Route Editor
Route Scout
 Overview: This historic and scenic hike lies in the southeast section of Glacier NP. During the fire of 1910, a burning ember blew from the fire burning on the west side of the pass, over the crest, and set the east side ablaze. Since that time the name Firebrand has stuck. The forest has been slow to return thus the high alpine views are mostly still unobstructed. This is a relatively pristine area, having escaped the mobs that flock to other parts of the park. The distant views are just super on this trail..One can see the foothills of the northern Rocky Mtns in the immediate distance with active drainages and numerous small water falls abound. In fall, it is said that this is an excellent location to see bull elk trying out the strength of their bugling calls! This trail contours around Calf Robe Mtn then enters a sub alpine basin on its way to Firebrand Pass at 6951'. Check out the Official Route and Triplog. Leave No Trace and +Add a Triplog after your hike to support this local community.
One-Way Notice This hike is listed as One-Way. When hiking several trails on a single "hike", log it with a generic name that describes the hike. Then link the trails traveled, check out the example. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.
Most recent Triplog Review
Firebrand Pass Trail
This was our 4th hike of 10 in Glacier National Park and our 1st on a rainy and humid day with some very hungry mosquitoes awaiting our arrival! We three learned about this historic hike(see write-up) from some local East Glacier resident hikers whom we had met on our 6/29 hike to Cobalt Lake. We were told that his hike offered much scenic and remote beauty in the southeast "Two Medicine" section of GNP where the high alpine views are mostly still unobstructed in a relatively pristine area, having escaped the mobs that flock to other more publicized areas of the park.
On this rainy and humid day, our beginning trail first went through grassy meadows as it paralleled fast moving Coonsa Creek with numerous beaver ponds along the way. The trail soon enters a lovely aspen grove where signs of bear were everywhere. Our trail then connected with the Autumn Creek TR at 1.7mls, and from this point to when it connected with the Firebrand Pass Tr at 2.2mls, the mosquitoes were brutal, but we all anticipated this to happen sooner or later on some of our hikes, so we were prepared with repellant.. thank goodness we remembered to buy some before leaving AZ. From this point on, the trail starts to climb into a sub-alpine area with a lot of snow on the trail which gave us some opportunity to better our hiking skills in Glacier snow, and also due to the altitude allowed us distant unobstructed views of the foothills and mountain ranges of the northern Rocky Mtns which looked so close. The rain cloud formations were so beautiful hanging over these close and distant peaks that we had to stop often to just take-in the views! Our trail contours around dominant Calf Robe Mtn then entered a sub alpine basin on its way to Firebrand Pass at 6951'. We were looking down into the huge basin below us hoping to see some Bull Elk, or other fauna that in know to reside in this section of the park, but no such luck today. We arrived at our highpoint for the day of 6645' and we could see Firebrand Pass approx .35mls further up at 6951', BUT it was not to be for us today. The trail began to take a rather steep angle(if one was to slip off the trail) and we could see some serious snow pack further up the trail all the way to the pass. We were told that the views over this Firebrand Pass are excellent but we will have to wait for the next trip!
On this rainy and humid day, our beginning trail first went through grassy meadows as it paralleled fast moving Coonsa Creek with numerous beaver ponds along the way. The trail soon enters a lovely aspen grove where signs of bear were everywhere. Our trail then connected with the Autumn Creek TR at 1.7mls, and from this point to when it connected with the Firebrand Pass Tr at 2.2mls, the mosquitoes were brutal, but we all anticipated this to happen sooner or later on some of our hikes, so we were prepared with repellant.. thank goodness we remembered to buy some before leaving AZ. From this point on, the trail starts to climb into a sub-alpine area with a lot of snow on the trail which gave us some opportunity to better our hiking skills in Glacier snow, and also due to the altitude allowed us distant unobstructed views of the foothills and mountain ranges of the northern Rocky Mtns which looked so close. The rain cloud formations were so beautiful hanging over these close and distant peaks that we had to stop often to just take-in the views! Our trail contours around dominant Calf Robe Mtn then entered a sub alpine basin on its way to Firebrand Pass at 6951'. We were looking down into the huge basin below us hoping to see some Bull Elk, or other fauna that in know to reside in this section of the park, but no such luck today. We arrived at our highpoint for the day of 6645' and we could see Firebrand Pass approx .35mls further up at 6951', BUT it was not to be for us today. The trail began to take a rather steep angle(if one was to slip off the trail) and we could see some serious snow pack further up the trail all the way to the pass. We were told that the views over this Firebrand Pass are excellent but we will have to wait for the next trip!
2008-07-01 Grasshopper
