The Wanderful Moments

Day 2

Part 1

7/3/2019

The one hike that I knew I wanted to do when I was planning my trip to Glacier was the Grinnell Glacier trail. It is one of the best hikes and brings you up to one of the last few glaciers in the park. Currently, there are only 25 glaciers left in the park, which is sad seeing as in the 1850s there were over 150! A major reason I wanted to visit Glacier so badly was that time is running out to see these glaciers. 

There are two ways to start the Grinnell Glacier hike: by hiking from the Many Glacier Hotel, or by taking two boats to the trailhead further up. Without the boat trips, the hike would be 12 miles round trip. By taking the popular transport boats, this shaves off 4.5 miles, making the hike only 7.5 miles round trip.

When I booked the Airbnb in Columbia Falls, my host contacted me and told me she had extra tickets for the boat cruise on July 3rd if I would like them. I of course accepted! 

So the morning of July 3rd, I found myself following my hosts, Mia and Jerry, to Many Glacier at 6 am! Like I mentioned before, no sleeping in for travelers! Many Glacier is located on the east side of the park, so, unfortunately, that meant I had to drive the entire 50 miles of the Going to the Sun Road! Fortunately, it was early in the morning so not many cars were on the road. This meant I could cut some corners and drive in the middle of the pavement. It made the drive so much easier!

On the drive, Mia and Jerry pulled over and showed me a great view of St. Mary’s Lake. Beautiful!

Many Glacier Hotel

It took about two and a half hours to reach the Many Glacier Hotel. We had to drive the length of the Going to the Sun Road, exit Glacier National Park, drive north, then re-enter the park at a different entrance. A side note for those visiting the park, be very careful driving the road to Many Glacier. The first few miles are not owned by the park and are riddled with severe potholes. Drive slow and avoid the potholes as best you can. Once you reach the park entrance, the roads are in great shape again.

After parking at the Many Glacier Hotel, we went inside to the Ptarmigan Dining Room and had a nice buffet breakfast. It was a bit pricey at $17.50 for the buffet, but it was delicious! Great fuel food to energize you for the hike!

Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine Boats

We had reservations for the 11 AM boat tour across Swiftcurrent Lake, so we headed down there after breakfast. The boat ride was very pleasant and we were given a brief history of the hotel and area by the captain.

My favorite story we heard was the one regarding the Many Glacier Hotel and a wildfire. A wildfire tore through the area and threatened to burn down the hotel. But the locals worked tirelessly to save the hotel. Once the fire subsided and they realized they saved the building, they sent a proud telegram to the owners back east explaining that they saved the property. And you know what the owners sent back in their telegram? It was one word. ‘Why?’. See this fire was during the Great Depression, so the owners were hoping that the fire burned down the hotel because then they could collect the insurance money! Well, I’m glad the locals saved the hotel. It is beautiful and transports you back in time to the early 1900s. The hotel was built by workers of the Great Northern Railroad, without the use of power tools. Imagine that! 

Once we reached the other side of Swiftcurrent Lake, we got off the boat and hiked ¼ of a mile to Lake Josephine. There we were met by another boat and its captain. The boat ride across Lake Josephine took about 15 to 20 minutes. We were dropped off at the dock and the riders had the option to stay on the boat and return to the hotel, get off and take the Grinnell Lake trail, or get off and hike the Grinnell Glacier trail. Here is where my hosts and I parted ways. They did the flat, 2 mile Grinnell Lake Trailhead, and I continued right on to the Grinnell Glacier hike. 

Grinnell Glacier Hike

The beginning of the hike is on wooden planks over the marshy area, and then a wooden bridge takes you over the stream that connects Grinnell Lake to Lake Josephine. Then the trail goes up, up, up! The hike is very steep and gains elevation very quickly. 

Unlike the other hikes I did the day before, there were fewer people on this hike. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because it’s not like follow the leader, but bad because this trail is in grizzly country and bear sightings are frequent on this trail. I was both excited and terrified to do this trail. I had a high chance of seeing a bear, which was something I wanted to see, but terrified because I was by myself. Also, the landscape of this trail is so that it is hard to see a bear coming. There are times during the trail that you are walking through dense, meadow vegetation, which is prime areas for bears to be. 

I tried my best to stay with other hikers, but whenever I found myself alone I would hum loudly to myself, stomp my feet loudly while walking, and play ringtones on my phone to help scare off any bears lurking nearby. There were bears close by because right in the middle of the path was some fresh bear scat! Eek! But much to my chagrin, I did not see any bears on my hike. I did, however, see a ton of those pesky ground squirrels! 

When the tall vegetation cleared, the views of Grinnell Lake and the surrounding mountains were stunning! The color of the lake seemed impossible, but it was an amazing aqua blue color! 

An Incomplete Trek

Unfortunately, I was unable to complete the entire hike and see Grinnell Glacier. At the 3 mile mark, the trail was closed due to snowfall. I had heard rumors of this the day before but was hoping maybe it had reopened. Some went around the rope and continued hiking, but as we watched from across the valley, many ended up turning around because the snow got to be too much. 

However, from the lake and trail, I was able to see Salamander Glacier. It is called Salamander Glacier because the shape of it looks like…you guessed it, a Salamander! But many kids on the trail said it looks more like a Weiner dog! Haha. 

Although I was disappointed I couldn’t make it to Grinnell Glacier, I am happy that I was able to see the amazing views from the trail. It was spectacular! 

The Way Back

On my way down I was walking through the marsh area surrounded by tall reeds when out jumps a gigantic hare! It scared the crap out of me! It hopped away too fast to grab a picture, but after that, I high tailed it to the boat dock so nothing else could jump out at me!

I lucked out and was met by the boat at the dock right when I arrived. The sail back was relaxing and it was nice to sit down! Boy, my feet were killing me! I had pushed myself too hard the day before doing two hikes and as a consequence developed a ginormous blister on my heel. 

The boat ride back to Many Glacier Hotel across Swiftcurrent Lake
The timing of the day was perfect! I had amazing weather during the hike, and right when I was getting back to my rental car, it started down pouring! I couldn’t have timed it better!