John and I finally got to head off on a much needed week-long vacation to Glacier National Park over Labor Day weekend. This could be our most favorite place in the world and we were excited to take the trip with friends Tiff and Jeremy, who both had never been. We started our journey on Thursday with plans to car camp in Two Medicine Campground, on the eastern side of the park. After a very chilly night that included owl, beaver, and fantastic star sightings near Two Medicine Lake, we got up early the next morning to begin our backcountry adventures. Jeremy spied a black bear on the hillside from the parking lot and I (finally!) got a glimpse of a mountain goat on the same hill. We knew it was going to be an awesome trip!

Ready for backpacking

We began hiking towards our first backcountry campsite—Upper Two Medicine Lake, about 5.5 miles away. It wasn’t long before we heard rumors of a moose nearby, and we quickly hurried to the site so that Tiff and Jeremy could see their very first moose in the wild. She was beautiful! We hiked on, passing Aster Falls, the back end of Two Medicine Lake, mountain goats, terrific scenery, and sunny and warm Twin Falls. The weather was perfect. We arrived at Upper Two Medicine Lake (of course, the views were great!) to learn that a bear had been prowling the campsites the night before. Needless to say, that, combined with the howling wind, did not result in a good night’s sleep.

We woke up the next morning and headed out to our next campsite at No Name Lake, about 3 (steep) miles away. Again, the sun was shining and it was shaping up to be a terrific day. We set up camp and decided to take a day hike up to Dawson’s Pass, about 2 (very steep) miles away. On the way up, the wind started picking up and we learned from other hikers that it was gusting and freezing up at the pass. Of course, that wasn’t going to stop us, so we kept climbing. At the top, the views were amazing! We are guessing the wind gusts were about 80 mph and we took a couple of quick picks and headed back down to avoid being blown away. Our night at No Name Lake was dominated by mountain goat watching—there was a hillside and rock face by the lake where a family of goats was grazing. They are really incredible animals.

Dawson's Pass

We headed back out to the trailhead on Sunday and we could tell the wind was blowing in some nasty weather along the way. We were planning to drive up to the Many Glacier area farther north to car camp because all the lodging was already filled. We arrived at the campground in rain and while the men started setting up camp, the ladies made a quick inquiry at the nearby Swiftcurrent Motor Inn. Luckily, they just had a cancellation and we were able to secure ourselves a small cabin—yay! We cleaned up and headed to Many Glacier Hotel, where we dined, enjoyed local brews, and enjoyed the views (including another moose in Swiftcurrent Lake and grizzly bears on the hillside by the hotel).

Monday morning, Tiff and Jeremy headed back to Moscow, while John and I stayed for a few more days. We decided to do a ~15 mile hike up to Ptarmigan Lake and Tunnel with a side trip to Iceberg Lake. Some nearby trails were closed due to bear activity (now is the time they start chowing down for winter), so we brought along our trusty bear spray. We encountered snow and goats, but no bears on our way up to Ptarmigan Tunnel. On the other side of this man-made tunnel through the mountain, we found Elizabeth Lake—on our 2007 backpacking trip, we camped at the head of Elizabeth Lake. It was fun to see how the trails of the park connected. On the way back to the trailhead, we stopped off at Iceberg Lake, another great site. We were able to get a reservation at the Many Glacier Hotel and we enjoyed sitting by the giant lobby fire with our brews and listening to a Ranger talk about the geology of Glacier NP. We also spotted another black bear on the hillside!

Tuesday morning we decided to hike to see Grinnell Glacier, which is quickly receding and probably won’t be around much longer. It was about 10 miles roundtrip, but well worth it! We saw bighorn sheep, mule deer, and mountain goats galore, including a family that would not get off the trail. We decided to drive the Going to the Sun Road to the west side of the park, but because of traffic and lots of construction, we didn’t get to stop and see much along the way. Our last night, we stayed in a cabin in the park at Lake McDonald. We were tired, but really happy our vacation was so perfect. Anybody interested in joining us next time?