September 11, 2019 - We revisit one of our country's most amazing parks!
The Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier will be our "base camp" for the first three nights of our 2019 Glacier trek!
Entry door to the Lodge.
Mountain Goat on display in the Lodge Lobby.
Bronze Eagle art piece in Lobby.
Wood Carving of Blackfoot Indian in Lobby.
Sept 12th - Our first trek - an 8-mile loop around Two Medicine Lake on our way to Twin Falls.
A small herd of goats spotted along the north shore leg of Two Medicine Trail.
One of the Twin Falls (right).
The other Twin!
Footbridge to get us back on track!
Twisted tree! How did Mother Nature accomplish this?
Aster Falls found just off the South Shore Trail.
Beaver pond along the South Shore Trail.
Two Medicine Lake in the still of the early morning.
Sept 13th - Rainy day at Many Glacier Lodge.
The charred forest along the trail that was scorched by the Reynolds Creek Fire in 2015.
St. Mary Falls
Lower Virginia Falls
Upper Virginia Falls.
Lovers at Virginia Falls!
Kayaks at Lake McDonald Lodge Boathouse.
Lake McDonald
Lake McDonald shoreline
Sept 15th - Avalanche Creek revisited!
Terry shooting deer at the southeastern shore of Avalanche Lake
Avalanche Lake
Belton Chalet - West Glacier, MT - where we'll spend the next three nights of our trip.
BC features two spacious cottages along with classic lodge rooms.
The Belton Grill Dining Room offers exquisite meals.
Classic Lodge Rooms.
Entry to the Chalet.
Belton Chalet Lobby.
Lobby.
Belton Chalet's Tap Room features good beverages and a beautiful woman!
Sept 16th - John's Lake Loop...with a trail filled with horse poop!
Sacred Dancing Cascade of waters along McDonald Creek.
Nina - our friendly Front Desk Concierge.
Glacier National Park – September 2019
Day 1 (9/11) – Travel Day. PHX to LAS to GEG via SWA. Spokane to East Glacier via Enterprise Car Rental. Hyundai Santa Fe.
Our destination – the Glacier Park Lodge – a massive facility built in 1913 by Louis Hill…whose father James Hill founded the Great Northern Railway. Louis coined the phrase “See America First” and set about building a series of Lodges and Chalets in the Glacier Park area.
“Base Camp” for the first three nights of our visit to Glacier would be the Glacier Park Lodge. Our room - 374 – was located in the main section of the Lodge accessible by climbing a set of 57 stairs. No elevators in this facility! We got a good workout every time we went to the room! The room itself was very modest. Not much space to move about. A double bed, a chair and a tiny desk pretty much filled the space. The shower measured 3 feet square! At least that’s how it felt.
The genuine feature of this lodge was the grandeur of the Entrance Lobby. Louis wanted to bring the forest indoors, so he imported from Oregon, 60 forty-eight foot tall, four foot wide Douglas Fir trees to line the 200’ x 100’ lobby. The idea behind the architecture was to create a cathedral-like atmosphere that incorporated the surrounding park landscape.
Day 2 (9/12) – Time to get out and trek about the park. Today we headed up to Two Medicine – an 11-mile drive from the Lodge. Today we will hike the loop trail around the Two Medicine Lake. Our first destination will be Twin Falls via the North Shore Trail. The 3.5-mile (one way) trail is very easy with only a 75-foot gain in elevation from the trailhead to the falls. Along the way, we came across several Mountain Goats munching the sweet grasses.
The falls flow off the eastern slopes of the Pumpelly Pillar and are separated by about 50 feet. After shooting a few pix, we continued on to Aster Falls via the South Shore Trail. This section of the hike begins downhill as you head toward the Dock at the western end of the lake.
During the season, a shuttle boat is available to take passengers from the South Shore Trailhead to the dock at the western stretches of the lake. This mode of transportation knocks off a good 5 miles of hiking.
From the Dock, where we heard a moose was wading in the shallows, you’ll climb about 600 feet to a junction. The sign pointing us in the opposite direction of our final destinations says “Camp Store via Footbridge.” The other option was “Horse Ford Trail,” which pointed us in the direction we needed to go in order to get back to our car!
I opted to head us down the Horse Trail, which hadn’t seen much action lately. All was well until the trail ended at the river…where horses would “ford!” (Definition of “ford” for those of you not familiar with river crossings: “A shallow place in a river where brave people or sturdy horses can cross!” Terry wasn’t feeling like fording the cold, rapidly moving waters, so backtracking we went to the section of trail that would lead us back to the “Camp Store via Footbridge!”
“I told you so….!” And off we trekked to Aster Falls!
Day 3 (9/13) – Our plan was to head up to Many Glacier and hike around Swiftcurrent Lake and then up to Ptarmigan Falls. The road (Hwy 89) from East Glacier to Many Glacier is under construction at Cut Bank. Hwy 89 had been reduced to a single land dirt road that required a pilot car to lead vehicles single file for a good ten miles. Needless to say, it took us a lot longer to arrive at our destination due to the delay?
