Glacier NP – A MAJOR Miscalculation!

Today was our first day exploring Glacier National Park. Since we’re fresh and ready to go we thought we should begin with the hike that interested us the most – the HIGHLINE TRAIL. We thought this hike was a doable, moderate hike – just long. We were so wrong. This was by far the hardest trail we have ever done! We each had to push way beyond physical and mental limitations. Our love for each other brought about incredible teamwork that was critical for our last 7 miles.

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STEP 1: FIGURING OUT WHERE TO PARK – Crucial Considerations
The Highline trailhead was up at Logan Pass on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Getting to the trailhead for a decent morning start and being able to get back to the Jeep was critical!

Option 1: Park at Logan Pass and return to Logan Pass – MUST hike out and back for 7.4miles x 2 (out/back)+ 1.6 miles (Glacier Overlook via Garden Wall Trail & back) = 16.4 mi Uh-that’s a NO!

Option 2: Park at Apgar Visitor Center and take the 7:00am express shuttle directly to Logan Pass.
2a: Hike out and back for 16.4 miles, but we MUST return no later
than 7PM at Logan Pass to get a return shuttle down to our
Jeep at the Apgar Visitor Center. It would be better to just park
at Logan Pass!
2b: Instead of a full out-and-back hike totally 16.4 miles, hike out to
the Granite Park Chalet (+ overlook out & back). At the Chalet,
take the Loop Trail (4 miles down the mountain) to the Loop
Trail Parking area prior to 7 PM to catch a shuttle down to the
Apgar Visitor Center. (7.4 + 1.6 + 4 = 13 miles). Better, but we
still have the stress of needing a shuttle before 7PM.

Option 3: Park at Loop Trail Parking Lot. Take shuttle up to Logan Pass, to start the hike.
3a: Out and Back –MUST return by 7PM to catch shuttle down to
Loop parking lot. Not going to do over 16 miles! Nope
3b: Hike to the Grinnell Glacier Overlook, and on to the Chalet, but
take the Loop Trail hike from the Chalet to return directly to the
Loop Trail Parking lot directly to our Jeep! (-2000+ ft elevation
in 4 miles. Almost 100% downhill!) No time limit – No worries if
we miss the 7 PM shuttle deadline!

We opted for Option 3b. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize the shuttle from Loop Trail Parking Lot didn’t STOP here till 9:00AM! We were parked and ready by 8:00AM. The shuttle finally arrived at 9:13 and had available seats for us! Whew!

Arriving an hour later meant the visitor center at Logan Pass was open which was a good thing. We bought bear spray for the hike and went over to a ranger who gave us personal instruction on when and how to properly use it. He had an empty demo one. We were glad we purchased the bear spray, but more importantly took a few minutes for this instruction. The ranger gave us much more peace of mind. Wefelt we’d be OK using it –if we needed it. We’d still be nervous and scared, but hopefully the instruction would help us remain calm enough to use it effectively and efficiently.

IMPORTANT things we learned:

• Expect a “kick” when squeezing the sudden release of pressure – similar to firing a gun.
• ONLY squeeze for “One Mississipi, Two Mississipi” and then let off! Do NOT expel the entire contents otherwise you will be out for the rest of your hike!
• How far away to be and to aim out and downward to the ground between you and the bear, so the cloud of spray hits nose/eyes of the bear AS it moves toward you. (Pay attention to any wind and its direction. 🙂 )

The bear spray was $50, but we would rather have it and not need it, than wished we had spent the $50! (And we did take it out of the holster at one point. Had it in hand and ready to use!)

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OK…ready? Almost…

We wisely used the restrooms again up here knowing there would not be any along the way. Since we were already hungry from our 5:30am wake up we had a snack from our food bag. We finally started the hike about 10am. Definitely later than we originally planned!

This is awesome! Seeing the heavy duty hold-ons tethered into the granite was a little concerning to me, but I didn’t need them. It must be for when weather is more intensive with wind, or wind/rain, etc.

The Highline Trail was quite high above the Going-to-the-Sun Road along the edge of the mountain. In the picture below you can see other hikers further along on the trail. (They look very tiny.) At times the path was a bit narrow, but I never felt nervous.

