horn sheep.  The bighorn sheep kept further away from the trail than the mountain goats. 

 

 

Day Two:  Bowman Lake Head Campground

For our backcountry experience, we chose to visit a part of the park we've never been to before, the north western corner of the park.  We chose the Bowman Lake to Brown Pass trail for our visit.  When we arrived at the backcountry office, we were informed that one of the other campgrounds in the Brown Pass area (Hole-in-the-Wall campground) was closed due to grizzly bear activity.  This added for a bit of excitement and trepidation to the trip.  We've seen grizzlies from the relative safety of our vehicles before, but the potential for a backcountry encounter is not something we look forward to.

Getting to the Bowman Lake trailhead requires you to travel 25 miles/40 km up mostly dirt roads to the north western entrance to the park at Polebridge, and then 6 miles/9.5km more to Bowman Lake.  There is tent and trailer camping at Bowman Lake for those looking for a change from the other more frequented campgrounds at Apgar, St Mary's or Many Glacier.

Starting off at Bowman Lake, we hiked roughly 6.5 miles/10.5 km to the Bowman Lake head campground.  This campground is accessible via canoe if you are equipped.  The hike was relatively flat though there are certainly areas that offer reasonable short climbs and descents.  The trail was clear of vegetation and debris when we visited. 

We stayed the first night in the Bowman Lake campground and was treated to a nice quiet evening, though there were 2 or 3 other groups in the campground that night.  Numa creek flows through the campground and separates the campsites into two groups.  Backcountry campers in Glacier, as well as other parks frequented by bears, require that food be hung from poles during the night.  Food should NOT be stored in your sleeping area, nor should you eat in your sleeping area.  Food odors attract wild animals and you certainly don't want a visit from a bear in the middle of the night in you campground.  A separate food preparation area is set off from the campsites and makes for a nice opportunity to visit with other campers.  Fires were also allowed at the Bowman Lake campground, which is rare for backcountry camp sites.  Check with the ranger to make sure fires are allowed during your stay.

Day Three:  Bowman Lake to Brown Pass

The second day we started for Brown Pass, where we would stay for 2 nights.  The hike to Brown Pass is 5.6 miles/9 km long and gains 2150 feet/655 meters.  The end of this hike is a particularly steep where the last 1.5 miles you gain 1750 ft /530 meters .  The trail was fairly crowed with vegetation at the lower elevations, so early morning dew can make for a wet experience.  The climb to Brown Pass was strenuous with a full pack, but a treat, especially in the cleared areas where you could see Hole-in-the-Wall falls and the surrounding mountains.

Upon arrival at Brown Pass, we setup camp and began to eat dinner.  The campground is set within a stand of trees.  The 'outhouse' at this campground and elsewhere on the trail is a pit toilet with no surrounding structure, just a toilet seat in the middle of all Glacier's beauty. So going to the bathroom can be an interesting experience.

The mosquitoes were very very thick during our stay.  Bring lots of bug repellent.    Though it's tempting to escape to your tent to avoid the mosquitoes and eat there, remember, that is a bad idea.  It also appeared that there normally was a creek flowing very near the campground, but when we visited it was dry.  Thus we had to go back down the trail about 1/4 mile to get water.  This actually offered an escape from the mosquitoes a bit and provided a nice view down the valley toward Bowman Lake.  Thunderbird mountain is also clearly visible from this location.

Day Four:  Brown Pass to Lake Francis and Hole-in-the-Wall

The next day we took the small day packs that came with our our main packs and went on a day hike down to Lake Francis.  This was a nice leisurely walk down of about 1.8 miles/2.8 km into the valley on the other side of Brown Pass, with a drop of about 875 ft/265 meters.  The many switchbacks were full of wildflowers near the peak of their bloom.  We encountered a white tail deer on the trail, and once we reached the melt pond near the bottom of the valley, a moose was seen walking through the water. My camera was only equipped with a 200mm lens, so getting a good close-up was hard.  The moose saw us and eventually wandered off into the woods. 

We traveled along a little further to the Lake Francis cutoff, and dropped down a couple hundred feet to the lake. The trail actually continues on toward Goat Haunt, which is accessible by boat from the Waterton side of the park.  Those wishing to be picked up in Goat Haunt need to make arrangements before leaving.

The view at Lake Francis was amazing.  Immediately across the lake was a set of falls coming pouring into the pristine blue green lake.  The lake, also fed by a rapidly flowing stream, was very very cold.  It hurt to just put my feet and ankles in the water.  My wife, being a little bit more crazy than I, stripped down to here underwear and jumped in.  I was worried I was going to have to go in after her if she went into shock due to the cold, however she wasn't in the water very long, but came out feeling refreshed.  We had the lake mostly to ourselves for a couple of hours, before another small group arrived.  A campground is at this lake for those wishing to stay.

On the return trip up to Brown Pass, we noticed strange wispy clouds blowing in from the West.  Once we reached the top, we could see that there clearly was a fire burning several miles away.  We ran into a ranger at Brown Pass and he indicated a fire had started outside of the park and was not a threat to us.  He also indicated that hole-in-the-wall campground was now open.  We decided, with the extra daylight we still had, to walk up to the Hole-in-the-wall spur trail (1.5 miles/2.4 km from Brown Pass) to check it out.  For those wishing to make a loop, you can continue on around the basin up to Boulder Pass and on to Kintla Lake. Note, that boulder pass is at a higher elevation than Brown Pass.  During years of wet winters, ice axes may be recommended for snow field traversal.  Check with the ranger before departure.

The walk up to Hole-in-the-wall was a continuous climb, but not near as steep as coming up to Brown Pass.  The area surrounding the trail was populated with wildflowers and blooming bear grass.  Upon arriving, we were greeted with one of the most amazing areas we'd ever seen.  The small basin at the foot of the mountains had several streams running into it, before combining and rolling off the edge of the cliff to create the falls.  Hole-in-the-wall campground is the reportedly the most remote campground in the park, and judging by the view, probably one of the most beautiful.  Next time I visit, I will definitely stay in the basin.

By this time the smoke from the fire was starting to darken the sky more.  We returned to our campground at Brown Pass, stayed another night, and then started back down to Bowman Lake the next day.  We reached Bowman Lake mid afternoon and spent the rest of the day relaxing by the lake, taking a nap on the small pebbled and rock covered shore.  A group of backpackers we ran into earlier had canoed into the campground and left their canoe on the shore.  The light of the sun was tinted by the smoke that was growing thicker and starting to reduce visibility.

Day Five:  Brown Pass to Trailhead

The next day, we packed up and hiked back out to our car.  The return trip went much faster as we were certainly carrying much less weight than when we started.  We returned to our vehicle and on the way out of the park, we stopped in Polebridge.  There is a small store, restaurant and bakery there that makes fresh breads with various cheeses, peppers or fruits added.  This treat after several days of dehydrated foods was very welcome.

Fortunately, we did not encounter any bears, but did get to enjoy the scenery and more docile wildlife within the park.  Glacier will always remain my favorite park, and one day we will return again for another backcountry trip.

For more photos from this trip,  browse the complete Glacier gallery