Today was our third and last day to explore Glacier National Park. We were NOT up for any long hike, but we felt we could tackle a couple easy and of course significantly shorter hikes today. I wore my Keen sport sandals with socks (and bandaids). My hiking shoes were not an option. Nor were my Brooks running shoes even though they are always comfy. I needed the open toe option till all the raw spots on my toes heal.
We picked out two hikes we wanted to do. Since our Action Tour Guides App had a driving tour for Glacier National Park, we thought it would be a great way to discover things while driving up the Going-to-the-Sun Road. It’s pretty cool the history and special tidbits we get from these tours. So know that the information included in this blog is from it.
Apgar village is the oldest town in the park. Mil Apgar and two colleagues built homes here with the intention of becoming farmers. It didn’t take long to realize this was not a climate for that, so they switched to tourism. Apgar provided boat trips across Lake McDonald. Hospitality is the focus of this village. The Apgar Visitors Center, gift shop and general store for supplies are all located here.
The earliest wealthy settlers here were the ones who traded in beaver furs. John Jacob Astor who we heard so much of on our East Coast trip last year pops up way out here! He had his own fur trading business in the late 1780s, and by the early 1800s he had a monopoly of much of the overseas fur trading. Before these colonists arrived, the beaver population here was over 400 million. By the 1900s it was down to 100,000. Luckily, demand for beaver pelts dwindled preventing a total extinction. The beaver evidently plays an important role in maintaining the beautiful ecosystem in the Glacier Park area.
The West Tunnel: The tunnel was built in the 1920s. It is only 192 feet long, but was a remarkable feat. The tunnel has two large observation windows that provide views of Heaven’s Peak and Lower McDonald Creek Valley.
Grinnell Glacier was named for George Grinnell who was instrumental in establishing the area as Glacier National Park. Grinnell was an anthropologist with General Custer’s expedition to Montana in 1885. He fell in love with the landscape and was appalled how people were pillaging the region. He wrote articles advocating for a national park here. Nothing happened till a notorious poacher, Ed Howell, was arrested and brought to the police station while photographer Frank Haynes was there dining with the police chief. Haynes interviewed Ed Howell, who bragged about slaughtering bison and selling their heads! At that time he was only fined, so he told Howell that he’d go right back to poaching when released. Haynes sent the story from the interview along with pictures directly to Grinnell. Grinnell posted it nationwide advocating for stiffer penalties for poaching. People were outraged and Congress passed the Lacey Act where poachers would be fined AND prosecuted. Howell became the first person convicted by the same law he accidentally inspired.
Grinnell kept pressure on Congress until finally, in 1910, President William Taft created Glacier National Park. The Blackfoot Native Americans felt they should still be allowed to hunt on the land as their ancestor had, but the decision had already been made to provide this land the highest level of protection the government offered.
There are 25 active glaciers in Glacier National Park! Unfortunately, they may disappear within the next few decades. I really was expecting to see more of the glaciers throughout the park, and was disappointed that my preconceived picture was not the reality. Every glacier here has been shrinking faster than it can replenish. Some are half the size they were 60 years ago. Once these glaciers are gone, they’re gone for good. That’s why I’d like to come back sooner than later to explore from the other side.
The glaciers made distinctively-shaped valleys. Normally, mountain range valleys are shaped like a V, but these are more U-shaped. It is due to the glacier slowly moving and melting down the mountain. It’s kind of like taking a scoop out of the mountain with an ice-cream scooper. Below is Hanging Valley located above Bird Woman Falls.
Bird Woman Falls Overlook: The waterfall, being one of the tallest falls in the park, is clearly visible in the summer, but slows to a trickle in the cold months. The falls is fed by snowfields and a remnant glacier.
From another vantage point.
So what is the Continental Divide? A person can see multiple signs for it in Glacier National Park as well as beyond the park and into other states. The continental divide is an invisible line that divides both North and South America between the Pacific watershed and the Atlantic watershed. It follows the ridge of the Rocky Mountains from Canada all the way down to the Andes in South America. West of the line, all water flows into the Pacific Ocean, and east of the line all water will eventually reach the Atlantic Ocean. When you are ON the continental divide water can flow into both oceans.
