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| | | GTTSR Glacier Park 2025, MT | | | |
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GTTSR Glacier Park 2025, MT
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| Hiking | 5.10 Miles |
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| | Hiking | 5.10 Miles | | | |
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| partners | | Written 8-25-2028 This is long, but there is no way I'll remember all of this in a decade and just in case Wendy and Kathy want to remember... All of the hikes/walks in Glacier Park are in the Route in case you want to know where we were walking/hiking.
7-20-2025: Preamble - we hiked/walked to East Glacier Lodge from Brownies Hostel where we would meet up with Deborah for a cocktail. We also found out Ranger Pat Hagan was going to do a presentation so we attended that. It was about bears and as usual, he gave a great talk. We all enjoyed it very much.
Brownies Hostel, East Glacier MT 7-21-2025. I had some unhappy friends after I announced I was not going to do the Chalet trip. It had rained all nite and was still raining and the forecast would be the same for a couple days. Before we left and on our drive up, we were watching the forecast and knew it didn't look good, but I don't think anyone suspected it would be 100% rain. It takes so much to plan this and a lot of money as we signed up for the workshop. The workshop cost as much as the Chalet stay, but it is the best way to assure a reservation. But, at least, I could drive the girls to the Highline TH so they didn't have to worry about the shuttle. Apparently they discussed it and decided they wouldn't go either. I tried to convince them otherwise, but to no avail.
Deborah took off back to Big Arm and we decided to drive the GTTSR and meet her at her home on Flathead Lake. Thank goodness we had that option so we didn't have to figure out something else. As we drove Highway 49 (Looking Glass) past Two Medicine, we tried to point out the views to Kathy. As we got higher, we were in the clouds with very limited visibility. They finished the new store at the Junction with Highway 89. It looks nice. Next, we stopped and walked around the Blackfeet Indian Memorial just before St Mary. It's always a beautiful stop and this time I got to see my first ever Weasal/Ermine  . It was hard to get a picture as they are little and fast. I managed to be able to clip a couple pictures from my movie.
After a stop at St Mary Lodge for some coffee and something huckleberry for me, we headed out in the rain. Next up would be the stop at the Wild Goose Island Viewpoint. We didn't have much in the way of views higher up as the clouds were quite low. The saving grace though, were the abundance of tall waterfalls that had formed from all the rain. The other advantage of traveling this very rainy day was the lack of a mass of other tourists. I'm sure Kathy enjoyed most of what we did as she had not ever seen Glacier Park before.
We would stop at a pullout below Going to the Sun Mountain to observe all of the water falling down the mountain side. I counted six that I could see in this small section. The clouds would move fast so taking a movie was the ideal way to document this incredible scene. I have never seen this many waterfalls in Glacier Park during the many times I have been here.
We stopped at Siyeh Bend where the girls walked down to Siyeh Creek. I lingered above filming the area. Jackson Glacier was not visible due to cloud cover. BUT, did I ever find a fabulous flower display  on the south side of the road. It was fabulous and with the filtered light, the colors were outstanding.
As we headed up to Logan Pass we drove through some clouds for a while before reaching the Pass. We made a couple loops through the lot hoping to find a space but no such luck. We continued west and were lucky to get a spot opening up at Oberlin Bend Overlook. The clouds prevented any of the normal long views. We didn't stay too long as it was raining pretty hard. Our next stop was something I didn't know had an official label: Paradise Meadow. It is commonly known as the "Big Drift" area when they are plowing. It had parking on both sides and there is a waterfall coming down in two different areas and you can also see Bird Woman Falls. Plus there was a couple areas with big snow drifts still remaining. There is also a very impressive stone house bathroom.
We drove by the Weeping Wall and it was barely crying which was surprising; however, when we came back a couple days later, it was balling its eyes out. We stopped at the Bird Woman Falls Overlook before continuing all the way down to the bottom. Our next pullover was McDonald Falls. There is a little walk down to a viewing platform. We then decided to walk back to the Sacred Dancing Cascade. I had not seen these before. You walk right next to the highway with no shoulder  . Some of the path is inside the little stonewall but it falls away. We walked across the bridge and enjoyed the views and listening to the rushing water of McDonald Creek. The girls took the horse path back; I stayed on top.
Our last stop would be Apgar Village. We checked out a tourist store and observed the beach and water of Lake McDonald. Alas, it was time to leave the park and make my huckleberry stops in Hungry Horse. But first, we stopped at Glacier Distillery Tasting Room. The girls like their whiskey and I'm always willing to taste along. We enjoyed the stop and both of them made a purchase including Mule Kick Whiskey. I was saving my money for Huckleberry Land where I puchased a huckleberry pie to take to Big Arm.
July 23rd, 2025 GTTSR eastbound. After our great morning hiking Wild Horse Island (separate trip report) with all the Big Horns and deer, we headed back to Glacier Park with the intent of meeting up with some Glacier Chatters that were in the Park. Once again, best laid plans...
This day was beautiful, however, not much time to dawdle since we got a late start. We hiked/walked the Trail of the Cedars and ended up doing the Loop. I didn't know if this was new as I had never hiked it before; usually only as far as the turn off to Avalanche or to the restrooms. We were lucky as a person pulling out asked if I wanted the spot and they drove out. This would happen again at Logan Pass.
Fortunately, the boardwalk wasn't overly busy as we enjoyed the weather and changing light on the tall, tall trees... some of them being here since Peter the Great ruled Russia and the Declaration of Independence was drafted. Some of their feet looked like they just had a pedicure with the bright moss on their toes. I was glad that the Gorge was running turquoise. We made the full loop, which I didn't know was possible. I got to observe some American Dippers on Avalanche Creek.
Next stop was Logan Pass and once again, a man had me follow him so I could take his space. We were able to look clear across the St Mary Valley and observed some Columbian Ground Squirrels on our walk up to the VC. We walked through it quickly and then outside on the little loop. There were great views of the mountains now as the sun was shining. We observed the large crowd of people waiting for the shuttle buses, just as they were at The Loop. On our way down the east side, we made two stops to observe the Reynolds Creek Falls and Jackson Glacier. There was plenty of parking due to the lateness in the afternoon, and thus why we were able to enjoy these additional viewpoints.
While we were eating dinner at St Mary Lodge, I discovered that the reservation I supposedly had at Brownie's Hostel was for June 23, not July 23. I can't believe I did that. I am trying to be more careful when I'm scheduling things in my older years  , so all three of us were on the phones trying to find a place to stay for the nite. My fellow Glacier Chatters had no room at their places for us. So we finished our cocktails and headed to Shelby, Montana. As if I didn't feel bad enough for missing the Chalet stay, now there was this ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall") .
As I made the movies from all of this, the 21st rain day shows you constant rain. It would have been a miserable 7.5 mile hike for me; though I think the other girls would have toughed it out.
East Glacier Lodge focus on the Garden - [ youtube video ]
Part 1 Glacier Park - Blackfeet Memorial, Going to the Sun Road westbound Part 1 [ youtube video ]
Part 2 Glacier Park - Going to the Sun Road westbound Part 2 [ youtube video ]
Part 3 Glacier Park - Trail of the Cedars [ youtube video ]
Part 4 Glacier Park - Going to the Sun Road eastbound [ youtube video ] |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
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For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
. We had been hearing about the massive crowds on these shorter trails but it was a whole other thing to be hiking as part of it; never an alone moment. The last time I hiked this was with cousin Connie in 2008. 
