We took a short vacation up north. Craig had some time off from his volunteer responsibilities and we choose to go on a short trip. I had lots of ideas of places to visit, but the one we both agreed on was to Montana and beyond. Beyond being a couple of days also in Canada.
GNP is Glacier National Park - I think it also stands for God's Nice Place. While we were there I wondered if heaven could be anymore beautiful.
We stayed at the historic Many Glaciers Inn, it is over 100 years old! There is a lovely walking trail around the lake that the Inn over looks. But take your bear spray because, GNP is filled with bears. Although we didn't see a single bear so we were plenty safe. You just really never know when you might cross paths with either a grizzly bear or a black bear.
From Many Glaciers there are a several hikes. We went with Craig's cousin Cindy and her husband Gil to Iceberg Lake. It isn't just called Iceberg Lake because the water is glacier runoff, it has actual icebergs floating in the lake. It took our breath away with its stunning beauty. The water is COLD! The challenge is to step in the water, or swim in the water, or even swim to an iceberg and stay on it. Luckily we forgot our swimsuits, thus toe dipping was enough for us.
Iceberg Lake hike is just over 9 miles round trip. Nine miles of beauty with wildflowers; bear grass, asters, Indian paintbrush, and daisies (not so sure those are wildflowers.) The first section is mostly uphill over rocks. After that you walk pretty flat along the mountainside among the wildflowers, pines, and waterfalls.
Our second day was a drive to Logan Pass and Going-to-the-Sun Road. We parked about 1/4 mile in a turnout from the Logan Pass Visitor Center because it was super popular. From there we hiked a much shorter hike to Hidden Lake Overview. Shorter but almost constant uphill climbing. A good part of the hike is boardwalk, which is really nice. Hidden Lake Overview Hike had a constant flow of people going or coming. Often there are mountain goats seen but we only located one WAY up the mountainside. The secret is to look for a very tiny patch of white and watch to see if it moves. When it does, you found a mountain goat.
We did enjoy watching an adventurous bighorn sheep, that had wandered away from his herd, along the trail. He eventually made his way back to the group and we watched them for a while. We also saw a fat marmot sunning himself right off the trail. And of course there are always squirrels and chipmunks chasing around. No bears! Even with a busy trail though, you should always be prepared with bear spray.
There again are lots of hikes going out from Logan Pass Visitor Center to enjoy. Next time!
After Logan Pass we drove downward on Going-to-the-Sun Road. It was nice to be on the inside lane, especially if you have any fear of heights. We passed Weeping Rock, Bird Woman Falls, and numerous other little waterfalls from the melting snow. We opened the sunroof and enjoyed the view looking up at the overhanging rocks and trees amidst the blue sky.
A short stop was on the agenda at Apgar Village for huckleberry ice cream. Huckleberries are a delicious, sweetish/tart berry that mostly looks like a purple blueberry when ripe. They have a very deep purple color. Huckleberries are only found in the wild, they can't be cultivated. So each berry is precious. We ordered our ice cream for Eddies; it was all I hoped for - a big scoop of creamy, bite into ice cream bursting with huckleberry flavor and huckleberries.
Apgar Village is located near the West Glacier Entrance. Many Glacier is on the east of GNP. The two don't connect. We actually drove out of the park from Many Glacier, drove down to St. Mary's and went back into the park on the road to Logan Pass and on to West Glacier.
This National Park is a real treasure and hopefully a well kept secret from too many tourists. Pure breathtaking beauty.
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