Continuation of Glacier National Park – Part 1 …..
Next we decided to tackle “Many Glacier” side of the National park. This is the side closer to Canada border. Only if I had taken my passport with me…Sigh !!!
Even though we reached Many Glacier campsite at around 8AM in the morning and campsite was full again. With a bit of a disappointment, we started scouting for people to share campsite. There was a gentleman all by himself playing guitar. He seemed approachable. I asked him if he is willing to share and he agreed.
Having known there is going to be a roof above my head that night, the hike to the Ice-berg lake was much relaxed and pleasant. This 10-mile round trip hike was fairly easy through a stunningly beautiful meadows and Ptarmigan falls.
When we were gathering information at the Visitor center, a ranger mentioned that she saw a picture of “an idiot getting into the water” at Iceberg lake. My friend and I immediately looked at each other with a smile. The ranger had no idea that she met two more idiots just then.
The water was skin biting bitter cold. In seconds I realized that it is the dumbest thing I have ever done. But, the thrill was so appealing that we got into the water at least 3 times for taking that perfect picture, while the rest of the people on the shore were getting a good show and cheering for us.
By the time we got back to the campsite, we were beaten up with all the adventures of the day. So, we took it easy that evening, walked around a bit and went to bed early. I know, so uncool of us to sleep early, who does that on a vacation ?!
From Many Glacier visitor center there are a couple of ranger led hikes that are very informative, especially if you are curious about the geography and life in Glacier National Park. The ranger led hikes leave at 8:30 AM. We skipped them as these tours tend to be relaxed and take more time than just hiking on your own.
Next hike was the Grinnell Glacier/lake hike. The day we were in the area, they were trying to blow up the iceberg with explosives and the access to the glacier was blocked. With a bit of a disappointment, we hiked till the Grinnell lake. It was a 7-mile round trip on a flat trail passing a couple of lakes on the way.
The trail is very well marked and wildlife on the way seemed abundant. A muse accompanied us on the trail for a good part of the walk.
After the hike, we started driving in the direction of Two Medicines side of the park. By, the time we got there, we were pretty much exhausted. So, we skipped big hikes and took a lot of pictures. Also, at this side of the park, there is a Hosteling International hostel called Brownies Hostel and we decided to stay there for the night for a bit more of a comfort. The hostel was comfortable, with wifi, bakery and awesome pizza. There were families staying at the hostel with little kids. So, don’t hesitate to check it out if you are traveling with kids.
