Come Inside My Trip To Glacier National Park!
A little over two weeks ago, I drove from Texas to Glacier National Park in Montana to meet up with some of my besties for an adventure filled week before heading over to Sandpoint, Idaho for a week and now I’m back in Coeur d’Alene for a few weeks (I spent a month here in 2019 and in 2020) before heading to my final trip adventure in Yellowstone later this month!
I first visited Glacier on my way home from Coeur d’Alene in 2019 and was completely taken in by the breathtaking views I saw from driving the famous Going To The Sun Road that cuts through the park.
(Lake McDonald during my 2019 drive down Going To The Sun Road)
Since I was traveling alone I didn’t feel comfortable taking off on hikes in bear country.
Regardless, the views were forever embedded in my heart and earlier this year when my girlfriends and I set out to plan our next adventure, I suggested Glacier.
This time I got to enter those perfect postcard views on foot.
Spoiler: We saw four black bears, all from the safety of the car!
On our first evening we headed up to the Polebridge Mercantile for their famous huckleberry bear claws which involved an adventurous drive up a gravel road for 25 miles. 
We heard Bowman Lake was only another 9 miles up the gravel road so off we went bouncing up and down and around the curves, entering Glacier National Park through a remote entrance.
Rounding a curve, Kit yelled “Bear!”, Kay Lynn hit the brakes and threw it in reverse as we all clamored to the nearest passenger windows getting our first glimpse of a black bear as it lumbered though the vegetation unbothered by us!
(Terrible picture…I have video but couldn’t figure out how to upload it here)!
Shortly after, we arrived at the parking lot for Bowman Lake, grabbing our bear spray and heading down a wooded trail that magically opened up to the breathtaking views of Bowman Lake just as evening light was settling in.
We felt transported to another time and place…a combination of sheer beauty, surprise that our first evening involved such a sight, and the general peace that settled with the onset of evening.
We sat by the water gobsmacked by it all.
This may be the moment I can lock into easiest from the entire trip…though there was so much more to come.
A two hour journey home back down the gravel roads and we settled in for the night ready to take on our first full day inside the park (expect to drive a lot when visiting the park, especially if you’re staying outside of the park and if you desire to explore more than one side of the park!).
So Day 2 didn’t go according to plans…and it was my fault. Oops.
(When visiting Glacier, it’s always advised to be flexible because trails can close for weather or bear activity…this is not what happened in our case, lol).
Since we were staying on the west side of the park, we thought we’d start with two of the most recommended trails on that side.
We grabbed coffee and breakfast in a little drive through coffee shop (these are EVERYWHERE in this part of the country!) and headed towards the west entrance of the park.
Shanda was driving and I was the co-pilot (for some reason we turned off the map on the phone knowing there would be signs for the park).
At a certain point we saw a sign that said Alberta Visitor Center but that didn’t register with me as I was expecting it to say West Entrance or Apgar Village Visitor Center so we continued on.
After quite awhile, I realized we should have been at West Entrance by now.
We checked the map and realized we were making our way around the boundary of the park to the east side! Oops.
Not wanting to double back, we continued on, having to make new plans on the fly.
We ended up seeing Two Medicine Lake from an overlook and driving Going To The Sun Road from East to West, which was something we planned on doing at some point! 
We stopped at Logan’s Pass (right on the Continental Divide, about halfway back to the West Entrance) and decided to hike Hidden Lake trail…something we hadn’t intentionally planned.
Hidden Lake trail started out innocent enough with a boardwalk path and built in stairs before coming across a field of snow…yep, snow!
People were traversing the snow in all types of footwear. Little kids were on the path. Parents were carrying infants/toddlers in carriers. It was kind of crazy. (They closed the trail a few days later). I had two pairs of crampons that Crystal and I used for better traction).
Oh and did I mention people? This was our first experience of just how well visited Glacier is, especially the most popular hiking trails. 
We weren’t exactly losing ourself in the peace of nature (that would come on our 14 mile hike to Cracker Lake a few days later), but the sheer beauty of the mountains and the final overlook of Hidden Lake surrounded by the ongoing ripple of mountain peaks into the horizon was still very much worth it. 