Views were incredible. It was cool to see several waterfalls that flowed onto our path. We kept stopping to take pictures, but we had to keep moving. 🙂

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Throughout the early portions of the hike 8,953-foot Mt. Cannon, 8,179-foot Mt. Oberlin and 8,986-foot Heavens Peak dominate the views towards the west.

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From a description I found AFTER our hike: “Roughly 2.5 miles from Logan Pass the slopes of the Garden Wall begin to shallow out. Soon you’ll begin a short but relatively steep climb up to Haystack Pass. At 3.6 miles, after climbing roughly 275 feet up one long switchback, hikers will reach the pass. At an elevation of 7,024 feet the pass forms the saddle between 7,486-foot Haystack Butte and the Garden Wall, which at this point is technically the southeastern flank of Mt. Gould. With its outstanding panoramic views of the upper McDonald Creek Valley, Haystack Pass is also a popular spot for a snack or lunch break.”

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As we came around a corner, a big-horned sheep came around from the opposite direction. He and I had a moment as we looked at each other eye-to-eye. I slowly started my video as I backed up to allow him room on the trail. He came towards me. It was so cool!!

Built for this environment he went off the trail to pass by, and then back onto the trail after he got beyond Barry. This was definitely the highlight of the day for me!

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And back onto the trail. 🙂

It was like he paused to look back to say goodbye!

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Boy, this trail is rugged. We’ve worked our way quite high, but then started downward…and for a long stretch. People climbing UP this section had me glad that we planned a different route to get back.. I do NOT do well with incline at this altitude!

Around 4 pm we had completed about 7 miles of the Highline Trail, and arrived at the junction to head up to the goal destination of Grinnell Glacier Overlook! We were both tired. My toes were burning in spots from the previous downhill section. I’m pretty sure I had blisters rubbed raw, but I didn’t dare take off my shoes to try applying bandaids, for fear I wouldn’t get the shoes back on!

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The 0.8 mile rocky Garden Wall Trail that goes UP to the Grinnell Glacier Overlook was an increase of 1000+ ft in elevation! I was not doing well at this point. I needed a bathroom – of which there was none. Nor was there any “protected” area to use. So I had to hold it!

This was a very strenuous uphill climb, especially at this point in the hike (about 4PM). I started out OK.

OMG. It wasn’t long till I had to stop about every 12-20 feet! The elevation wreaked havoc on my breathing and heart rate. I was not feeling well at all. Barry was my rock. He took my backpack. Carrying both backpacks he went my pace – even giving me a nice hand-push on my tush for a little more steady forward progress. A little more than halfway up I told Barry that I didn’t know if I could make it and suggested he go ahead, but he would only consider that if I truly stayed put. I couldn’t agree to that. Having come this far I really didn’t want to just see pictures from the overlook. I wanted to see the view first hand. Couldn’t I just continue up on my own – just slower (if going any slower was possible!), while allowing Barry to get there sooner? Barry knew I wasn’t myself. I was a bit lightheaded and slightly nauseous. He would be worried about me, so he stayed with me. Together, we eventually made it to the top.

Another couple (Kent and Miriam) who were ahead of us were stopping just about as often as we were. The four of us were at the top together. When Barry and I arrived, Kent turned to me, and said “THAT was the hardest friggin’ hike I have ever done!” That made me feel better, especially since they were considerably younger!

We were now standing at the top of the Continental Divide! (7,561 ft). What a view of The Salamander, Grinnell Glacier, Upper Grinnell Lake, Allen Mountain, Angel Wing and Mt. Gould. The glacier in the foreground in the photo below is known as The Salamander. Hidden by the rock ledge, but visible at the far end of Upper Grinnell Lake is Grinnell Glacier. Mt. Gould, which tops out at 9554 feet, rises high above the far end of the glacier.

We didn’t hang out at the overlook too long because it was getting fairly windy up there (and chilly), and we needed to get to the Jeep before dark, but we had a quick snack! We had over 5 miles to go! We were the last two to reach the outlook for August 26. It was time to descend the 1000 ft and make our way over and up to the Granite Park Chalet. (6, 693 ft).

