Glacier National Park
Photography: Sedona Callahan
Standing in the crotch of Logan Pass where it intersects the Continental Divide at 6,646 feet, I see why the Blackfoot Nation refers to Glacier National Park as the “Backbone of the World.” Above me, jagged crags soar beyond 10,000 feet in the form of Mount Jackson and Mount Siyeh, with slightly lower summits found atop Going-to-the-Sun Mountain, Reynolds Mountain and Mount Gould.
If white settlers had been as in tune with Mother Earth as the Blackfeet, today’s “Garden Wall,” a crenelated, 9,000-foot-tall rib of granite that whipsaws Glacier in half near the pass —might more logically be known as the “Backbone.” But such linguistic musings don’t really matter, for this landscape of earth, rock, snow and water is completely captivating no matter what it’s called.
A million-acre-plus slab of wilderness nudged tight against the Canadian border in northwest Montana and just a short flight from Salt Lake City, Glacier would qualify for national park status even if all it claimed were towering peaks. Or glaciers. Or thick forests. Or wildlife that ranges from grizzlies and moose to tetchy wolverines and nimble mountain goats. That it claims all of the above, along with idyllic lakes; peaceful, flower-strewn meadows; and trails that lead you into yourself as well as into the landscape, well, that is an incredible bonus.
Lake McDonald Lodge, on the shores of its namesake lake, is arguably the park’s most popular destination. There are scenic cruises across the lake, close-by hikes such as the short Avalanche Creek Trail, and the excellent Russell’s Fireside Dining Room. But to limit your travels to this area would be a mistake.
I realize this firsthand as the continent’s backbone rises above me and Logan Pass, while beneath flow two U-shaped valleys bulldozed out during the park’s glaciated past. Though Reynolds and Logan creeks, and not ice, today tumble down these valleys, a bit farther north resides the frosty bulk of the park’s glaciers in the form of thick ice sheets named Ipasha, Old Sun, Grinnell, Swiftcurrent, Thunderbird and Rainbow.
Scientists fear the warming climate will reduce these glaciers to ice water by 2030, but even without these rivers of ice, Glacier would be a remarkable park. While crossing an alpine setting splashed with red-and pink-tinted paintbrush, purple Pasqueflowers and countless daubs of yellow prairie violets amid streams of snowmelt, I find myself surrounded by mountain goats bedecked with curved black horns, professorial goatees and thick, woolly coats. These all-terrain animals are so accustomed to humans that they pay little mind as I join a small gaggle of tourists intent on filling our cameras with their images.
Still, Glacier is more than goats. Much more. Designated in 1910, Glacier tosses more ruggedness at you than just about any other park in the Lower 48. That’s evident all along the 50-mile Going-to-the-Sun Road. It was an engineering marvel when it first opened in 1933 after more than a decade of construction. These days, the road struggles in an annual state of disrepair due to the ravages of the freeze-thaw cycle. Officials hope to disrupt that cycle via an ambitious seven-to eight-year “rehabilitation” program that could cost as much as $170 million as key sections of the road are rebuilt. I get a close-up view of the road and its jaw-dropping scenery from a seat in one of the park’s Red Jammers, a fleet of fire engine-red, open-air touring buses complete with heavy woolen blankets to fend off the morning cool. The buses arrived in the park in 1937, and their nickname became obvious as drivers “jammed” their way up and down through the gears. (Automatic transmissions have eliminated the “jamming,” but the nickname stuck.)
“This tour is just a whetting of the whistle as for what this park offers,” jammer Barry Gray shouts to us as we head out from Lake McDonald. He’s right. A tight right-hand switchback through “the Loop” brings Bird Woman Falls into view as it spills its snowmelt 492 feet into Logan Creek, and ponderous Heavens Peak shimmers on the western horizon under streaks of its permanent snowfield.
The stop at Logan Pass isn’t long enough, but again, the morning’s Jammer ride is just a park sampler. At the pass you can simply admire the scenery and the boardwalk trail that heads off to Hidden Lake, or the more ambitious can take the Highline Trail 7.6 miles into the backcountry and the Granite Park Chalet, a rustic stone shelter that’s a throwback to the 1910s when pack horses hauled visitors across the park.
Although a long drive from West Glacier, the Many Glacier area should not be overlooked. Its magnificent four-story lodge set along Swiftcurrent Lake on the eastern side of the park is worth the effort to get there. Rimmed by Alps-like peaks, Many Glacier Hotel opened in 1915 to guests who arrived in the park most often by train. Then and now, the lodge that in Glacier best exemplifies “stately national park lodge” contains numerous rock fireplaces, windows framed by fanciful Swiss-inspired gingerbread trim, massive lobbies and dining rooms, and a handful of cozy nooks where you can relax with a game of chess or a book. Though its tiny rooms are, like the Going-to-the-Sun Road, in need of rehabilitation, the setting here is one of the park’s best.
Strolling down to the hotel’s dock under a deep blue Rocky Mountain sky, I watch a family launch a canoe into the water. Across the lake, a scenic cruise boat courses toward Grinnell Lake and a 3.8-mile trail that leads to the snout of the Grinnell Glacier. On the far shore, a bull moose wades knee-deep in water, plucking his morning breakfast from lakebed vegetation. Glacier is an intoxicating place and shouldn’t be missed.
When not visiting parks for such guidebooks as “National Parks with Kids” and “National Parks of the West for Dummies,” Park City local Kurt Repanshek writes for such publications as Smithsonian, Hemispheres, Audubon, and www.exploreepic.com. He’s also the blogmeister of www.nationalparkstraveler.com.
From Park City to Glacier:
Glacier’s a good, long road trip (about 780 miles, 11+ hours in the car), but many Parkites deem it well worth the journey. Or, shorten the trip by flying into Kalispell (25 miles west of park headquarters in West Glacier); Great Falls (200 miles east of West Glacier) or Missoula (156 miles south of West Glacier).
Recommended Lodgings
Lake McDonald Lodge, www.glacierparkinc.com.
Many Glacier Hotel, www.glacierparkinc.com.
Apgar Village Lodge, www.westglacier.com.
The Resort at Glacier, www.glcpark.com.
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