2009 Glacier NP Sept

There is something magical about Glacier Park. Lance has declared it to be the most scenic park in America. We had been to Glacier Park on previous trips, but did not have the time to explore very much. On this trip we took our time and visited all the places we had read about. It was delightful!

We arrived in Montana on September 1, 2009. We stopped in Choteau, Montana at the Grizzly Sporting Goods store to purchase bearspray.  In the afternoon we arrived in East Glacier, Montana at the Mountain Pine Motel. East Glacier is a cute and quirky town and we enjoyed staying there.   We strolled around East Glacier and Glacier Park Lodge and took pictures of the building and grounds.

September 2  We went to Two Medicine Lake, and Red Eagle Falls, did some hiking, and took photos. We arrived in Many Glacier, and hiked to Baring Falls, saw St Mary Lake and had a picnic at the Sunpoint Nature area. Later in the afternoon we arrived in the Swiftcurrent Motel parking area. We were hardly out of the car, when Tom and Mary from Kalispell were offering to show us a grizzly bear thru their scope. We had fun spending the afternoon with them.

Glacier National Park Fishercap Lake

They showed us the way to Fishercap Lake and then continued on the trail to spot more grizzly bears. We spotted 3 grizzlies during that afternoon. Fishercap Lake was fun. There was a doe in the woods and several moose in the lake.

Thurday, September 3rd –  We enjoyed the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn last night. The restaurant and the people we met were fun. Today’s plan is to drive the Going to the Sun Road up to Logan Pass and hike up to the Hidden Lake Overlook. We stopped at the Visitors Center and started out about 8:30AM.  It was cool when we started, but warmed up quickly. We walked up the wooden steps and spied 5 sheep along the ridge. As we continued the scenery just got better and better. It was a perfect day for hiking.

We returned to the scenic Going to the Sun Road. The weeping wall waterfalls were pretty as well as Wild Goose Island. We headed over to Many Glacier Hotel and looked around…very pretty. Once again, we took a lot of pictures.

Friday, September 4th…plan is to Hike to Grinell Lake. The starting point was Many Glacier Hotel where you board a small boat. From there we crossed Swiftcurrent Lake, took a little walk over to Josephine Lake and boarded another boat. After a short ride, we met with our guide and hiked to Grinell Lake. A very enjoyable morning!

We ate lunch at Two Sisters cafe, very good! Then we took a drive north to look around. In the evening we hiked out to Fishercap Lake to do some moose watching.

Sunday, September 6th Today we will cross Glacier Park on the Going to the Sun Road to West Glacier. Our plan is to hike to Avalanche Lake. It was sort of overcast and humid today, but we did okay. We ate a picnic lunch at the lake. It was a nice hike. Next we stopped at the very short Trail of the Cedars. We did not take our packs with us on this short nature trail. As we strolled along, I looked up and saw the bushes move, and there it was….a big black bear and no bearspray in hand. The bear moved toward us, and we  backed up slowly. Finally it crossed the path in front of us and continued on it’s way. We checked in at the very nice Village Inn at Apgar with our room overlooking Lake McDonald.

Monday, September 7th  We drove north to the tiny village of Polebridge. We enjoyed the drive and the wonderful pastries at the Polebridge Mercantile. Next we moved on towards Bowman Lake thru mud holes and moguls, etc. in the rainy weather, but we HAD to see it. On the way back to Agpar, we stopped to walk on the Huckleberry Nature Trail.

The weather was getting a little more dreary, so we headed back to the room. I was complaining about the rain, even though this was the first rainy weather of the entire week. In a few minutes, Lance told me to come outside and see the sight! Did you ever see such a vibrant rainbow? BEAUTIFUL!!! Later, we walked around the lake and village and took pics.

Reluctantly, our time at Glacier National Park had come to an end but our memories of Glacier will last us a lifetime. You never really leave a place you love….part of it you take with you, leaving a part of yourself behind.

To see more photos of our 2009 Glacier National Park trip, click here
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