Shortly after beginning our descent we weren’t sure which way to climb on the rocks. This section had no “trail” to follow. Barry ended up on really loose rock where each step he slid sideways. I climbed higher for a better perspective. This higher “path” was definitely the way we needed to go. Coming back through the loose rock to get up to where I was sucked a lot of energy from Barry.

Descending was easier on my breathing and heart rate, and I had new found energy even though the steep descent was tough on the legs, glutes, knees and feet!

About halfway down this section, I took one of the backpacks from Barry because I was doing so much better. It was like our physical stamina flipped. Now he was experiencing serious fatigue. He was really hurting. Once back onto the Highline Trail we became “bear aware” as we headed to the Granite Park Chalet where we would take the Loop Trail back to our parking lot. As we approached a curve in the path, one of us would say “Hey, bear! Hi, bear!” to give it the chance to move away rather than being startled by our presence. Just before reaching the chalet we ate our last protein bars. I was hoping the protein bar would give Barry some needed energy to continue our upcoming 4-mile descent to the Jeep. We were also now low on water. With no one around at least I was able to go potty before continuing on. It was approaching dusk, and the deer were coming out as we were reaching the chalet. We saw one doe on the trail and a doe with two fawns closer to the chalet.

These were about the last of our pictures. We had to focus on getting to the Jeep!

We made it to the Granite Park Chalet – an historic landmark where hikers can arrange in advance to spend the night in the rustic, no frills chalet. We were feeling pretty desperate, but there was no transportation available. The Chalet is only accessible by trails. Our feet had to get us back to the Jeep. It was now 7 PM. We have 4 miles to descend 2000ft to our parking lot! (Much better/easier than the 1000 ft within the 0.8 mile we had on the Garden Wall Trail!) Although daylight was now burning fast. I talked “to the bear” the entire way. Barry could not help. He was so physically fatigued he couldn’t even speak to me, let alone join in “bear talk”. It was all Barry could do to keep moving forward.

At one point we rounded a corner and both immediately saw a lot of scat on the path ahead of us!! We both reacted, “Oh Shit!” – literally. Boy, did I start talking to that bear! Barry pulled the bear spray out of the holster! He even took the safety off. He told me he was “locked and ready” – more like Unlocked and ready. The scat was very dark and appeared moist, but I didn’t notice any steam. We also did not pause to inspect any of it! I began talking or singing non-stop for the rest of our trek down. I had quite the creative one-sided conversations with “the bear”. Barry was most appreciative that I could keep it up without needing him. The path took us through heavy berry vegetation on both sides of the path. A bear’s feasting paradise, with little advance visibility.

Shortly into our descent, Barry asked if I could take the second backpack. He was in so much pain, and was having difficulty keeping normal walking balance. Every step Barry took he wavered making me afraid he was going to fall backwards! I was more than happy to carry both packs. I still find it amazing the amount of energy I had at this point. We were running very low on water. I gave Barry some water and a few grapes. This was the only food we had left! (I did without since I had to make sure he could have a few sips and grapes for as long as they both held out.) That seemed to help a little. A few minutes later, I gave Barry my two trekking poles to assist him better. That also worked for him at this point. The sun was setting. We had to keep moving!

I continued to pray for God to keep us safe; to help us make it as quickly as possible to the parking lot; and to keep all animals away from our path. Unfortunately, Barry couldn’t go very fast, but thank goodness, I continued doing well and stayed focused to help keep him going.

For a short time the moon gave us some decent light, but unfortunately,
heading into the forested elevation the trees now blocked all light. Luckily, I had my battery charger for my phone. I turned on the flashlight and used it the remainder of our journey. I didn’t want to think what might be in the forested area with us. We had to focus on getting to that parking lot!

Towards the end I could hear water. The path was extremely narrow and appeared to have a drop-off towards the moving water sound. I tried to keep the light really focused for us. Neither of us could afford to trip on anything to throw us off balance and slip off the path! We came to a bridge. There was definitely a waterfall of some sort, but we could not see it. We forged ahead. We have to be getting close!

9:40 PM WE MADE IT! Pure JOY! Oh, my-Thank you, Lord for giving each of us the strength when we needed it to help the other get through their worst struggle on today’s hike!! Thank you for keeping us calm and 100% safe.