When we finally arrived at Many Glacier Lodge, the parking lot was packed! We were fortunate to happen upon someone who was departing and slid into the only available parking space. We’ve been to Glacier several times in September and couldn’t ever remember having to jockey for parking spaces. The park was packed with Geezers (like us) now that school was back in session.
Shortly after parking, the clouds opened up and put a damper on our hiking plans. Both Terry and I had come equipped with rain gear; however, it was far more pleasant enjoying lunch at the lodge while watching it rain outside!
For the return trip, we opted out of Hwy 89 and took a more circuitous route that ended up being shorter time-wise. At Bab, we took Hwy 464 eastbound to Browning, then Hwy 2 to East Glacier. Miles wise…much lengthier. Time-wise…much faster!
Day 4 (9/14) – Today we check out of Glacier Park Lodge and begin our trek to our next destination – the Belton Chalet located just outside the Park’s West Entrance. Since we can’t check in until 4 pm, we are off to hike the St. Mary and Virginia Falls trail. Cloudy day so we keep our raingear close by.
We are fortunate to find a parking spot at the trailhead! The last time I hiked this trail (July 2013) the forest was thick with trees. However, the Reynolds Creek Fire of 2015 charred the forest surrounding the trail to the falls. The Thompson Fire was the largest and most destructive in 2015; however, the Reynolds Creek fire got the most media attention due to the fact that it closed the iconic Going-to-the-Sun Road. The fire made Virginia Falls visible from the highway, which is normally hidden by the canopy of the forest.
The fire did clear our view of St. Mary Lake from the trail allowing us a view of a moose munching the sweet grasses along the lake’s shoreline below. The 1.2-mile hike to St Mary Falls is easy. The forest floor is carpeted with colorful new growth. A new generation of trees has begun to sprout. Both of the falls are delightful destinations along this trail.
Once we finished shooting St. Mary and Virginia, we continued up the Going-to-the-Sun Highway in hopes of finding a parking spot at Logan Pass. Not.A.Chance! Cars and trucks were spilling out of the overcrowded lot! We continued on down to Lake McDonald Lodge for lunch.
The Belton Chalet, built in 1910 by Louis Hill, was the first of the iconic lodges built in the vicinity of Glacier National Park. Located in West Glacier near the park’s western entrance, the Chalet was closed for 50 years before being restored and upgraded to its current condition. Our room (#37) was small like that at Glacier Park Lodge; however, it had a much roomier feel to it. Nina, the Front Desk Clerk was delightful.
Much to our delight, we noticed that our tabletop board game – Trekking the National Parks – was prominently displayed in the Chalet’s Lobby and is offered for sale by the Chalet, which is now owned by Pursuit (formerly Glacier Park Inc).
The Belton Grill Dining Room features an incredible menu by Chef Earl James Reynolds and is a must-do for foodies. We’ve visited over 30 Lodges and Chalets over the years and most of the food is average production fare at best. Not bad…but not very special. The Belton Grill is different! Only one other Lodge compared – the Lake Crescent Lodge in Olympic National Park was similarly exquisite!
Day 5 (9/15) – We’re up early to assure ourselves of a parking space at the Avalanche Lake Trailhead. The park is already bustling and we were once again fortunate to find the last remaining parking spot. We’ve hiked this trail on three other occasions and it remains one of our all-time favorites. The 2-mile (one way) trail to the Lake has an elevation gain of 500 feet. The early stages of the trail parallel Avalanche Creek and offer spectacular photo opportunities!
Once you reach the lake, continue along the trail and hike to its terminus. The last time we hiked to the south end of the lake, we were treated to a herd of deer that casually passed us by as we ate our lunch. This time, there were fewer of the cervidae family, yet every bit as delightful to observe.
Day 6 (9/16) – Today is our “long hike” that will take us from the Lake McDonald Lodge, around the John’s Lake Loop, over to the Sacred Dancing Cascade and finally past McDonald Falls before returning to the Lodge. Unfortunately, the trail from the Lodge up to John’s Lake begins as a horse trail as well as a human trail. Due to the recent precipitation and the remnants of horse excrement, the trail was less than desirable!
Yet we trek on! About 3-miles into the muddy, messy hike, we reach a glimpse of John’s Lake. Not much to see and access to the Lake is limited. We cross the road and venture toward the footbridge spanning McDonald Creek. Alas! The footbridge is closed for repair!
No worries. There’s another route along a paved roadway that provides access to the McDonald Creek Trail located on the north side of the creek. The hike to the Falls and the Sacred Dancing Cascade is easy and these water features are worth viewing.
The trail continues on further in a northeasterly direction after you reach the Footbridge. We’ve got nothing better to do, so we continue along the path. There is no signage along the trail so we don’t really know where we’re headed. The sketchy “map” we have indicates the trail will eventually terminate at the Creek.
As we get deeper and deeper into the forest, the trail narrows and the wild berry bushes become more abundant. This is bear country. Bears like berries. There is nobody on this trail but us. Eventually, we come to the conclusion that reaching the end of the trail to look at a Creek we’ve already seen wasn’t worth the risk of surprising a Grizzly while she dined on the local fare!
Back to the Chalet for another delightful dinner before heading for home tomorrow.