We also took this pretty cool pic with our Aggie rings while having a late lunch at the Hidden Lake overlook!
We drove the remainder of Going To The Sun Road taking in view after view after view (even if you only came to Glacier to drive this road, as I did in 2019, it would still be worth it) to Apgar Village for an adult beverage and an evening scenic boat ride through McDonald Lake.
Despite the rearranging of plans, Day 2 was still a hit. 🙂
Day 3 picked up Day 2’s original plan with a 7 mile hike to Avalanche Lake and back through Trail of Cedars.
We wound our way through a forested path that initially followed a river and eventually came upon Avalanche Lake—our first glimpse of turquoise water!!
Wanting to find a spot on the lake to ourself, we hiked the length of it (another mile) to the far end, where we found a lovely shaded spot nestled next to a creek that was feeding into Avalanche Lake and had a late lunch.
We ended up back at Apagar Village for some adult beverages…7 miles calls for one or two, lol! 
There may or may not have been lots of loud singing in the car on the drive home! Poor Kit had to put up with our craziness while he drove us back to the VRBO.
Another wonderful day spent exploring the park.
We considered Day 4 a light (rest) day by embarking on Johns Lake trail, which meandered through an enchanting forest—a ripe playground for silly shenanigans— before coming upon the rush of McDonald Falls and the river it feeds. 
Apgar Village was such a hit, we ended up back there for food, a little shopping and more views of Lake McDonald!
Shanda also needed to figure out the best spot for her night shoot, which turned out pretty awesome!
On Day 4 the group split up with Crystal, Kay Lynn and I taking on Cracker Lake in Many Glacier and Shanda and Kit exploring a shorter trail in Many Glacier and another shorter trail at Two Medicine.
For our group, this involved a 4:00am start, mainly because we had to make the two hour and 45 minute drive to Many Glacier in time to get parking at the trailhead, which we did…
….but it came at the cost of me not stopping on the side of the road when Crystal and Kay Lynn saw a moose in the early morning light drinking from a lake.
In my defense, there was no shoulder on the road (or at least it was SUPER TINY!) and I was worried about parking!
This incident goes down as something I will forever be given a hard time about. My A-B mentality always gets me in trouble!
Cracker Lake. My oh my, what what a beaut and what a trek to get to it. Here we felt lost in the peace nature offers (while keeping our eyes and ears alert for any signs of grizzlies!), as we passed very few people on the trail. More as the day went on, but Cracker Lake isn’t as populated as some of the other trails in Glacier. At least it didn’t seem to be when we hiked it.
We wound our way through miles and miles of God’s country, catching glimpses of massive granite peaks through forested trees, then opening up to sweeping views of these peaks, crossing a river then seeing it from higher vantage points, finally working our way into the box canyon where Cracker Lake resides. 
Our first glimpse of those turquoise waters was mesmerizing. 
Similar to Avalanche Lake, we worked our way to the other end of the lake and found a spot for lunch. We saw our first marmot (signs warned of their aggressive behavior towards backpacks left unattended and sure enough it went right to Crystal’s backpack when she went a little ways off to explore!).
We each braved the cold water, but Kay Lynn handled it the best. She said you had to stay in long enough to get numb…Crystal never made it that long and I wasn’t far behind, lol.
Kay Lynn napped and since there wasn’t any shade, she ingeniously used a few sticks to hold her hoodie up over her face!
Less than an hour later, we were headed back the way we came.
Back at Many Glacier Lodge we partook in—you guessed it—an adult beverage to celebrate our nearly 14 mile hike! 
Back around the east side of the park we went for another two hours and 45 minute drive home. It was a long, full day, but very worth it!
Our last day together was spent shopping and having lunch in Whitefish before Shanda, Kit and Crystal flew home and Kay Lynn and I drove to Sandpoint, Idaho for our next adventure.
Glacier definitely has a piece of all of our hearts… 
I know this week’s blog was a little different than normal, but I hope you enjoyed it!
And if you have a chance to visit Glacier National Park, DO NOT HESITATE!
Always Shine Brightly,
Shanna
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