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Adventures of the Spirit Eagle - Glacier NP - Day 5

  by Jim & Ginny Owen

Saturday - August 1, Granite Park to Many Glacier Campground (7.6 miles) -

Ginny: The rain didn’t start until about 9:00 pm last night. Until then we wandered the meadows and the rocks, looking at views of clouds and mountains. One of the other campers really upset the ranger, but didn’t even realize it. He pulled out his Zip stove and cooked his dinner. Since it burns wood, it let off a fair amount of smoke. The ranger thought we were having an illegal fire, and came running from his house up the hill. Jim and I met him on his way and were able to stop him before he started yelling at the guy cooking his dinner. There were several deer, including one buck with velvet antlers, that wandered tamely through the campsite. They had no fear whatever. In the middle of the night, one guy had a nightmare and started screaming. We all thought he had been attacked by a bear, so half the group leapt out of their tents, bear spray at the ready. It was funny, at least in retrospect. He was really embarrassed.

We woke up to heavy fog. We stopped at the chalet to use the outhouse (ours was decrepit and had no walls) then climbed the mile to Swiftcurrent Pass. We had talked about adding a side trip to one of the overlooks, but the heavy clouds and drizzle ended that thought. We saw a ptarmigan (like a grouse) up at the pass, then wandered in the mist for a while. Then as we were descending, the clouds opened up enough to allow views of the many lakes below. One was a milky opalesque green. The others were a deep blue gray. Across the cirque we saw six waterfalls that tumbled several hundred feet. It was really beautiful. It rained off and on all day. We passed another small but rushing waterfall, then forded a creek above our boot tops. The bridge had washed away. There was, however, another bridge about 10 yards further on. The bank between had washed away. We walked near a couple of lakes and started seeing lots of dayhikers and fishermen. The last part was flat easy walking except for overgrowth and sections of washed out trail. We came to the campground about noon, checked in with the ranger, got our hiker/biker campsite back in the weeds, set up the tent in the rain, then went to Swiftcurrent Inn for a HOT shower, lunch at the Italian restaurant, and laundry. It was a long wait at the laundry, so I chatted with an English lady for a while, read for a while, and watched the rain fall.

Mostly I like hiking in Glacier. The country is gorgeous and it is fun to be so constantly aware of the wildlife around us. We’ve really enjoyed our times just looking out at the meadows and the hills. But it is a National Park, crowded and highly regulated. We eat, sleep and cook where we are told. Many of the campsites are practically on top of each other, so we get to know our neighbors, instantly. Our schedule is predetermined, more or less by others. (We request a route, and they let us know if we can have it and if so, where we can camp along the way). While the people have been very nice, and the rangers very friendly, still I feel confined sometimes. I miss the freedom of camping where and when I want, in solitude, and sleeping on soft duff rather than rock hard compacted campsites. But I do understand the necessity of the system, whether I like it or not.

Jim: Rain, fog -- and more rain. Had a somewhat prolonged conversation with the ranger at Granite Park about composting privies (they only work if the temperature gets above 90 degrees - good in the Grand Canyon, not so good in Montana). The trail today was interesting and maybe a little scary - it was blasted out of the side of the mountain - 4' wide with a 2000’ drop on one side and sheer rock walls on the other. One point where the trail goes around a corner is called the Devil’s Elbow. Around every corner there was a new -- and usually magnificent-- view. Again, there were a number of washouts due to the rain the last couple days and we had to cross the scree slopes to get over them. Then when we got to the bottom, the first bridge was out and we had to ford the stream. After that the trail was almost flat all the way to Swiftcurrent. We knew it was a tourist path because there were lots of fishermen headed for the lakes - and a number of couples with young children, bear bells a jingling.

At the Swiftcurrent campground, we got our campsite (they have one reserved for backcountry hikers that is away from the road), got a shower, did the laundry, picked up our maildrop and the permit for the second half of the trip, repacked the food bags, reported the trail condition to the rangers and got lunch (pizza) - although not necessarily in that order. The walk-in backcountry campsite comes complete with bear boxes. The other (real backcountry sites) had bear poles or cables (the cables were easier to use). Then we hung around the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn with a lot of the other flatland touristers watching for bears on the hillsides. We saw two, but they were so far away that we hardly count them. Dinner was huckleberry pie - with ice cream. Gotta say that the rangers at Many Glacier/Swiftcurrent were extremely helpful - and interested in what we were doing. Had the feeling that they don’t get too many people who deliberately stray off-trail.

Day 4 - Day 6

© Copyright 1998 Jim & Ginny Owen