The continental divide also is responsible for extreme weather fluctuations. The warm, moist Pacific air collides with the cool, dry air from the Atlantic. Drastic temperature changes can occur over just a few hours. In 1916, the temperature dropped by over 100 degrees in just 24 hours! It went from 46 degrees to 56 degrees BELOW ZERO! It remains an all-time global record.
We knew when we hiked the Highline Trail out of Logan Pass yesterday that winds could be intense at times – thus the large cable to hold onto when on the edge of the mountain above the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The fastest wind gust recorded was 139 mph in 2014. (~ like a Cat 4 hurricane!)
Triple Arches Bridge: The original plans to bridge this gap was actually to fill it, but that would’ve required at least 12,000 cubic feet of stone. The architects Withers and Debnam had a better idea for the 3-arch design. They built it with local stone, speckled with reinforced concrete, so it blends in with the mountain!
Beautiful views along the way.
More views from the Going-to-the-Sun Road:
Loved the unexpected waterfall along the side of the road.
As we passed Logan Pass we came upon this spectacular roadside waterfall. Barry pulled over so I could walk back to get a picture since it wasn’t as visible from our side of the road till we were directly across from it.
Jackson Glacier Overlook is the easiest of the park’s glaciers to observe. It used to be part of Blackfoot Glacier that is on the other side of the mountain. Blackfoot Glacier melted into two glaciers about a hundred years ago! Jackson Glacier continues to melt at an even faster pace than before.
We made it to the St Mary Falls Trailhead for a super easy, hike to two beautiful waterfalls.
Shortly after starting down the trail some people were stopped and looking out into the water. There was a moose in the water!! If you zoom in on the spot in the middle of the picture below you can somewhat see him. There were two but the one to the left was in deeper water and a bit further away.
We headed further down the trail to Virginia Falls.
We found a sunny vantage point to enjoy a snack.
Hidden Lake Trail was considered a moderate hike about 3 miles round trip with a steady uphill on a boardwalk from the Logan Pass Visitor Center. The steady uphill I could feel, but we just didn’t rush. We went to the Hidden Lake Overlook.
The trail continues down to the lake, but it doubles the total miles of the hike. Barry wasn’t sure he wanted to do the downhill to the lake, and I didn’t want to do the uphill back up from the lake to where we currently were. We decided having lunch at the overlook was good enough for us this trip!
A view of the Highline Trail from the Going-to-the-Sun Road.
Lake McDonald is long and narrow, and is the biggest lake in the park.. It is over 10 miles long, but only one mile across. The water is exceptionally clear and clean!
It’s been a great day. Time to head back to Vinny to prepare for leaving in the morning.
We agree that we’d love to come back sooner than later to explore more of Glacier National Park!
Exploration to consider for next time:
- John’s Lake Loop Trail…an easy 2-mile loop with little elevation gain. Only takes 30-40 minutes. Trail to a hidden pond called John’s Lake in a small basin below Mount Brown.
- Trail of the Cedars – a 1-mile nature walk. It supposedly is one of the most popular trails in the park. Being from the northwest, we skipped this one this time. The trail takes you through a cedar forest full of lush ferns on a wooden boardwalk. Most of the tress are over 500 years old, and can be 7 feet wide.
- Avalanche Trail starts at the same spot as Trail of the Cedars, but is 4.5 miles round-trip, and a little harder. 3 hours for the whole experience. It leads to a pristine lake at the base of Bearhat Mountain. This was the first trail in the park constructed for tourists.
- See the Many Glacier (east side of the park) before it is gone.
What we will NEVER TRY: Piegan Pass Trail – It is listed as a STRENUOUS, 9-mile one-way trail. While it offers views of Blackfoot Glacier, it has steep uphills, and scary drop-offs, and is for EXPERTS ONLY.
Tomorrow we leave for Yellowstone National Park!!
Thanks for taking us to Glacier NP. Love the blog, EVERY TIME.
Always nice to know people enjoy my blog as much as we do. Thank you for your kind words.