Travel Blog #11: Glacier National Park Day 1

Glacier National Park is in my opinion the most underrated of all the parks we’ve visited. I never really investigated it since it’s so far north, and honestly even when my family lived out west, there was no real desire to spend any time in Montana. I can now honestly say Glacier is not “Montana” but a whole separate world that just happens to be inside the borders of Big Sky Country. At this point of the trip, I was willing to spend the money to stay inside the park and catch sunrise/sunset regardless of cost. There wasn’t really an option we could find last minute so we stayed about 40 minutes outside the west entrance of the park in Whitefish at The Pine Lodge on Whitefish River. They had THE best breakfast bar of all the places we stayed. There are only so many mornings you can eat the same eggs, sausage/bacon, and biscuits before you settle for a bowl of oatmeal and a banana. My traveler tip for this day is make sure you fill your tank in town. When we were there, it was $0.40/gal less than even a few miles down the road on the way into the park. Tip number two: you will need to get a pass in advance to travel the Going to the Sun Road during peak season, but there are plenty available.

The morning we left was a gloomy overcast day with a 100% chance of rain. I had saved film for this particular situation. It’s a black and white roll repurposed from old ATM machines called Street Candy. It is super grainy and not very contrasty, making every picture have the vintage appearance I really wanted for this morning. I did take some digital as well, and I will post them later in a photo dump update. Since our first stop in the park was the main lodge at Lake McDonald, I wanted to capture everything to look the way someone visiting in the 1940’s would bring home with them. The lake in the morning was perfectly still as a loon settled in to fish for its breakfast. Meanwhile the snow melt was rapidly dumping the winter’s haul through the coldest stream I’ve ever voluntarily walked through.

The lodge was amazing as well. Walking into the lobby felt as though nothing has changed since it was constructed and decorated for huntsmen and their dogs. There are a lot of tours that start their journey here using the vintage buses we saw driving throughout the park. After admiring them up close we got back on the road as fast as we could to try and avoid crowds. Our plan to be inside the park and to our first trailhead by 8 am was not as successful as we had hoped. Much like Yosemite, there is nowhere near enough parking and there are more people trying to park at the higher profile stops than there are spaces. Fortunately, the views from the road are more than amazing and worth the drive itself.

After leaving the lodge area we headed to what was supposed to be a simple hike. Trail of the Cedars is a well-manicured dirt trail and boardwalk. It’s an easy trail and only a little over a mile for the full loop. It feels like a very typical Montana forest, beautiful and dense but plenty of foot traffic so you never feel isolated. About halfway through this loop is a breakout for the trail to Avalanche Lake. By the time we got there it was already raining and we foolishly made the decision to skip it for now and come back on our way back down the mountain. Please do not make this mistake. Pack a poncho, water and snacks. Finding a parking spot once is hard, finding another later is almost impossible.  

As we made our way up the mountain the views were getting exponentially more awe inspiring. It was difficult not to stop at every pullout and gander, but we wanted to make it to the top before it got too busy. This is a good time to mention that any time after 7:00 am is busy at Logan’s Pass (the main stop in the middle of the park). We did stop at the Heaven’s Peak switchback as well as multiple other pull-offs. The highlight of the trip going east was a rest area. They built the restroom into the side of the mountain providing plenty of parking and ample views of the valley. This was also the cleanest, best ventilated restroom in the entire park, including “civilized” bathrooms, so be sure to stop and stretch your legs a bit while you enjoy the views and eat lunch. There was also a friendly marmot begging for food and attention while we were there.

After spending a couple hours on the road to the top of the mountain we arrived at the Logan Pass visitors center parking lot. It was around 11:00 am, and we were late apparently. We circled the parking lot for at least 30 minutes along with a couple dozen of other drivers doing the same. People were creating their own spots along curbs, and there were others that just gave up and drove down the mountain to other pullouts within walking distance. There was at least one hike we wanted to do here, but the frustration of trying to find a spot forced us to give up and head back down the mountain, vowing to do it the first thing on day two in the park. We did see a mountain goat and her baby at one of the lookouts, so not all was lost. As we headed back down, we made two final stops for the day. Red Rocks was the easier of the two and was a lovely stop we hadn’t planned on. It’s right on the roadside with a small set of steps to get down to an overlook of a beautiful set of rapids and falls with rock outcroppings. You can also step off the trail and scramble down to get into the water without much effort. We spent some time just relaxing and checking it out before we headed to our last stop of the day…Avalanche Lake.

As I mentioned before, finding a parking spot a second time in a high traffic area was abysmal. We circled for 30 minutes, in multiple lots, multiple times. I felt like giving up and we sat in the car in a one-way loop until finally someone had enough for their day, replacing them instantly. Did I feel like I was prepared to physically fight someone if they tried to take that spot? Yes. I am convinced I would have thrown hands at that point. Thankfully the hike was worth it, and I’m glad I don’t need to do it again. The hike itself was difficult: rough trail, rocks, logs, roots, and elevation change. It was 2 miles one way and I wanted to believe the end result was worth it. It was. I don’t have anything to write about Avalanche Lake. These photos say it better, so here you go….

We ended the day by stopping near the park entrance for ice cream at Eddies café and gift shop in Apgar Village. We heard from so many people it was a must do, so I assumed it was probably one of those overrated tourist things. It wasn’t though. They make very good ice cream and after spending 4 hours on the most difficult trail we had been on this year I was very happy sitting, eating a “single” of Huckleberry ice cream. Unless you’re a teenage boy, a single is enough, even if I don’t know you, a single is enough.