I’m starting to run out of creative ways to say a park is awesome, beautiful, so much better than expected, etc. etc.  It seems like every next place we go to, the story is:  we knew some basics but not a lot about it, we were amazed and awed by the beauty and (insert unique geological feature here), and we would love to spend more time there as 3, 4, 5 days is not enough.  A couple theories:  1) going into some of these things semi-blind allows us to still be surprised and wowed; 2) national parks and monuments are just freaking awesome, or they wouldn’t be national parks and monuments, right?; or 3)we’ve lived under rocks and haven’t seen much in our lives and need to get out more.  I’m going with a combination of 1 and 2.

Ok, so Glacier.  Yet another gorgeous, awe-inspiring park where 4 days of exploring was not nearly enough.

The first day we started up the famous Going to the Sun Road and decided we would try one of the smaller hikes along the road, knowing we were going to tackle a massive hike later in the week. As we entered the park we stopped at the shore of Lake McDonald where the crystal clear blue water allowed you to see all the green, red, and black rounded river rocks on the lake floor.  So gorgeous.  Immediately made plans to come back and SUP for a day.

We also pulled over at a waterfall along and hiked down to the water a bit upstream of the parking lot.  We found a path down to the falls where we had the falls to ourselves and the kids climbed around on the logs and boulders.  Our third water stop was the best, though, at a pullout called Red Rocks.  Again, we took the path just off the main sidewalk and got to climb out onto massive boulders in the middle of the river, with water flowing all around.  Blue-green clear water that just can’t be captured in pictures, and mountain peaks behind us.  The kids loved scrambling over the rocks and getting their feet wet in the cold, cold water.  Dennis has a childhood memory of visiting Glacier and tasting the water and it being that “best water he’s ever tasted.”  We thought this seemed to be a great spot to try it out, so we used his water bottle with a filter built in and  all chugged from the river.  Wyatt said it was really good…tasted like the Mountain Valley Spring bottled water at home. Well…whomp whomp.  

The parking lots at Glacier are madness.  WAY worse than Yellowstone because the main road in Glacier, the Going to the Sun Road, is mostly limited on one or both sides by rivers or cliffs.  So, no overflow parking along the road.  As the road climbs out of the valley and through the peaks it is perched on the side of the mountain…my dad and anyone else with a major fear of heights should probably be medicated before going on it.  It is called an “engineering marvel” and I 100% agree with that.  Anyway, after having a mini-confrontation with a crabby lady “holding” a spot for her family (side note:  we had a big conversation about what the best kind of karmic blowback would be for her and Wyatt had the winner with her getting skunked…perfect!) we realized that we didn’t get to pick what we would do that day…it would pick us.  Or, rather, the parking gods or parking lottery would.  So, when we got to Logan’s Pass we were amazed to find a spot after only a few minutes.  Ok!  The parking gods had selected Hidden Lake for us!

Hidden Lake had two options:  up to the Observation Point, or keep going on down to the lake.  Several people we passed on the way to the top told us that there were all kinds of mountain goats down by the lake, so *most* of us really wanted to do the whole thing.  Maya has figured out that whenever you hike down, you have to eventually hike back up, and she’s not ever happy to see a big descent ahead of her.  So it was a bit against her will that we did indeed do the whole thing.  After coming to the observation point, which is beautiful but crowded, we headed on down to the Lake which took us through some of the most amazing wildflowers we’ve seen.  The beargrass is in bloom, which is tall stalks of cream colored flowers almost like a liatris, but even taller and fatter.  And there were thousands of them in drifts up and down the valley.  This hike really did feel “alpine” with the flowers, the goats, the mountain peaks with snow, and the blue, blue icy cold lakes.  When we got to the bottom, Wyatt ran into the water…and immediately back out because of how cold it was.  And yes, we saw goats!  Mamas with babies and goats on cliffs and goats along the shore and goats eating shrubs.  So cute.  Then we started the long climb back up that I’m really not going to talk about.

We spent day 2 white water rafting.  The kids have gone twice in the past loved it and every time we pass an outfitter or a billboard advertising it they ask if we can go.  They have a trip here with class 2 and 3s, and it was hot enough for a 60 degree river to sound appealing, so we agreed.  Wyatt got to be one of the lead paddlers and did a great job.  I think we could have handled a teensy bit more excitement, but all in all it was great.

Glacier is also a Dark Skies park (like Craters of the Moon) so we had signed up for a guided star talk that was at Logan’s Pass late in the evening.  They had 15 giant telescopes set up to look at planets, stars, nebula, etc. so we were pretty pumped about it…but, Mother Nature did not cooperate and parked cloud cover right over the top of the pass.  It was a bust.  The really crazy thing, though, was that about 5 miles down from the pass, the skies were clear and we had a great view of the skies, including the Milky Way.  

On day 3, we decided to spend a lazy day on Lake McDonald.  We packed lunches, hammocks and our books and set out on our paddle boards.  We found a stretch of the shore where we’d be all by ourselves and just hung out all afternoon.  Dennis taught Maya to skip rocks and she and Wyatt played while we read in the hammocks for a while.  It was low key and just what we needed.  I’d be happy if every third day on this trip goes pretty much exactly like our lake day.

Finally, on our last day at Glacier, we set out to see a glacier.  Specifically, we went back to Logan’s Pass to hike the Highline trail, the spur to the Grinnell Glacier Overlook, and then down the Loop, for a total of 13+ miles.  We took breakfast, lunch, snacks, several liters of water each, and bear spray, and expected the trip to take about 6 hours.  In reality, it took eight.  It was awesome, and we all felt really proud to have accomplished it, but it was really, really hard.    We are still recovering from it. 

But, it’s a terrific hike.  The first 0.3 miles are along a cliff wall about 40-50 feet above that road that is hanging on the side of the cliff.  They have installed a cable you can hold onto if you get nervous…but in all honesty it sounds way worse than it is because the path is about 6-8 feet wide.  But, we aren’t afraid of heights.  If you are…it’s probably (definitely) not for you.  After the first third of a mile, there’s still a steep drop along the first 6 miles of the trail — it’s called the Highline for a reason, after all. 

It’s absolutely stunning.  Wild flowers of so many types are all along the trail, mountain peaks surround you as you walk high above the forests in the valley, you can see the river shining as it snakes through the valley floor, there are lakes peeking through the gaps in the mountains, and there is a constant cool breeze that smells like cedar trees.  At about mile 3.6 you begin a pretty good climb up to a ridge, where we found a good patch of slippery snow that the kids played in while we took our breakfast break. 

Dennis and I knew what was coming at around 6.8 miles.  We had told Maya there would be two big climbs on the hike, and that the second one would take us up to see the glacier.  Dennis and I knew the second one was short but steep….but we had no idea what we were getting into.  It was basically 0.6 miles straight up.  I still can’t believe we did it.   Dennis and I both agree it was the hardest uphill climb we’ve ever done, and honestly I was fine with every single break that Maya wanted to take.  EVERYONE was taking breaks like us.  We got there 150 feet at a time, and it took an hour or more to climb up to the lookout.   

I thought the view would be a big sheet of ice (the glacier), and that *maybe* it would be worth it….so when we came over the top of the ridge and saw the robin’s egg blue opaque lake and the glacier with ridges carved in its suggestive of the slow movement or melt pattern, it was a gorgeous surprise.   Again, not really knowing the full details turned into a WOW moment.  And the sad fact that it’s expected that all the glaciers in the park will have melted by 2030 really made it feel like the hike was necessary, even.

The final surprise of the hike was the Granite Peak Chalet, which is a stone lodge and bunkhouse which you can see perched on the top of a peak from nearly two miles away.  We passed a couple who told us you could get “treats” at the cabin.  Well, that certainly gott the interest of our crew, and it became a real motivator to keep moving forward.  The chalet has no electric or running water and is a hike-in only shelter.  They DO sell treats there!  We got M&Ms, Gatorade, Reese’s Cups and a Clif Bar.  It was a much needed break.  After the chalet, we had to hike downhill 4 miles.  This might sound like a good thing, but your knees do not like it, your quads do not like it, and your toes do not like it.  And unfortunately, it’s through an area of Glacier that burned a few years ago, so it’s hot and there isn’t a lot to look at.  Everyone was DONE at this point.  But, we pressed on and at almost exactly 8 hours from when we started, we all held hands and stepped over the “finish line”.  B-team for the win!  I’m so proud of the kids for being so tough, and am really happy we took this huge challenge on.  It was something I don’t think any of us will forget.

We saw such a tiny part of Glacier.  I leave all these parks feeling like we’ve barely seen them, like we’ve just gotten a taste of what they offer.   Even so, we see enough to understand why they are considered national treasures.  

(PS.  Please NEVER tell my kids that there are shorter and easier paths to see a glacier in this park.  Please!!!)